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| Remember when this used to be called Trophee Eric Bompard? |
The final results:
Alina Zagitova (RUS): 62.46 (SP) + 151.34 (FS) = 213.80 - 1st
It's been an up and down season for Alina so far this year. She's excelling in one half of the competition and somewhat stumbling in the other, yet she still manages to come out on top.
In general the SP was a disaster for everyone, especially Alina. I don't know what's going on with her lately but she has not turned in a clean SP on the GP this season. The first half of her program sailed along easily enough without any issues. When it came time to jump the problems started. Alina under-rotated and fell on her opening 3Lz, then tried to make up the combo on her solo jump but under-rotated and stepped out of it (3F-3L(<)). I didn't think Alina's score would hold up for the top 6 but, given how terrible the rest of the competition was, Alina was able to place 5th in the segment, 6.59 points out of 1st.
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| We still haven't seen all she can do |
The FS is where Alina shines. She mows through the majority of her easier elements before unleashing a barrage of jumps in rapid succession, which builds excitement and somehow blinds the judges to the weaker aspects of her skating. Once again Alina delivered a flawless FS, reeling off 7 triple jumps without a hitch. It's an impressive display and I understand how the judges could be a little giddy watching her work, but I still don't understand how her PCS are what they are. Alina is probably the most technically capable skater in the field; however, at the same time the artistic and performance aspects of Alina's skating are some of the most juniorish and lacking in the field. Of course, that doesn't matter to the judges. Boosted by inflated PCS Alina was able to record the 2nd highest FS total of all time (right behind Medvedeva's
Alina has secured herself a spot in the Final. I do admire her ability to turn it on in the FS but if she wants to go toe-to-toe with Evgenia at the Final, she can't afford to stumble her way through the SP.
Maria Sotskova (RUS): 67.79 (SP) + 140.99 (FS) = 208.78 - 2nd
Say what you will about Maria's skating. Point is she's putting together the most convincing bid for a 3rd spot on an Olympic team out of anyone in the field.
Maria was the second to last skater to take the ice in the SP and I was about to give up on the competition at that point. As a whole the skating had been so bad in the segment I was starting to the think the ice was cursed. Maria was able to alleviate some of my frustration but not all of it. I really enjoy her "Swan Lake" program. I love that she opted to use a different edit of music rather than the well-known sections most skaters use. I like her new dress, though I do wish she'd chosen a color other than pink. Anyway, Maria's combo was nice and airy but she had issues on the landing of her 3F and dropped a few levels on her non-jump elements (level 3s on a spin and her step sequence). Flip issues aside, it was a lovely program. I'm one of the handful of people who appreciates Maria's quiet and graceful style. She finished the segment in 2nd place.
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| I don't care what people say. I like her. |
As of now Maria is leading the Russian candidates for that 3rd Olympic spot. She's been very steady all season long, even back before the GP started. There's a confidence and ease to her skating that enables you watch her without worrying about her landing jumps when she skates. Again, I really enjoy this "Clair de Lune" FS. There's a calm and controlled elegance to the program that is beautiful to watch. Maria nailed all of her jumps without any issues. I thought her PCS were right on point but, relative to Alina, I felt she should have been higher. Alina was scored more than 2 points higher than Maria; that bad scoring skewed the rest of the scoring for everyone by comparison. Maria earned a personal best score, finished 2nd in the FS and 2nd overall to earn the silver medal.
Maria has earned herself a trip to the Final which is a major plus for her when it comes to building her case for the Olympic team. She's been the best among the 3rd spot hopefuls this season but she'll have to maintain her form. If she does, that spot is as good as hers.
Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN): 60.95 (SP) + 137.72 (FS) = 206.77 - 3rd
Kaetlyn came into this event with one gold medal but still a lot to prove. This was a great opportunity for her to make a statement against one of the projected Pyeongchang podium finishers...
Kaetlyn has the misfortune of skating last in an already crappy competition. Given her ability to score well into the 70s with a clean skate, I figured this was a golden opportunity for Kaetlyn to distance herself from the rest of the field. She could have gone into the FS with a sizable lead...unfortunately that didn't happen. Kaetlyn didn't make any disruptive errors but she didn't complete her intended content either. She doubled the back end of her 3F combo (3F-2T) which lost her crucial base points and GOE points. The rest of the skate was clean albeit less effective than it usually is when she skates to her potential. Kaetlyn finished the SP in 1st place with less than a 2 point lead over the field.
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| Time to get it together Kaetlyn! |
Despite her amazing jumps and performance it is impossible to relax when Kaetlyn is on the ice and that really sucks. I enjoy her skating so much and she has the ability to really wow the judges and the audience when she's on. The issues is she's hardly ever on in the FS. Kaetlyn opened with a gorgeous 3F-3T (+1.80) but was hit or miss for the rest of the program. Of her remaining jumping passes half had errors (bad landing, fall and singled axel) and the other half were excellent. It wasn't a disastrous performance but it wasn't what you want to see from a skater so talented she could go toe-to-toe with the very best in the world if she just got herself together. Kaetlyn finished 4th in the FS which dropped her down to 3rd overall.
This was a missed opportunity for Kaetlyn to build on her score and get a win against one of the top skaters in the field. Kaetlyn's gold and bronze medal should be enough to give her the edge in any tiebreaker for a spot to the Final. The Final is going to be like a mini Olympics. She needs to bring her A-game if she wants to challenge for a top spot.
As for the rest...
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| The SP is the issue right now |
Mai Mihara (JPN; 202.12, 4th): Mai's SP woes are causing her some major issues this season. She opened her program with a downgraded 3Lz-3T that ran into the boards. She finished up cleanly enough but the damage was done. Mai came back with a flawless FS that scored well but not well enough thanks in large part to, you guessed it!, her PCS. I'm torn on Mai's skating a lot of the time. I think her skating skills, composition and choreography are lovely and deserve higher scores; however, I don't feel as though she's reached that point as an artist/performer where I'd be screaming for higher numbers in performance and interpretation. BUT if Alina is able to score mid to high 8s in those areas, then Mai deserves at least as much. I think Mai is further along in developing those areas of her skating than Alina is, yet Alina receives the higher scores. This is where my biggest issue with scoring lies: the double standard. Skater A lacks in areas and receives scores reflective of that; Skater B lacks in areas yet receives scores that indicate otherwise. *sigh*
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| A breakthrough for Little Bet! |
Elizabet Turzynbaeva (KAZ; 200.98, 5th): When Elizabet popped her opening jump in the SP I was ready to throw my computer through the window. The SP was such a poorly skated event, I was just over it at that point. To her credit Elizabet did fight back with a nice 3S-3T and salvaged her SP score. She then went on to fully redeem herself in the FS. It's taken a long time to get to this point but it looks like she has found a layout that works well for her. The strategy of repeating the 2A-3T and putting both combos in the bonus paid off very well. Elizabet skated a clean program, scored a personal best FS and topped the 200 point mark.
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| Highlight of the SP for me |
Yuna Shiraiwa (JPN; 193.18, 6th): Yuna was the only saving grace in the SP. She was one of only two skaters (Meite was the other) to deliver a clean program complete with all of her planned content. Yuna's skating is lovely. She competed at NHK Trophy last week and didn't really stand out that much. Here she looked faster and more confident. Her SP was beautiful and the highlight of the segment for me. Yuna had one issue in the FS (under-rotation and fall on her final jump) but the rest of the program was very strong. I feel like she could be a go-to skater for Japan in this next quad.
Other Competition Notes: Mae Berenice Meite (FRA; 171.40, 8th) turned in a clean SP and a pretty strong FS as well. She hasn't skated well for the past few seasons but she appears to be gearing up to make another run at the Olympics...Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS; 167.65, 9th) went for the 3A in both programs. She rotated it but fell both times. I love that she's going for it but if she can't pull herself together after the jump, it's not worth doing...Polina Edmunds (USA; 157.77, 10th) is still not ready. I don't see her as a factor at U.S. nationals...Zijun Li (CHN) is apparently injured rather badly. This is the second event she's pulled out of. I'm not sure if we'll see her in Pyeongchang.
Just like that, we're at the end of the Grand Prix season. The final event of the series will be what is usually the first event of the series: Skate America. The competition will take place in Lake Placid, New York. Spots to the Final are on the line for only two skaters: Ashley Wagner (USA) and Polina Tsurskaya (RUS). Whoever wins gold will qualify for the Final. If someone other than those two upsets for gold, a silver medal will put them in a tiebreaker with Wakaba Higuchi for the last spot in the Final. There are several skaters who could upset at this event including Satoko Miyahara (JPN) and Gabrielle Daleman (CAN). We'll also see Karen Chen (USA), Kaori Sakamoto (JPN),
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