Figure Skating #3 - Pairs Free and Mens Free

[desoto_hia873]

A shorter report this time as we only got to see the last flight each of the Pairs Free and the Mens Free. Also, I'm not terribly well-informed re: lifts and other pairs moves - I have to rely more on general impression.

Pairs Free

Buntin and Marcoux skated first to Russian music. They started with s/b/s 3T-2T sequences and both landed them. Later on, they tried to repeat the 3T, but not as successfully: Buntin popped hers into a single and Marcoux turned out of his. Their s/b/s spins were a little out of unison and their last lift looked a little tired. Overall, it was a decent skate and enough to keep them in first place.

Wakamatsu and Fecteau skated to Japanese music. In a change from the usual roadmap that pairs follow, they did a throw 3S and a triple twist before their s/b/s jumps. They both landed 3T-2T combinations and then went on to do s/b/s 2A's - he wobbled a bit on the landing of his. They showed off Wakamatsu's flexibility in the combination spin and a neat final lift that ended with him holding her up off the ice in their final pose. Their only error, though it was a glaring one, came when Wakamatsu slipped out of a death spiral. Nevertheless, they got a standing ovation from the audience and finished in second place. I think this pair has a bright future.

Duhamel and Arnold had a tough night - perhaps skating in both singles and pairs events was harder than they expected. Their triple twist had a rocky landing, their s/b/s 3 Lutzes weren't successful (she wobbled, he fell), their lifts were straightforward and fairly simple, their last lift didn't get off the ice at all, and their final death spiral went awry. They slipped to eighth place.

Langlois and Archetto didn't have a super night either. Langlois two-footed their opening 3T throw and then turned out of the 3T and popped the Axel in their s/b/s 3T-2A sequence. Their program was well choreographed and included a leap of faith (I think those are neat). They finished in third place and I'm sure they were quite disappointed with that. I guess it will be up to Skate Canada to decide who goes to Worlds. L&A have the best international record, so they may be sent in spite of only winning the bronze medal here.


Mens Free

My notes are a bit sparse for this event - I watched it while having a 'teleconference' with my cousin, which is to say we phoned back and forth at the end of nearly every program.

Christopher Mabee had a great skate to "Findlandia", which I described as "mighty music" in my notes. That generally means that it's music that Elvis Stojko might have skated to. :-) He landed (in order) 3Lo, 3A-2T, 3L, 3F, 3F-2T, 3L-2T, and 3S. Looking at that list, I'm wondering if I got something wrong as he seems to have repeated both the 3L and 3F - I didn't think you were allowed to do that. In any event, he got a standing ovation and finished in fifth place with 208.85 points, a personal best. I'm thinking he was pretty happy with that.

Jeff Buttle also got a standing ovation for his free skate. He doesn't have a quad yet, but landed 3F-3T, 3A-3T, 3Lo, 2A, 3Lo, wobbled a little on a 3L, and ended with two 2A's. I have a check mark next to his combination spin, which is my code for really liking something, and the sentence "Oh, he's so goooood!". Technical judge-speak, what can I say? :-) He kept his lead over Emanuel and is the new Canadians champion. Go Jeff!

Ben skated to Glenn Miller's Sentimental Journey and did it reasonably well. I didn't get all his jumps, but he opened with a 3A-2T-2Lo combination which was pretty cool. He fell on his 3L and turned a 3F into a 2F, but otherwise was alright. He finished fourth.

Shawn Sawyer, the one who is always compared to Toller Cranston (they actually showed an old clip of Toller to emphasize this), skated a neat program to Cirque de Soleil. He opened with a 3F-3T, followed by 3A, a two-footed 3L, 2L-2T-2Lo, a combination that I missed when I blinked or something, 1A-2A sequence out of a spread eagle, and another 2A. He had a couple more 'ow' moments, doing the splits in a spiral and a combination spin (I can't even touch my friggin' toes, so I'm always impressed by this). He came in third and I think that's the first time he's medalled in Seniors.

Emanuel skated last again, but at least this time I didn't know the results before watching. So I got all tense, 'cause that's what I do when I watch him skate. It wasn't his best night by a long shot. He popped a quad into a single, landed a 3A-3T-2Lo combination, then a 3L, then a 1S which was probably another popped quad, had a bit of a wobble on a 3A, did a very nice 3S out of footwork, 3F-3T with a step out of the 3T, and finished with a nifty combination spin. I have "AGH!" written in my notes, but at least it wasn't a flame-out. He held the performance together in spite of the missed jumps and hung on to second place. I'm assuming that he and Jeff Buttle will go to Worlds as they have both had success internationally this year.

I haven't watched the women's free yet nor any of the dance (I have them on tape, though), but I strongly suspect that Joannie Rochette won the former and Dubreil & Lauzon won the latter.

And that's how figure skating looks this year in Canada.