Figure Skating #2 - Mens Short

[desoto_hia873]

Yay, the men! I love to watch the men. We got to see alot of skaters in the short program, so I was pretty happy about that. Still not as good as being there, but I'll be there next year, so yay!

First up was Fedor Andreev. Fedor is the son of Marina Zoueva and was a sort of nephew to Gordeeva and Grinkov. He used to train in Ottawa, but is now in Detroit with Richard Callaghan. His girlfriend is ice dancer Tanith Belbin - she's Canadian by birth but competes for the U.S. with Benjamin Agosto.

Fedor is a stunning skater. He's got the pedigree, he's got the look, and he's got the talent. Unfortunately, he's not a small man and he's also got the big shoulders. I think this is what holds him back as a singles skater - jumps come more easily to smaller and narrower men. David Pelletier used to skate singles as well, but gave it up for pairs skating because he was just too big. In my humble opinion, Fedor should go into pairs - with the right partner, he could be a legend. He really is that good. Artur - speak to him!

Fedor skated to Spanish music wearing a black-spotted red shirt with very puffy sleeves. No one else could wear that shirt without looking a complete ponce. Well, Toller Cranston, maybe. But Fedor is extremely handsome and skates with much panache, so it worked for him. He hasn't had a good year - he injured his back badly enough while practicing quads last year that he was off the ice for nine months and has only been back in training for six weeks. Thus, his short program was quite conservative and not up to his usual standards. He landed a double Axel, popped a planned triple flip into a double, landed a wobbly triple Lutz, and finished in eighth place. (I'm going to start using my jump shorthand - A = Axel, L = Lutz, Lo = Loop, F = Flip, T = Toe Loop, and S = Salchow.) His skates were clearly not under him in the jump department, but no one can do elegant and swoopy connecting moves like Fedor. Oh, and have I mentioned that he's gorgeous? I would so love to see him achieve what I know he's capable of. Fedor - GO INTO PAIRS!

Next was Marc-Andre Craig. Sebastien Britten is his choreographer - Sebastien seems to have established quite a successful career as coach and choreographer, which is nice. Marc-Andre skated well, landing a 3A, 3F-3T combination, and a 3L. His jumps were big and clean. Some of his spins were rather slow and he doesn't have alot in between elements. He could definitely use more expression. He just needs more time to let the Sebastien-ness rub off on him. :-) He finished fifth.

Cedric Demers was the next to skate. He landed a 3A with a wobble, 3L, and a 3F-2T combination. It looked like he two-footed the F, but the replay showed that it was clean. He is fast and has a very upright posture. Which is a good thing, but also makes him a bit stiff. I didn't get his placing, but it was lower than eighth (the men skate a qualifying round, so that may have pulled him down).

It was nice to see Hugh Yik again - he had alot of success as a junior several years ago and was thought at the time to be the Next Big Thing. Sadly, he injured his hip so badly that he was off the ice for two years. He trains in Barrie with Doug Leigh (coach of Brian Orser and Elvis Stojko) and has a ways to go before he'll be able to challenge for a podium spot. He landed a 3A, 3L-2T (with a wobble on the toe loop), and a 3F. He seemed a bit on the slow side and is very bent at the waist on jump landings. He needs to work on his posture as well. He was seventh after the short.

Shawn Sawyer is another one who is being touted as the Next Big Thing. He is constantly compared to Toller Cranston and certainly seems to have much the same attitude. :-) He's very talented and works with Brian Orser. He skated to tango music and landed a 3T-3T, two-footed a 3A, and possibly two-footed a 3L. He's very flexible and did a spin holding one foot straight up over his head - ow. He had very good expression and came in third.

Next was Jeff Buttle. I've been following him for years - he really stood out in Juniors because of his amazing spins. They used to make the crowd gasp because it looked like he was going to drill right through the ice. He's one of my favourite skaters now - he is the absolute complete package. Jeff skated to Prelude in C Minor by Rachmaninoff and landed a 3F-3T combo, 2A, and squeaked out a 3L with two hands down. He did a lovely spiral sequence and nice footwork. In spite of the 3L near-disaster, his program still left you with that GUH feeling - he's just that good. He was second behind Emanuel Sandhu after the qualifying round but moved into first place after the short.

Then it was Ben Ferreira's turn. Ah, Ben. A nicer person you couldn't hope to meet and he's always a crowd favourite. He didn't start skating until he was something like 10 years old, which is pretty amazing, and battles terrible allergies and asthma. Everyone just loves Ben and well they should because he's a thoroughly nice and down to earth guy. His skating has come a long way in the past few years, but I don't think he has 'it'. Canadians seems to be his forum, though - he usually pulls out his best performances then. This time around, he landed a 3L-2T, turned out of a 3A, and did a nice 3F. His footwork is good, but his spins are somewhat less than awesome. He still does the camel-sit-change feet-camel-sit, or some variation thereof, that you see all boys doing at club shows. And, though it's improved alot over the years, his posture still makes me want to shove a broom handle down his shirt. But you just can't help liking the guy and I do. He was fourth after the short.

Nicholas Young is a fantastic skater who did not have a good night. He skated a Charlie Chaplin-esque program that began with "Dueling Banjos". It's a wonderfully endearing program, possibly choreographed by Sebastien, that would also have suited Dan Hollander well. He landed a 3L-3T - the Lutz was very good but he stepped out of the toe loop. He two-footed a 3A and then had a terrible fall out of a 3F - he slammed into the boards and took a chunk out of them with his skate blade. I think he also hit his head. Nevertheless, he got up and finished the program well. It just breaks your heart when you see falls like that, especially when they happen in such good programs. I'm not sure where he finished, but probably pretty low.

Second to last was Christoper Mabee. I first saw him years ago when he was a tiny little sprite who'd just come up from Juniors. He zinged through his programs hardly breaking a sweat and totally wowed the audience. His jumps were a little underrotated, but he was landing them all and he was just the cutest thing you'd ever seen. Then he grew and it's taking him some time to learn how to skate with a full-sized body. He skated to muscular music called "Art of War". He landed a 3A, 3L-2T, and a 2F that was supposed to be a 3F. He had good speed and nice spins, but his footwork looked a little on the simple side and he needs more connecting moves. But he's still as cute as a button (and would probably be horrified to be told that!).

The last skater of the night was Emanuel. Oh, Emanuel. (Insert dramatic sigh here.) He's been a favourite for many years now and I can tell you that it is hard work being an Emanuel fan. You just never know what's going to happen. He could come out and lay down a program that would win the Olympics or he could come out and completely implode. I watched the mens short 'live' (meaning it was on tape-delay but I was watching it as it was broadcast) and flipped on the TV about five minutes before it began. A sports news show was just finishing up and in the last 30 seconds of their broadcast they ANNOUNCED THE RESULTS. Argh! I hate CTV!! In the name of all that is holy, why do they tell you the results of a competition when they know they're just about to air it?? They had rights to the Atlanta Olympics and did it then, too - they'd start off every broadcast with a summary of who won what, thus totally destroying any suspense. I gave up watching CTV completely and followed the rest of those Olympics on ABC.

So, I knew from the start that Jeff was in first place after the short. I figured this meant that Jeff had skated brilliantly well, but he didn't - the door was left well ajar for Emanuel to retain his lead. Thus, I thought I was about to see a classic Emanuel implosion, but it wasn't quite as bad as all that. Though it wasn't great either. He was the only skater to try a quad in the short program and almost landed it - he stepped out of it but was still able to tack on a 3T. He popped his Axel into a single and then did a perfect 3L. He used to have a habit of throwing away the rest of his program after making a mistake and there were hints of that here - he didn't give it away after the popped Axel but you could tell from his expression that he thought about it. His quad attempt, Lutz, and spins held him up, though, and he finished in second place six points behind Jeff.

When he was younger, Emanuel used to train with the National Ballet as well as skate. Eventually, he had to choose and (obviously) chose skating. But his ballet training served him well and set him apart from the crowd - he's long and lean and has beautiful lines. It seems to me, however, that he's been concentrating so much on jumps in recent years that the balletic expression has gotten a bit lost. He really needs some programs that are choreographed to showcase his lines and grace because he's starting to come off as a bit bland.

Anyway, it wasn't a stellar night for men's skating. There was alot of talent out there, but very few - and no one in contention for a medal - skated clean. Maybe the long program will be different.

More later!