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| European Championships 2003 Ladies Qualifying - Group A |
| Before you read: The skaters are listed in the order they finished. x/x is a jump combination, x...x is a jump sequence. 2.5jump means that skater landed forwards on two feet, being half of rotation short. I had difficulty with spotting sideways leaning spins since everything looked like a layback to me so in some cases where you will see layback, it can be a mistake and the skater could have actually performed a sideways leaning spin. Furthermore, I sometimes wasn't quick enough with writing down all the positions skater did in the combination spin. |
| 1. Elena Sokolova /RUS/ Notre Dame de Paris (soundtrack) by Richard Cocciante 3lutz/3toe, 3lip, 3salchow (forward), flying camel, 3loop, layback/upright, 3lutz, interesting spiral sequence, fast combination spin ended with a catchfoot (slowed down at the end), 3toe, 2axel from spiral entry, flying camel jump to fast upright spin I think that "WOW!" describes it best. Jumpwise this performance could easily win Worlds, Olympics or anything else. Furthermore, considering that there was lots of good choreography and that the elements weren't all entered from plain stroking (as these of most ladies), this was just a spectacular performance. However she mostly had upper-body choreography and could have had more linking steps. Putting jumps aside, the rest of Sokolova's technique wasn't very good. Spins were decent and could be much better. Her basic skating quality is not very good, which seems strange, considering that she is from the Russian school. The edges are quite poor, scratchy and certainly need a lot of work in order to match her outstanding jumping ability. /beautiful red&black see-through dress/ Tech: 5.5-5.8 / Pres: 5.5-5.8 2. Irina Slutksaya /RUS/ La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi 3loop (wobbly), 2flutz, 3salchow, flying camel, 3flutz(step out)/step/2salchow, 3flip, 2axel, layback/biellmann, nice spiral sequence with good extensions, layback spin, 3toe, camel/sit/layback/biellmann/2nd foot biellmann/scratch Considering Irina’s recent international appearances, this was a very good skate. However she still is nowhere near her last season’s form. The jumps didn’t look very secure and she wasn’t able to land the triple (f)lutz. Her skating quality is very good, however this program isn't. It just doesn't look competition ready. In my opinion she regressed to 97/98 season, as far as construction of her routines is concerned. There wasn’t much choreography or linking elements. But even though the jump content was weak, especially for this stronger group, the second place was well deserved on the strength of her great spiral sequence, spins and very good basic skating quality. /ugly dress which mostly was body colour fabric with some loose pink&yellow material/ Tech: 5.3-5.7 / Pres: 5.4-5.9 3. Carolina Kostner /ITA/ Papa, Can You Hear Me? (soundtrack Yentl) by Bergman; Far and Away by Itzhak Perlman - Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Schindlers List (soundtrack) by John Williams 3loop (off axis), 3lutz/3toe, layback spin, 3flip/3toe, very poor spiral sequence, 2axel/half-loop/3salchow (hand down), deathdrop, 3salchow, lots of steps, camel/sit/camel/helicopter/cross-foot, scratch spin Although jumpwise that performance was absolutely amazing, young Carolina is still a very immature skater. Her lines, posture and carriage were very bad and there was no interpretation of the music chosen. On the other hand you can’t say that her program is poorly constructed in a “jump, wander, jump” manner. There were some very good linking steps and she even did some twizzles! However the spiral sequence was one of the poorest in the field. Well she still has a lot to work on but if she manages to improve her skating, keeping the current jump content, she should be a medal contender during the next Olympics which will take place in her home country. /gold dress/ Tech: 5.3-5.7 / Pres: 4.9-5.5 4. Julia Sebestyen /HUN/ Music by Raul di Blasio 2loop, 3lutz, 3flip…3toe, 2axel (hung on), camel spin, 2lutz, 1.5 loop, layback spin, nice spiral sequence, 3toe/turn/2toe, combination spin beginning with camel and finished off with biellmann, upright spin As always Julia’s jumps were gigantic. She won the Top Jump competition earlier this season, and in my opinion she currently has the best jumping quality in ladies figure skating. But more importantly her second mark improved tremendously. This program was choreographed by Nikolai Morozov and it was very nicely constructed. Suddenly her skating became very mature. There was much more choreography than we used to see from her in the past. Presentation-wise, I think that she is the most improved skater this season. Of course her spins could be better and there is still much room in the second mark but the progress is being made. /blue glittering dress/ Tech: 4.8-5.5 / Pres: 4.8-5.5 5. Alisa Drei /FIN/ Adagio by Tomas Albinioni 3lutz, 3toe/2toe, 3loop, nice spin, cross-foot spin, 2axel(two-footed)/half-loop/2salchow, down on 3flip, flying camel, nice spiral sequence with good extensions, 3salchow, 2axel, combination spin finished with biellmann After watching Alisa nail every single jump, without any problems, in practice, this was a shock for us. Things started to go wrong in the warm-up already, and as Drei later admitted, nerves must have gotten the best of her. I can assure you that she does have the ability. Unfortunately in her case if jumps go wrong, there isn’t a lot to hold her up. This program contains very little choreography, in fact almost none at all (apart from her trademark "hands tied behind her back" move :p). Her skating quality is good, spins were ok but the jumps themselves, even if clean, are not of a very high quality since they lack height. Considering all those things, a couple mistakes made, and she’s dead and buried, which was exactly the case here. Warm-up: not very good /simple brown dress with a little glitter and a see-through skirt/ Tech: 5.0-5.2 / Pres: 5.0-5.2 6. Galina Maniachenko /UKR/ Madame Claude II (soundtrack) by Francis Lai 3loop, 3lutz/2toe, 3salchow (overrotated it and stepped out), 2flip, 2axel (just held on toe-pick), flying camel/upright spin, 3toe, var upright/upright, fast on spiral sequence, 2flip, she fell in the middle of straight line step sequence which was all on one foot, 2axel(step out)/turns/2toe, camel spin, layback spin, sit var/catchfoot, layback spin It is a shame that Galina is so inconsistent because she has a very good skating quality. Clean edges, difficult footwork done on one foot, good spins, and most importantly, well choreographed programs which contain much more steps and linking elements than most of the other ladies. All of this makes her stand out from the crowd. But here she had a very bad skate and in fact should definitely have lost with Poykio. Maniachenko fell on her only step sequence in the program which warrants a 0.2 deduction. /golden dress looking like chain mail, with some loose material attached to arms and a yellow and black skirt/ Tech: 4.6-5.3 / Pres: 4.7-5.5 7. Susanna Poykio /FIN/ Spellbound Concerto by Miklos Rosza 2axel, 2lutz/2toe, 3toe/3toe(double-footed), flying camel/cross-foot, 3flip, 3salchow, great layback spin, nice spiral sequence, 2loop, serpentine step sequence, deathdrop, popped lutz, camel/sit/layback/change sit/Y I do belong to the people spellbound by her, simply lovely, fluid and graceful skating. She posessed that “Kwan factor” and is a joy to watch. I wouldn't go too far with the praise thought, since it is not perfect and still she could be much lighter. Nevertheless her basic skating quality was definitely outstanding. Furthermore the program was choreographed in a way which emphasised it. There was no posing and flailing arms around. Instead there were very gentle touches, simple but effective moves, good lines and lots of gliding. Just as her practice sessions, this performance was hit&miss and, as Poykio and Kettunen are not consistent at all, it seems that Drei will easily become the highest ranked Finn here, which probably nobody would have predicted before the season started. Warm-up: 2axel /an ugly red dress with a white glittery stripe on top/ Tech: 4.6-5.1 / Pres: 4.8-5.4 8. Lucie Krausova /CZE/ My Fair Lady by Frederic Loewe 3flutz, 3flip (could be two-footed), 3toe, 2axel(step out)…2salchow, slow sit combination spin finished with Y, layback spin, 1loop, spiral sequence, flying camel, 3lutz(just)…2toe, straight line step sequence, 3salchow (hung on), 3toe This was a good skate for Krausova and I was happy that she was able to stand up to the level of her practices. Unfortunately her second triple toeloop does not count since it wasn’t done in combination. She had good speed, however there was absolutely no choreography or linking steps in this program, therefore I believe that judges should have marked her down on presentation. That’s a shame because her skating quality is pretty decent but maybe she wouldn’t be able to execute her jumps correctly if she had to do more content between them. To be honest I think that it probably was due to a bad choreographer, which is so often the case in countries like Czech Republic or Poland, which lack in people able to construct good routines. /red dress with a mango outline – gross!/ Tech: 4.4-4.9 / Pres: 4.5-5.2 9. Vanessa Giunchi /ITA/ Concerto for Piano and Violin by Franck inverted camel spin, 3salchow, 3loop?, 2flip, flying camel to inverted camel, 3lutz (underrotated and two-footed), 3toe(forward)/turn/2toe, layback spin, camel/sit/sideways/change sit/Y, 2salchow, 1axel, good spiral sequence She has a lovely fluid skating which flows over the ice surface. Unfortunately neither her programs nor her technique progressed since her most successful 99/00 season. I think that she should change her coach as soon as possible since he doesn’t seem to be able to get her anywhere. Her jump technique actually seems to have regressed. She used to be ultra consistent with toe-loop and salchow and now she even has problems with them. Flip is still not there and all lutz attempts are sentenced to fail since her technique on them is just completely wrong. This program could use a little more choreography to emphasise her advantages. Vanessa is a skater with a good basic skating quality, nice spins and she has that X-factor. Had she been training with a good coach, I believe she would get somewhere, especially that she is completely dedicated to the sport, being a full-time athlete. /white dress with some glitter, white glitter hairband and bracelets/ Tech: 4.0-4.7 / Pres: 4.0-5.3 10. Mojca Kopac /SLO/ Quidam from Cirque du Soleil 3loop, 3lutz which was completely off axis in the air (hand down), 2toe, shortly after 3toe, flying camel and she fell coming out from that spin, 1axel, 2salchow, layback spin, circular step sequence, 2axel, sit/front attitude, 2salchow, sit/sideways/change sit/front attitude After that silly fall coming out of the camel spin, she completely lost her concentration and her program fell into pieces. She even resigned from attempting that spin again at the end of the program. Her final combination spin should begin with a camel position. Her position in the air on the lutz was so bad that I gasped, being sure that she will come falling down onto the boards. I don’t know how she managed to get away with a hand down only. Skating gods must have been watching over her. This program contained some nice Uschi Keszler’s choreography but unfortunately only in places. And after that infamous fall on the spin, she just clutched her hands down and skated around with a resigned look on her face. /disgusting oriental gold dress with some black decoration looking like made from aluminium foil/ Tech: 4.0-4.5 / Pres: 4.1-4.7 11. Anette Dytrt /GER/ Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber 2lutz, 3lip (fall), 3toe, flying camel, layback spin, spiral sequence, 2salchow, 3lip (step out), 2axel, 3toe (foot down), deathdrop into upright spin, circular step sequence, camel/layback/sit/front attitude Just like Krausova, Dytrt has no choreography and linking elements at all in her program. However her skating quality was really good and she was very soft in the knee. Nevertheless considering that she has only landed a triple toe-loop, eleventh place seemed to be very generous. Had it been up to me, she would be no higher than fourteenth. I think that Dytrt is a very talented skater. She was able to land all her triple jumps in practice. But she needs to get more consistent and have better constructed routines. It’s her first big international event so that can explain the nerves. /lovely see-through ivory dress with some gold glitter/ Tech: 3.7-4.4 / Pres: 4.3-4.8 12. Kimena Brog Meier /SUI/ Dolphins by Marcel Barsotti 3toe, shortly after 3salchow, 2lutz, popped flip to single, camel/sit/camel/catchfoot, 3loop (step out), sideways leaning spin, 2axel (foot down), sit/change sit, appalling straight line step sequence, 3salchow/2toe, spiral sequence (she didn’t hold the positions for long), deathdrop Kimena was probably my biggest disappointment in Malmo. “The Swiss second big thing” turned out to be a very poor skater. Her choreography and presentation were very junior. Her spins, spirals and basic skating quality were poor. Most of the Chinese junior men probably have better step sequences. The only good thing I can say about her skating is her jump quality. The jumps she landed were good but well she hasn’t managed to land a lot. In all respects, Brog-Meier is still a very junior skater. /”froggy” neon lime dress, HORRIBLE!/ Tech: 4.1-4.5 / Pres: 4.1-4.5 13. Sara Falotico /BEL/ Journey Of Man from Cirque du Soleil 2.5 flutz, 3salchow/2toe, camel/?/upright, 3toe (just), 2axel (forwards and two-footed), sit/catchfoot, 3lip (underrotated and two-footed), spiral sequence ok, charlotte into layback spin, 3toe/2toe, 3salchow (underrotated, two-footed and stepped out of it), circular step sequence, camel/catchfoot/change sit/Y/sideways After watching her poor practice sessions, this performance just enchanted me. The choreography was great and the program was very well constructed. I wasn’t expecting that from her at all. The lutz attempt was as hopeless as in practice and I would be happier if she sticked to easier jumps but landed them consistently (as Kierkgaard used to do). What made Sarah stand out from the crowd was her content in between her jumps, which was superior to most competitors around her. I think that it was the shame that judges failed to notice it. /navy blue dress with some “diamonds” on the outline/ Tech: 4.0-4.4 / Pres: 4.0-4.5 14. Hristina Vassileva /BUL/ Music by Gypsy Kings, Santana, “Objection (Tango)” by Shakira 3lutz (double-footed), 1flip, camel/sit/sideways/change sit, spiral sequence (doesn’t hold positions for long), 3lip, sideways leaning spin, poor straight line step sequence with a stumble, flying camel, 3salchow (just with a turnout), 1axel, 3toe, barely held deathdrop She just started to work with Rafael Arutunian but we still have to wait for the effects. All her basic skating skills are even worse than Brog-Meier’s going down to the edges and basic posture. Choreography wasn’t good and the program just looked very messy. Spirals were poor and stumbles on a step sequence and flying spin didn’t help with the overall impression. Nevertheless this skate was still so much better than her practice sessions where everything was double-footed and short of rotation. /disgusting violet & silver dress with a black veil/ Tech: 4.0-4.5 / Pres: 3.9-4.6 15. Karen Venhuizen /NED/ Fire and Ice (soundtrack) by various composers East of Eden (soundtrack) by Leonard Rosenman /violet dress with white stripe on top – ugly/ Tech: 3.8-4.2 / Pres: 4.0-4.5 16. Gintare Vostrecovaite /LTU/ Moulin Rouge (soundtrack) by Jose Feliciano /pink and violet dress/ Tech: 3.4-4.0 / Pres: 3.8-4.5 17. Georgina Papavasiliou /GRE/ To Zucchabar from Gladiator soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard; Night Action by John Williams; The Feeling Begins by Peter Gabriel /red baroque dress with some gold decorations/ Tech: / Pres: 3.8-4.4 |