Europeans: Mens Preview

Florent Amodio and Tomas Verner are the only two competitors from the Grand Prix Final at Europeans.  Both have short program, free skate and total scores in the top 10 for the season thus far.  Both have tons of personality on the ice.  I adore Verner's short program to Singing in the Rain and while I'm not crazy about his free skate I prefer it to the mess that is Amodio's free skate.  Verner has had higher scores all season than Amodio and beat him at the Grand Prix Final, so I give Verner the edge here.  Verner has been talking about putting the quads back in his program and if he can land them consistently, this could give him an even bigger edge.

Brian Joubert is the only returning medalist from last season.  He had a disastrous Grand Prix season and is looking to redeem himself here.  He beat out Amodio at nationals but has yet to do so in international competition this season.  His short program score does fall in the top 10 for the season so if he can go clean in both programs he could reclaim his European title.  After he withdrew from Trophee Eric Bompard where Amodio won silver, many began to write him off as the top skater in France.  He'll be looking to quiet the naysayers with a good placement here.

Javier Fernandez is the only other European man to appear on the list of top 10 scores and he does so with his free skate.  He finished 8th at last year's Europeans and is looking to move up.  He has been struggling with injury and recently lost his national title, but if he's healthy and can put together a short program to match his free skate he could be in medal contention.

Kevin van der Perren is also in the mix with huge, fairly consistent junps but he generally has low program components. Michal Breznia sat out the Grand Prix season due to injury.  He finished 4th last season, but it seems his injury is still plaguing him as he struggled to keep up with Verner's scores at Czech nationals.  Samuel Contesti finished 5th beyond Breznia last year and has had an up and down Grand Prix but improved in his last outing.  Alban Preaubert and Peter Liebers had respectable Grand Prixs and should finish in the top 10 here.  Artur Gachinski is the reigning World Junior Bronze medalist.  He had decent Grand Prix results while setting personal best scores and is right in the medal hunt and is definitely an up and coming skater to watch out for. 

My podium predictions:
Gold: Verner
Silver: Joubert
Bronze: Amodio

My USFSA Fantasy Team:
A) Verner
B) Gachinski
C) Lucine

The skaters:

Viktor Pfeifer, AUT (D):  He placed 21st at the Olympics, 20th at Worlds and 17th at Europeans.  He received personal best scores in the free skate at the Olympics and in the short program and total score at Europeans. He finished 12th at Skate America.

Mikhail Karaliuk, BLR: He finished 35th at the World Junior Championships. 

Jorick Hendrickx, BEL: He finished 15th at the World Junior Championships and 20th at Europeans.  He finished 7th and 6th at his two JGP assignments this season.

Kevin van der Perren, BEL (D): He placed 17th at the Olympics, 8th at Worlds and 11th at Europeans.  He is the two-time European bronze medalist (2007, 2009).  He finished 8th at Cup of China and 6th at Skate America.  He is married to Jenna McCorkell who competes for Great Britain.

Damjan Ostojic, BIH: He finished 33rd at the World Championships and 28th at Europeans.

Georgi Kenchadze, BUL: He finished 40th at Worlds and 36th at Europeans.

Michal Brezina, CZE (D): He finished 10th at the Olympics, 4th at Worlds with personal best scores across the board, and 4th at Europeans.  He is the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  He sat out the Grand Prix season due to injury.

Tomas Verner, CZE (D): Verner placed 10th at Europeans and finished 19th at the Olympics.  He was the silver medalist at Europeans in 2007 and won the title in 2008.  Verner won bronze at Cup of China and gold at Rostelecom Cup with a personal best free skate to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th.

Justus Strid, DEN: He is the 4 time national champion.

Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 36th at the World Championships, 29th at Europeans, and 26th at the World Junior Championships.  He finished 8th and 11th at his two JGP assignments this season.

Valtter Virtanen, FIN: He is the reigning national silver medalist.

Florent Amodio, FRA (D): Amodio finished 12th at the Olympics with a personal best short program and 15th at Worlds.  He won bronze at NHK Trophy with personal best free skate and total scores and silver at Trophee Eric Bompard with personal best scores across the board to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 6th.

Brian Joubert, FRA (D): Joubert won bronze at Europeans, placed 16th at the Olympics and won a bronze medal at Worlds.  He is the 2004, 2007 and 2009 European champion and has medaled at Europeans every year since 2004.  He has won one gold medal at Worlds, two silvers and two bronzes.  He finished at 4th at Cup of China and withdrew from Trophee Eric Bompard.

Alban Preaubert, FRA (D): Preaubert finished 7th at Europeans with a personal best short program score.  He finished 6th at Skate Canada and 5th at Cup of Russia.

Peter Liebers, GER (D): Liebers finished 25th at last seasons World Championships.  He finished 9th at Cup of China and 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard.

Denis Wieczorek, GER: He finished 5th and 15th at his two JGP assignments this season.

David Richardson, GBR: He is the reigning national champion.

Tigran Vardanjan, HUN: He finished 41st at the World Championships. 

Maxim Shipov, ISR: He finished 43rd at Worlds and 25th at Europeans with a personal best short program. 

Paolo Bacchini, ITA (D): He finished 20th at the Olympics with a personal best short program and 16th at Europeans with a personal best free skate and total score.  He placed 12th at Skate Canada.

Samuel Contesti, ITA (D): Contesti placed 7th at Worlds with personal best scores in the Short and Free programs.  He also placed 18th at the Olympics and 5th at Europeans.  He won a silver at Europeans in 2009.  He finished 6th at Cup of China and 4th at Cup of Russia. 

Saulius Ambrulevicius, LTU: He finished 38th at the World Championships with a personal best short program, 34th at Europeans and 32nd at World Juniors.  He finished 13th and 16th at his two JGP assignments this season.

Kim Lucine, MON:  He finished 11th at the 2008 World Junior Championships.

Boyito Mulder, NED: He finished 32nd at Europeans and 45th at the World Junior Championships.

Maciej Cieplucha, POL: He finished 35th at Worlds and 21st at Europeans.

Zoltan Kelemen, ROU: Kelemen finished 29th at the Olympics, 32nd at Worlds and 19th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board.  He finished 9th at Trophee Eric Bompard with personal best free skates and total scores.

Artur Gachinski, RUS (D): Gachinski is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  He finished 7th at Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board and 6th at Cup of Russia with a personal best short program.

Konstantin Menshov, RUS (D): Menshov finished 10th at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board.

Jakub Strobl, SVK: He finished 31st at the World Junior Championships.

Javier Fernandez, ESP (D): Fernandez finished 14th at the Olympics, 12th at Worlds with personal best short and total scores, and 8th at Europeans.  He finished 5th at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate score and 9th at Cup of Russia.

Javier Raya, ESP: He finished 12th at Junior Worlds with personal best short program and total scores. 

Kristoffer Bertsson, SWE (D): He finished 15th at Europeans with a personal best short program.  He finished 11th at Skate Canada.

Adrian Schultheiss, SWE (D): He placed 15th at the Olympics and 9th at the World Championships with all personal best scores.  He finished 12th at Europeans.  He finished 6th and 7th at his two Grand Prix assignments last season.  He finished 10th at the NHK Trophy and 7th at Skate America.

Laurent Alvarez, SUI (D): He is the reigning national silver medalist.

Moris Pfeifhofer, SUI: He finished 12th at the 2008 Junior Worlds.

Stephane Walker, SUI: He finished 30th at the World Junior Championships.

Ali Demirboga, TUR: He finished 45th at Worlds with a personal best short program. 

Anton Kovalevski, UKR (D): Kovalevski finished 24th at the Olympics, 16th at Worlds with a personal best short program score, and 13th at Europeans with personal best free skate and total scores.  He finished 12th at Rostelecom Cup and 8th at Trophee Eric Bompard.

French Figure Skating Championships

Men: 3 spots at Europeans, 2 spots at Worlds

Short Program Results (Top 10):
1. Brian Joubert: 77.21 (38.54 TES +38.67 PCS)
2. Alban Preaubert: 74.53 (38.10 TES +36.43 PCS)
3. Florent Amodio: 67.21 (34.46 TES +34.75 PCS -2.00)
4. Chafik Besseghier: 61.84 (32.84 TES+ 30.00 PCS -1.00)
5. Romain Ponsart: 57.62
6. Thomas Sosniak: 52.40
7. Florian Lejeune: 51.28
8. Simon Hocquax: 50.56
9. Lionel Hertz: 48.99
10. Quentin Lourenco-Aubry: 48.73

Complete Results: http://www.ffsg.org/evenements/documents/elite2010/html/SEG003.HTM

Free Skate Results (Top 4)
1. Florent Amodio: 155.34 (76.00 TES + 79.34 PCS)
2. Brian Joubert: 154.64 (74.30 TES + 80.34 PCS)
3. Chafik Besseghier: 141.10 (72.26 TES + 68.84 PCS)
4. Alban Preaubert: 139.37 (68.21 TES + 72.16 PCS -1.00)

Final Results (Top 4)
1. Brian Joubert: 231.85
2. Florent Amodio: 222.55
3. Alban Preaubert: 213.90
4. Chafik Besseghier: 202.94

Ladies



Final Results (Top 6)
1. Yretha Silete: 142.82
2. Lenaelle Gilleron-Gorry: 141.58
3. Mae-Berenice Meite: 141.22
4. Lena Marrocco: 137.10
5. Anais Ventard: 133.16
6. Candice Didier: 120.53

Complete Results: http://www.ffsg.org/evenements/documents/elite2010/html/SEG002.HTM

Pairs: 2 spots at Euros

Final Results

1. Adeline Canac/Yannick Bonheur: 132.60

2. Melodie Chataigner/Mehdi Bouzzine: 108.44

3. Anne-Laure Letscher/Bruno Masso: 98.70

Complete Results: http://www.ffsg.org/evenements/documents/elite2010/html/SEG006.HTM

Dance:  2 spots at Euros, 2 spots at Worlds

Final Results (Top 3)

1. Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat: 166.44

2. Pernelle Carron/Lloyd Jones: 141.56

3. Zoe Blanc/Pierre-Loup Bouquet: 129.11

Complete Results: http://www.ffsg.org/evenements/documents/elite2010/html/SEG008.HTM

Rostelecom Cup Mens Short Program

Group 1

Ivan Tretiakov, RUS:

• Nice opening triple axel
• Triple triple combination both landed nicely but a pause between jumps
• Clean and controlled on the solo triple
• Nice positions n his combination spin
• Footwork was done mostly on one foot
• Camel spin slows almost to a stop
• Nice low position on the sit spin but could use a little more stretch

36.43TES +29.18 PCS =65.61 into 1st place

Konstantin Menshov, RUS:

• Nice high opening triple axel
• Triple double combination with a lot of height on the opening jump
• Final jump popped into a double
• Nice position in the camel spin but he loses speed
• Footwork sequence really slows down at the end
• Needs to be lower in the sit part of his combination spins but he shows off some nice flexibility in his upright y spin
• Finishing off with a sit spin combination and he nearly slows to a stop 

36.27 TES +31.07 PCS = 67.34 into 1st place

Anton Kovalevski, UKR:

• He is wearing a piano and musical notes
• Opens with a triple axel but he sits down on the landing and falls
• Two foots the landing on his triple-triple combination
• Lands his final triple nicely
• Nice position in the camel spin with 1 change of position
• Lots of arm movements in his footwork sequence and he hits the accents in the music nicely
• Combination spin shows off some flexibility but he could stretch through his working leg more and get a lower position on the sit spins
• Into the final sit spin and he's showing a nice low position here and some nice changes that maintain the speed

31.01 TES + 30.04 PCS -1.00 = 60.05 into 3rd place

Tatsuki Machida, JPN:

• Falls on his opening triple axel, not sure if he was fully rotated
• Nice triple-double but has a bit of an awkward landing on the 2nd jump
• Needs a bit more stretch and flexibility through his camel position
• Good speed through his combination spins but he really needs to stretch through his legs
• He tilts forward and puts a hand down on his flying triple
• Flying sit spin
• Into his footwork sequence and he has a lot of energy and is moving very quickly with a lot of kicks

26.76 TES +30.61 PCS -1.00 = 56.37 into 4th place

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN:

• Low landing and a big ice spray but he holds onto his triple axel
• Nice fast triple-triple combination
• Into his combination spin and he has a really nice sit spin position and he maintains good speed throughout the combination
• This is a really awkwardly slow version of this music
• Lands his final triple
• His footwork doesn't seem to go with this music and doesn't really build
• Flying camel spin into a donut position and the music ends and he keeps spinning and now we have some drumming it sounds like
• Final sit spin was good

37.86 TES +32.38 PCS = 70.24 new seasons best and into 1st place

Javier Fernandez, ESP:

• He's wearing a blue jacket, green shirt and bright pink bow tie
• Low landing on the triple axel but he holds on to it
• Nice triple triple and he holds on to the second landing
• He got no air on that final triple and had to turn out of it but he didnt put the foot down
• His two spins here back to back are very slow but his positions are nice
• And we're turning on the personality for the step sequence.  There are a lot of stops and starts in this step sequence which really breaks up the flow.
• Into the final spin with a really awkward camel position and an awkward entry into the donut

34.07 TES + 32.39 PCS = 66.46 into 3rd place

Group 2

Artur Gachinkski, RUS

• Opening triple double--first jump has a ton of height
• A little forward on the landing of his triple axel but he holds on to it
• A little bobble on the footwork leading into his solo triple but he lands the jump nicely
• Nice sit spin positions here
• He goes into a slower piece of music for his footwork sequence and I'm not sure the choreography goes well with the music
• He needs a lot more flexibility in his donut position in his camel spin
• Final combination spin starts with a really ugly position where his leg is stuck somewhere between bent and straight, he needs more stretch through his bottom leg on the Y spin

39.25 TES + 33.46 PCS = 72.81 new seasons best and into 1st place

Alban Preaubert, FRA

• Plushy is watching in the audience!
• The gloves seem to be a popular choice today for the men
• Nice triple triple combination at the top of the program
• Nice triple axel
• Nice position in his sit spin and great speed throughout the position changes
• Final triple jump was clean
• Nice positions through his combination spin and nice speed
• Not a lot of speed through his footwork and it sounds like his music has been slowed down here.  He also doesn't have a ton of upper body work in his footwork
• The first position in his final spin is really ugly but would be nice if he stretched more through both legs
• Overall a solid program for Preaubert

36.21 TES + 34.29 PCS = 70.50 new seasons best into 2nd place

Samuel Contesti, ITA

• I love when skaters use their entrance to get into the character of the program
• Double-triple combo at the top of the program
• Low landing on his triple axel but he hangs on to it
• A little sideways on his landing of the final triple but he hangs on to it
• Nice positions in the sit spin but he loses a lot of speed
• Into the War of 1812 for his step sequence and he's got some nice choreography here and with this music if he would attack the steps a little more it could be spectacular
• Slow camel spins and could use some more flexibility in his donut spin
• Slow final combination spin and he could use a little more stretch through his free leg
• That is some mustache on his male coach

31.12 TES + 34.57 PCS = 65.69 new seasons best and into 6th place

Tomas Verner, CZE

• I love that he holds on to his invisible prop through the beginning of his program
• Nice triple triple combination
• Nice triple axel but no flow out of his landing
• Final triple clean
• Nice camel spin position but no speed and no change of position
• Footwork sequence in the biggest part of the music  and well choreographed
• Nice combination spin
• Final sit spin with a nice low position and good speed
• A really nice program for Verner and put together very well

36.95 TES + 37.15 PCS = 74.10 new seasons best and into 1st place

Jeremy Abbott, USA

• I love the attack Jeremy has at the top of his program with the choreography
• Opening combo a triple double?
• Nice triple axel with a great landing
• Great sit spin position but he lost some speed in the 3rd position
• Final triple was clean and the flow in and out of it was good
• Upright spin had so speed to it but it came out of nowhere which was nice
• Lots of Spanish arms in this footwork sequence and his whole body is involved but there wasn't much one footed work
• Great speed through his combination spin and he struggles to control it into his ending pose
• Not my favorite short program from Abbott but I like that he pushed himself to try something different and all of the elements were solid

39.07 TES + 38.54 PCS = 77.61 new seasons best into 1st place

Patrick Chan, CAN

• Hoping Patrick can stay on his feet and if he does his score should be huge.
• Nice quad triple to start the program and he gets a ton of height
• Fall on his triple axel
• Great camel posiion into a sit spin with a lot of speed and great control coming out of the scratch spin
• Great landing on the final triple and nice flow into his next element
• Great sit spin position and nice speed
• Final spin is a camel with his arms behind his back
• Lots of one foot work in his step sequence and he does a nice job of hitting the accents in the music
• Definitely a better outing than Skate Canada

42.54 TES + 40.42 PCS -1.00 = 81.96 new seasons best into 1st place

Top Three:
1. Patrick Chan
2. Jeremy Abbott
3. Tomas Verner

Top TES: Patrick Chan
Top PCS: Patrick Chan

Rostelecom Cup Mens Preview

Patrick Chan should have no problem winning gold here and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.  The only question is if his scores will be as high without home field advantage.  With this field, he can likely make a few mistakes and still wind up on top the podium.  Jeremy Abbott should also find himself on the podium again if he can continue to skate clean programs.  Tomas Verner was on the podium earlier this season and that should give him the confidence to continue his comeback after his disastrous season last year.  Alban Preaubert, Samuel Contesti and Javier Fernandez also have the goods to medal.  Also look out for Hanyu and Machida, both young Japanese skaters who are looking for a chance to prove themselves internationally to stand out from a deep field at home.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Patrick Chan
Silver: Jeremy Abbott
Bronze: Tomas Verner

My USFSA Fantasy Team is:
A) Patrick Chan
B) Alban Preaubert
C) Anton Kovalevski

Information on all of the skaters is below.
Patrick Chan, CAN: Chan finished 5th at the Olympics and won silver at worlds.  He is the 2009 Four Continents Champion and World Silver Medalist.  He is the 2007 World Junior Silver Medalist.  He placed 6th at his lone assignment last season at Skate Canada.  He started his season with a gold medal win at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate score.

Tomas Verner, CZE: Verner placed 10th at Europeans and finished 19th at the Olympics.  He was the silver medalist at Europeans in 2007 and won the title in 2008.  Last season on the Grand Prix, he finished 5th at Skate America, 2nd at Trophee Eric Bompard and 6th at the Grand Prix Final.  He won bronze earlier this season at Cup of China.

Alban Preaubert, FRA: Preaubert finished 7th at Europeans with a personal best short program score.  He placed 7th at his first Grand Prix in Paris last season before winning bronze at Skate Canada.  He started his season with a 6th place finish at Skate Canada.

Samuel Contesti, ITA: Contesti placed 7th at Worlds with personal best scores in the Short and Free programs.  He also placed 18th at the Olympics and 5th at Europeans.  He won a silver at Europeans in 2009.  His 2009 Grand Prix Season included a 4th place finish at Cup of China and 5th at Skate Canada.  He finished 6th earlier this season at Cup of China. 

Yuzuru Hanyu, JPN: Hanyu is the reigning World Junior Champion.  He won both his Junior Grand Prix assignments and the Junior Grand Prix Final last season.  He started his season with a 4th place finish at NHK Trophy with personal best scores across the board.

Tatsuki Machida, JPN: Machida finished 2nd at last year's Four Continents with personal best scores in the Short and Free.  He finished 5th at his Grand Prix debut in China.   

Artur Gachinski, RUS: Gachinski is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  He won gold and silver at his Junior Grand Prix assignments last year and placed 6th at the Junior Grand Prix Final.  He finished 7th at his Grand Prix debut Skate Canada with personal best scores across the board.

Konstantin Menshov, RUS: Menshov is making his Grand Prix debut at this event.

Ivan Tretiakov, RUS: Tetiakov finished 10th at Rostelecom Cup last season with personal bests across the board.

Javier Fernandez, ESP: Fernandez finished 14th at the Olympics, 12th at Worlds with personal best short and total scores, and 8th at Europeans.  He finished 11th in Paris last season.  He started the season with a 5th place finish at Skate Canada with a personal best free skate score.

Anton Kovalevski, UKR: Kovalevski finished 24th at the Olympics, 16th at Worlds with a personal best short program score, and 13th at Europeans with personal best free skate and total scores. 

Jeremy Abbott, USA: Abbott finished 9th at the Olympics and 5th at Worlds.  He is the 2007 Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  Last season he placed 5th at NHK Trophy and won Skate Canada to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he placed 4th.  He won silver at his first event in Japan this season.