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| World Championships 2004 Pairs - Short Program |
| Below you can find my review of the pairs short. I tried to pay attention to each element, highlight usually overlooked mistakes, and also say at least a little bit about the program. The placement in brackets, after the names, is the actual placement given by the judges on the panel. The pairs are ordered in the way I would place them myself. |
| 1. Tatiana Totmianina/Maxim Marinin /RUS/ (1) serpentine step sequence nice throw 3loop gorgeous (but usual issue of not a lot of height) 3toes very good 2twist quite low and could have been slightly double-footed 4 lift to one hand, which continued on dismount, very difficult! bods average sbs camel/?/c camel/back attitude pair spin Very good quality of skating and on most of the elements but this program lacks choreography. 2. Maria Petrova/Alexei Tikhonov /RUS/ (2) 3toes he was over the toe on the landing 2twist ok throw 3loop great sbs camel/sit/upright/c sit pair spin 4 lift very difficult with lots of changes of position, could have been double-footed though slss ok bods great position This is a very good program and these words come from the person who used to despise them and always found their programs to be the best insomnia cure available. This season they managed to come up with two very interesting programs. Nice choreography, very well skated, and as always theyve shown absolutely gorgeous skating quality. 3. Dorota Zagorska/Mariusz Siudek /POL/ (5) throw 3loop ok 3toes ok, she was deep down in the knee on landing sbs camel/sit one of the easiest spin combinations pair spin ok 4 lift amazing, roll-up entry and tons of position changes bods poor position diagonal step sequence good, in a closed hold 2twist good, with hands above the head This was probably the best Ive seen them skate. Ever. Every single element, apart from BODS, where the position was not good, was performed at least well. Alongside Totmianina/Marinin, they had the most difficult lift. The lack of balletic preparation and in their basic skating quality is still there but its somehow less evident now, since the choreography and overall presentation has improved. This is a much more mature program than you are used to see from these two. Finally they fixed the issues, like lack of synch on the entry to 3toes, and started paying attention to detail. Also this was a balanced program, unlike most. I will not scream that they were robbed although I do feel that they were a little hard done by. I am Polish, I like them, Ive met them. They are very nice people. I know that I cannot be entirely objective. But they did improve tremendously since last season and skated very well here, while Shen/Zhao made two mistakes. I know that the Chinese are a superior pair in theory. However I think that on this particular night, they werent. 4. Anabelle Langlois/Patrice Archetto /CAN/ (8) throw 3salchow very nice 2twist with hands above the head, a bit low but nicely caught and clean 3toes ok sbs flying camel/sit/c sit messy, travelling and off-synch 4 lift easy, some variation at end slss Morozovs trademark toe-fest but better than most bods poor position pair spin good I felt I placed them too high but they skated so well. Most of the elements were very well performed. Steps were a Morozov toe-fest but at least they paid attention to them and made an effort. While most of the step sequences at this event were almost non-existent, this one was very nicely choreographed. And so was this program as a whole. It wasnt just a sequence of the elements as you so often see in the pairs short, where the elements take up most of the time. I said this already about Z/S but my feeling here was that they paid attention to detail. What also gives them and edge is that their basic skating is very good. 5. Xue Shen/Hongboa Zhao /CHN/ (4) throw 3loop gigantic and beautifully landed, absolutely amazing 3toes he fell badly 4 lift very strong, good changes of position slss average bods poor position sbs camel/sit/c sit he was wobbly at beginning 2twist double-footed, not as good as usual pair spin a bit messy Best throw jump of the evening but then a very bad fall on the solo jump. Hongboa took a very long time to get back into the program. Spins were a bit messy and the two mistakes they made, meant a 0.5 deduction should have been applied. Its a recycled program but it is a very good, very well choroegraphed program. And even with the mistakes, they still managed to sell it very well. They were fast and powerful. I spent a very long time thinking whether L/A should be in front of S/Z or not and I am still not sure. Quite possibly the Chinese were better. They definitely are a much better team, however when you make mistakes (and have a 0.5 deduction) I think its not fair to hold the team up. I might be wrong placing them below L/A, but I definitely think that putting them above Z/S was not fair. Not with two mistakes. The judges proved again, not to care about double-footing the twist, since if you add the deductions to the technical mark, we go beyond 6.0. 6. Quing Pang/Jian Tong /CHN/ (3) 3toes she was off-axis (leaning forward) throw 3loop enormous, possibly higher than S/Z but the landing edge was much worse 4 lift good, with changes of position sbs camel/sit/c sit/Y complete mess including dicey entry, travelling, going off-synch and spinning on the wrong edge lateral 2twist huge but double-footed pair spin good bods poor position Most of the people would probably consider sixth to be too low and I have to admit to being biased. They have used this short program for three seasons now and I believe its not working anymore. Its constraining them, they could do much better than this. Its just not good enough for this level anymore. 7. Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang /CHN/ (6) 4 lift went straight up, not a lot of position changes 3toes perfect but they took a very long time skating round into them sbs camel/sit/c sit/back attitude ok throw 3loop good lateral 2twist amazing circular step sequence pair spin bods They have improved a lot since last season. They used to be the worst spinners at worlds and here their spins seemed ok. However the lift could have been more difficult and there was a lot of preparation for the 3toes. But then this program was more balanced than most. I am not sure if the pattern on the step sequence was right but you would have to be watching it live to make sure. Even though their basic skating has improved a lot, the program itself was empty. They have huge potential and are making progress but theres still a long way to go. 8. Julia Obertas/Sergei Slavnov /RUS/ (7) 3toes very good lateral 2twist amazing throw 3flip great sbs camel/sit/c sit/upright no synch coming out 4 lift average slss poor; slow and not to the music bods good pair spin very good The big jump elements at the beginning were strong, but then, they were lumped together at the beginning. Their technique on the side-by-side jumps is completely different and they need to do something about it. They were noticeably slower than other top couples and although there were a couple of nice choreography touches, overall the program seemed junior-ish. Their situation is similar to Zhangs. The potential is definitely there and I think that they just need more time to gel. 9. Rena Inoue/John Baldwin /USA/ (9) 3toes take-off completely off-synch and he doubled throw 3loop over the toe on landing and no landing edge out 2twist low but clean sbs flying camel/sit/c sit/sit var good synch 4 lift good, with a spectacular swung around dismount diagonal step sequence very good bods leg over her head on entry, good position pair spin good What a surprise! They seemed to me a completely different couple compared to last year. A world of the difference between this program and their last seasons short. Good choreography and skated with character. They were also fast and smooth. Very entertaining. I liked all the detail in this program. Interesting dismount from the lift, variation on the entry to the death spiral and nice diagonal steps (a neglected element by most pairs). 10. Valerie Marcoux/Craig Buntin (10) 3toes she fell badly 2twist ok but slightly double-footed 4 lift good throw 3loop good, had to fight for it a little but managed to get a nice landing edge out camel/sit/change sit average slss nice and well choreographed bods average and few rotations pair spin - average This was a very nicely choreographed and presented program and other than that I am lost for words. ? 11. Sabrina LeFrancois/Jerome Blanchard /FRA/ (12) 3toes 2twist - low and slightly double-footed throw 3salchow tiny and over the toe on the landing sbs camel/c camel/sit/upright fantastic synchronization 4 lift no changes of position but rotation both sides (!) bods ok pair spin slss nice Compared to V/K, which were placed just below them, their twist lift and throw jump lacked power, but the spins and steps were more polished. I thought that the French were definitely stronger on the second mark. They had more choreography and a better overall, more sophisticated program. 12. Tatiana Volosozhar/Petr Kharchenko /UKR/ (13) 3toes - he did 2.5toe 2twist huge, really amazing 4 lift good throw 3salchow huge, very good bods pair spin ok slss very poor, slow and empty sbs camel/sit/c sit/Y They improved skating quality and have better edges, however the program lacked a theme and choreography and they were slow and didnt project at all. Some of their pair elements are really spectacular and I hope that next season they will have the programs to match them. 13. Kathryn Orscher/Garett Lucash /USA/ (14) 2twist good 3toes she held on, he doubled throw 3flip good 4 lift quite basic, no changes of position bods she caught her edge and fell pair spin diagonal step sequence good sbs camel/sit/c sit Even with the mistakes, it was a very good skate. I am very impressed by their presentation, since I have seen them for the first time, last season. Even with the mistakes, and the Celine Dion B-side music, the program seemed to hold together very well and was nicely skated and presented. They train with a Russian coach, who seems to be doing a lot of good work with them. Their quality is very nice, the programs seem to be working and they learned the throw 3flip. I hope that their mission to save American pairs from obscurity will be successful. 14. Eva-Maria Fitze/Rico Rex /GER/ (11) 3toes both leaned forwards 2twist tiny and double-footed throw 3salchow totally off-axis, lacked elevation and almost a hand down bods worst position of the evening, she was almost standing flying camel/sit/upright went off-synch pair spin poor 4 lift inverted with twisted around dismount (double-footed) diagonal step sequence ok It was a junior program with scarce choreography. The quality of the elements was very poor. There wasnt a single element in this program, which I could describe as good. In Budapest, where their short also looked horrible, but the long was very good and it was as if two different pairs of doppelgangers assumed the form of Eva-Maria Fitze and Rico Rex. Whether the same transformation will take place between Monday and Wednesday here remains to be seen. They are the only couple, which makes it unable for me to stay calm and forces me to start a wuzrobbed rant. Since I have seen them for the first time in Malmo, I could not understand at all, they way in which they were being judged. And this continues until today. I dont know what have the judges seen but it seems that it was something very different than what I did. Both V/K and L/B were in a different league. The same goes for O/L who did two mistakes, but then F/R also did two deductible mistakes. Thats if the judges actually took marks off for two-footing twists and lifts, which according to my conversations with them and pure maths, is sadly not the case. 15. Milica Brozovich/Vladimir Futas /SVK/ (15) 2twist ok 3toes he doubled 4 lift easy, she was sideways, there was no variation and it didnt cover a lot of ice throw 3salchow step out sbs camel/sit/c sit/back attitude mediocre bods ok slss slow and easy pair spin They looked much better than at Euros where they were completely off and even aborted the lift. She looked very good on this night, was much more relaxed and into the ice than at Budapest and gave it everything. Since there was almost no choreography in this program, it was even more important to project and try to sell it. I think that if they are serious about skating, she try to lose some weight. 16. Julia Shapiro/Vadim Akolzin /ISR/ (16) 2twist very heavily double-footed and a little stumble on the landing 2axels 4 lift basic, no changes of position throw 3salchow fall, completely wrong from the beginning bods mediocre sbs camel/sit/c sit slss ok pair spin ok I was very positively surprised. They looked much better than at Europeans, it seems that they are improving all the time and hopefully they will look much better next season. The technique on the throws is completely wrong and they should definitely focus on fixing this (it looked the same in Budapest). Their skating quality was very nice and they presented this program well, in spite of the mistakes. 17. Olga Boguslavska/Andrei Brovenko /LAT/ (17) 3toes she doubled, while he did a 2.5toe 2twist no height and double-footed throw 3salchow two-footed and telegraphed 4 lift basic to start but nice variation at end, wobbly footwork bods slow, ok position sbs camel/sit/c sit slss easy pair spin nice at beginning but slowed down The program lacked choreography and they were slow, tentative and didnt project at all. Its really frustrating to see her always put their second foot down on perfectly executed throw 3salchows. 18. Diana Rennik/Alexei Saks /EST/ (18) 3salchows she doubled throw 2salchow they went for a triple but she bailed out after two revolutions and just held the landing 4 lift basic, very slow 2twist no height, double-footed circular step sequence nice sbs camel/sit went off-synch on the sit bods poor position pair spin ok They improved a lot this season and I think that they are a much better team than the Latvians. They skated well in Budapest and its a shame that their performance here turned out to be such a disaster. The quality of the music was terrible and other than during the step sequence, there was hardly any choreography. Rennik and Saks teamed up a short time before the 2002 Euros where Estonia could enter two couples and skated two horrific programs there. Since then they always seemed to me to be a joke pair until to my surprise they landed a throw 3salchow at Worlds last season. Their elements are still very poor but their lifts are finally covering some ice, there is something going on in their programs and they started to regularly land the throw triple salchow. Both of them gained a lot of weight since last season, and while it seems to be very good for him (he finally looks like a man), I am not so sure about her. 19. Marina Aganina/Artem Knyazev /UZB/ They were the first couple to skate and the eville Eurosport axed them, choosing to show the pre-recorded fluff piece about a triple jumper instead. Sigh |