Sunday, January 24, 2010

2010 European Championships After Thoughts

Now that the Euros are over, let’s do a bit of recap of what happened. First a mention: I’ve watched the competitions either online or on TV, so maybe my impressions might have been different if watched in the arena, I don’t know.

Men

Evgeni PLUSHENKO – He has all my respect for being able to return in such a good shape after four years of retirement. This being said, he didn’t bring anything new compared to his old programs, the same Edvin Marton music, the same costumes (hasn’t anyone told him that tight fitting clothes don’t do him any favor? They make him look like a cricket!), the same moves put together in random patterns. I don’t mind his off ice attitude since I don’t have to live with him, but this whole “who am I? look at me, I’m skating!” routine on ice really bothers me. A program, especially the long one, has to tell a story and his had none.

Stephane LAMBIEL – Now this is what I call choreography! Lambiel’s Traviata had the best choreography in the entire competition, too bad the execution was flawed with errors all through it. Such a program, performed well, plus a good SP and all the jumps of course, could bring him a gold medal at the Olys next month, and if that is the case I wouldn’t mind that.

Brian JOUBERT – There’s no secret the was my favorite, up until I discovered that for the LP he was using the music from Yagudin’s Overcome (my mistake for not bothering to look up anyone’s programs online since the TV channels I receive here haven’t aired any skating competition this season up until now). Really, what was he thinking? I’ll never understand why people insist using pieces of music already used and made famous by someone else. Aside from that, the program looked a bit empty, so we’re getting back to the main issue here, choreography. Come to think of it, I haven’t really liked any of his programs much since Time and Matrix. The thing is, he can sell them if he’s having a good day, even if the program isn’t great, otherwise… not so much.

Michal BREZINA – someone to forward to in the future.

Samuel CONTESTI – he’s getting closer and closer to become my new favorite. His LP, though not as entertaining as the cowboy routine from last season, was still my favorite from the entire competition. I wished he had finished on the podium.

Yannick PONSERO – kinda boring but not a pain to watch.

Alban PREAUBERT – never liked him and I still don’t.

Javier FERNANDEZ – I liked him, though I’ve seen better Pirates of the Caribbean choreographies.

Stefan LINDEMANN – it was nice to see him again, wished he’d done even better.

Tomas VERNER – What can I say? He wasn’t there at all. I miss the time when he was fighting with Joubert for the gold at the Euros a few years ago.

Kevin VAN DER PERREN – didn’t like the costumes and the programs much either. He needs something more inventive and I know he can be.

Kristoffer BERNTSSON – He usually delivers fun modern SPs, but I still have to see him perform a clean LP.

Zoltan KELEMEN – I have to mention him because he’s been trying for years to qualify for the LP and now he finally succeeded. Unfortunately his LP had as much choreography as a dead duck. He really needs to work on that!

Did I say I miss Yagudin? Well, I do. Badly.


Ice Dance

Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN – way below expectations, and their LP and costumes came so close to be down right boring. They won’t get any gold at the Olys with this one.

Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI – when they stepped on the ice in those costumes my initial reaction was “oh, man, this is going to be boring”, but as the program unfolded I was caught up by it and ended up really liking it. They should have been the winners. I mean, there should be a rule saying that if you won the OD and FD then you’re the overall winner, it’s just stupid otherwise.

Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI – I loved their FD costumes, well, mostly hers, and that FD needs a tiny little extra work to be great.

Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT – Hmm, I wasn’t convinced by their FD, though I really liked their OD.

Sinead KERR / John KERR – Loved them all as usual, wished they had placed higher.

Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE – they used to be so sweet and cute, but good God, what was with her costume and hairdo in the FD? And how many times do we have to listen to Requiem for a Dream soundtrack?

Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN – so-so, but I discovered that someone can look good in knee length tights on the ice.

Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES – I loved their OD, and they seem to have many chances in the future.

Pairs

Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV – their waltz was nice, not sure they would have won if the Germans hadn’t made mistakes.

Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY – I hope they’ll do better at the Olys, it would be nice to see them on the podium.

Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV – still can’t stand her and he looked better with lighter hair. Dunno what to say, they still have some time left to improve.

Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV – now here’s a pair that is running out of time and it’s a shame ‘cause she’s really good and it’s amazing how much she progressed since the short dark hair phase.

Ladies

Carolina KOSTNER – nothing special, just her usual gracious, sort of, skating. All the ladies in the last group fell and that was kinda disappointing.

Laura LEPISTÖ – several mistakes, nice but not as nice as last year when she won the gold.

Elene GEDEVANISHVILI – I was really happy to see her on the podium, though the first part of her LP looked a little rushed and full of unfinished moves.

Kiira KORPI – obviously being beautiful is not enough in this sport. This time she got close, maybe next year…

Sarah MEIER – nice, but not enough. Too bad.

Julia SEBESTYEN – it was good to see her perform well once again.

Alena LEONOVA – I like her style though not necessarily her choice of LP. She’ll do better next time, I’m sure.

Gala

If national television is good for one thing then that would be for airing the gala, and part of the competition, live. I dread to think about what will happen in February when the Olympics take place in Vancouver.

Anyway, the gala opened with an elaborated number performed by young skaters. It became clear that the camera work was pretty bad from the beginning and that didn’t change right until the end.

Impressions in the ranking, and not show, order because copy & paste is easier than remembering the Russian spelling:

Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV – nice Gary Moore blues but horrible neon yellow dress color (Dad called it “Chinese poison”, dunno why).
Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY – the old Leningrad program from last season, beautiful but I was hoping for something new.
Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV – they skated to a Mireille Mathieu & Charles Aznavour song and the program consisted mainly in one standing by the boards while the other one was skating, which I didn’t like. And it was strange because he showed more emotions than her, when it’s usually the other way around when it comes to pairs. I must say it again, she looks odd as blonde and he looks odd with such dark hair too.
Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV – it’s funny how I used to dislike them so much and now I come to like them. It’s either because the improved so much or the hair dye. I think it’s the first one.
Carolina KOSTNER – we agreed here that her white pajamas/underpants were disgusting and didn’t do her any favor. The program would have probably looked better with a dress of some kind but the way it was I couldn’t focus on it at all.
Laura LEPISTÖ – nice Zorro program, though the scarves would have looked better in a different color.
Elene GEDEVANISHVILI – funny Marilyn number, loved the dress, and she’s got what it takes to portray her… and I don’t mean the chest!
Kiira KORPI – the sexy police outfit didn’t save her, this really wasn’t her day.
Sarah MEIER – the sexy dynamic number was a nice surprise since I was more used to see lyrical programs coming from her part.
Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN – the Matrix program from last season, but I didn’t mind watching it again at all. Oksana had several hesitations in the beginning, wonder why was that.
Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI – fully black costumes put me off so I can’t say much about them, gracious but rather boring for me.
Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI – since I like them I hadn’t imagined they could come up with an exhibition number that I wouldn’t like. Still they did, their program said nothing to me and I hated their costumes. Even Eagles’ Hotel California couldn’t save them.
Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT – funny and flirty and they do that well. I seem to like them more in the exhibition than in the actual competition.
Sinead KERR / John KERR – they obviously are big Muse fans since they used one of their songs for their FD last season and now they’re using another one for their exhibition. Since I like them so much I’ll forgive them for the fully black costumes.
Evgeni PLUSHENKO – I liked him a bit more than in competition, he looked slightly more expressive here. Same observations about the costume, but well, I guess he’ll never change.
Stephane LAMBIEL – I was curious to see this program because I’ve heard so many people talking about it. I wasn’t disappointed, it’s a good one, though a bit different than the usual stuff.
Brian JOUBERT – this is what works best for him, full of power and energy. Too bad no one can keep up with doing this for the whole 4+ mins of a LP.
Michal BREZINA – there’s definitely something there, now I’m really looking forward to see him again, maybe not this season but the next one.
Samuel CONTESTI – I so loved to see the cowboy number! Digressing a bit, after the story about that guy investigated by the police because of the things he’d posted on Twitter, it made me wonder how long it would take until someone showed up at his door to ask about him miming throwing off a bomb on the ice. *knocks on wood*

It’s been a long exhausting week, but the Euros are over now. I watched part of the competition online on a Swedish live feed, and part on Romanian television. Eurosport’s schedule was highly disappointing, it showed less than half and most of it at inhuman hours, so instead of listening to Yvonne Ghita’s stupidities, I preferred Alina Alexoi’s who has a slightly less annoying voice.

See you at the Olympics in three weeks!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

2010 European Figure Skating Championships

2010 European Figure Skating Championships
19th-24th January
Tallinn, Estonia

Official Website

Results



Men

FPl.NameNationPointsSPFS
1Evgeni PLUSHENKO

RUS
255.3911
2Stephane LAMBIEL

SUI
238.5452
3Brian JOUBERT

FRA
236.4523
4Michal BREZINA

CZE
224.7445
5Samuel CONTESTI

ITA
221.3374
6Yannick PONSERO

FRA
219.5237
7Alban PREAUBERT

FRA
207.6169
8Javier FERNANDEZ

ESP
204.83136
9Stefan LINDEMANN

GER
203.9598
10Tomas VERNER

CZE
203.18810
11Kevin VAN DER PERREN

BEL
195.481111
12Adrian SCHULTHEISS

SWE
188.791213
13Anton KOVALEVSKI

UKR
186.841414
14Sergei VORONOV

RUS
185.381712
15Kristoffer BERNTSSON

SWE
183.101017
16Paolo BACCHINI

ITA
181.421615
17Viktor PFEIFER

AUT
178.411516
18Gregor URBAS

SLO
163.842018
19Zoltan KELEMEN

ROU
161.101820
20Jorik HENDRICKX

BEL
161.061919
21Maciej CIEPLUCHA

POL
FNR21
22Ari-Pekka NURMENKARI

FIN
FNR22
23Karel ZELENKA

ITA
FNR23
24Peter REITMAYER

SVK
FNR24
25Maxim SHIPOV

ISR
FNR25
26Boris MARTINEC

CRO
FNR26
27Matthew PARR

GBR
FNR27
28Damjan OSTOJIC

BIH
FNR28
29Viktor ROMANENKOV

EST
FNR29
30Alexandr KAZAKOV

BLR
FNR30
31Kutay ERYOLDAS

TUR
FNR31
32Boyito MULDER

NED
FNR32
33Marton MARKO

HUN
FNR33
34Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS

LTU
FNR34
35Girts JEKABSONS

LAT
FNR35
36Georgi KENCHADZE

BUL
FNR36
37Pierre BALIAN

ARM
FNR37
WDJoffrey BOURDON

MNE




Ladies

FPl.NameNationPointsSPFS
1Carolina KOSTNER

ITA
173.4611
2Laura LEPISTÖ

FIN
166.3733
3Elene GEDEVANISHVILI

GEO
164.5442
4Kiira KORPI

FIN
163.6825
5Sarah MEIER

SUI
157.4484
6Julia SEBESTYEN

HUN
156.7766
7Alena LEONOVA

RUS
153.5757
8Valentina MARCHEI

ITA
149.4678
9Ksenia MAKAROVA

RUS
146.8599
10Elena GLEBOVA

EST
138.931310
11Viktoria HELGESSON

SWE
137.101212
12Tugba KARADEMIR

TUR
136.421013
13Oksana GOZEVA

RUS
135.391411
14Jenna MCCORKELL

GBR
128.061117
15Ivana REITMAYEROVA

SVK
125.311514
16Sarah HECKEN

GER
121.791616
17Sonia LAFUENTE

ESP
121.151715
18Natalia POPOVA

UKR
113.352018
19Teodora POSTIC

SLO
113.351919
20Tamar KATZ

ISR
FNR21
21Katsiarina PAKHAMOVICH

BLR
FNR22
22Karly ROBERTSON

GBR
FNR23
23Shira WILLNER

GER
FNR24
24Miriam ZIEGLER

AUT
FNR25
25Mirna LIBRIC

CRO
FNR26
26Martina BOCEK

CZE
FNR27
27Manouk GIJSMAN

NED
FNR28
28Erle HARSTAD

NOR
FNR29
29Birce ATABEY

TUR
FNR30
30Katherine HADFORD

HUN
FNR31
31Karina JOHNSON

DEN
FNR32
32Isabelle PIEMAN

BEL
FNR33
33Fleur MAXWELL

LUX
FNR34
34Beatrice ROZINSKAITE

LTU
FNR35
35Clara PETERS

IRL
FNR36
36Sabina PAQUIER

ROU
FNR37
37Marina SEEH

SRB
FNR38
38Zanna PUGACA

LAT
FNR39
39Sonia RADEVA

BUL
FNR40
40Maria PAPASOTIRIOU

GRE
FNR41
WDJoelle FORTE

AZE



WDSusanna PÖYKIÖ

FIN

18


Pairs

FPl.NameNationPointsSPFS
1Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV

RUS
213.1521
2Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY

GER
211.7212
3Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV

RUS
202.0333
4Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Stanislav MOROZOV

UKR
187.8344
5Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV

RUS
159.8456
6Nicole DELLA MONICA / Yannick KOCON

ITA
156.8065
7Vanessa JAMES / Yannick BONHEUR

FRA
151.2877
8Anais MORAND / Antoine DORSAZ

SUI
144.95118
9Maylin HAUSCH / Daniel WENDE

GER
142.7699
10Adeline CANAC / Maximin COIA

FRA
139.73811
11Stacey KEMP / David KING

GBR
137.291310
12Erica RISSEEUW / Robert PAXTON

GBR
130.091412
13Maria SERGEJEVA / Ilja GLEBOV

EST
129.461213
14Joanna SULEJ / Mateusz CHRUSCINSKI

POL
124.791015
15Jessica CRENSHAW / Chad TSAGRIS

GRE
115.591614
16Nina IVANOVA / Filip ZALEVSKI

BUL
106.311516
17Lubov BAKIROVA / Mikalai KAMIANCHUK

BLR
FNR17
18Danielle MONTALBANO / Evgeni KRASNOPOLSKI

ISR
FNR18
19Gabriela CERMANOVA / Martin HANULAK

SVK
FNR19
20Victoria HECHT / Christopher TREFIL

HUN
FNR20
WDMarika ZANFORLIN / Federico DEGLI ESPOSTI

ITA





Ice Dance

FPl.NameNationPointsCDODFD
1Oksana DOMNINA / Maxim SHABALIN

RUS
199.25122
2Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI

ITA
195.86311
3Jana KHOKHLOVA / Sergei NOVITSKI

RUS
189.67243
4Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT

FRA
188.51534
5Sinead KERR / John KERR

GBR
184.05455
6Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE

ITA
176.10696
7Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY

ISR
174.91769
8Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO

UKR
171.28978
9Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV

RUS
171.26887
10Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN

HUN
163.21111110
11Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV

UKR
162.82101012
12Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES

FRA
159.52121211
13Caitlin MALLORY / Kristjan RAND

EST
155.93151513
14Zoe BLANC / Pierre-Loup BOUQUET

FRA
147.56171314
15Christina BEIER / William BEIER

GER
147.36131416
16Penny COOMES / Nicholas BUCKLAND

GBR
145.91161615
17Kira GEIL / Dmitri MATSJUK

AUT
FNR1419
18Kamila HAJKOVA / David VINCOUR

CZE
FNR1817
19Allison REED / Otar JAPARIDZE

GEO
FNR2218
20Nikola VISNOVA / Lukas CSOLLEY

SVK
FNR2120
21Katelyn GOOD / Nikolaj SORENSEN

DEN
FNR2021
22Federica TESTA / Christopher MIOR

ITA
FNR1924
23Nikki GEORGIADIS / Graham HOCKLEY

GRE
FNR2423
24Oksana KLIMOVA / Sasha PALOMÄKI

FIN
FNR2522
25Ramona ELSENER / Florian ROOST

SUI
FNR2325
26Lesia VALADZENKAVA / Vitali VAKUNOV

BLR
FNR2626
WDVirginiya HOPTMAN / Pavel FILCHENKOV

AZE