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| World Championships 2005 Men - Short Program |
| The Disclaimer:
I am not infallible, I cannot guarantee not to have made any mistakes and since it’s impossible to mention everything, there are bound to be some omissions. If you have any comments, disagreements or corrections, feel free to contact me, I’ll appreciate any input. Since these reports are based on Eurosport TV broadcast, I can never be sure about the issues like speed or ice coverage. Some abbreviations I use: ‘coe’ = change of edge ‘held’ on jumps means the landing was just held, hung on to, so the flow out probably will be poor and free foot might be put down quickly ‘held’ on spirals and lifts refers to the CoP rules requiring the skaters to hold them for at least 3 seconds ‘overrotated’ means turning out of the jump and putting the foot down, while ‘turned out’ means turning out of the jump, without the free foot touching the ice The reviews are arranged according to the starting order. Full results can be found by clicking on one of the links below: Men: Short Program – Results Men: Qualifying + Short Program – Overall Result 1. Zoltan Toth /HUN/ 2. John Hamer /GBR/ 3flip off steps – slightly leaning back high flying sit – messy air position and slow rotation 3lutz (hands and foot down)/turn/2toe circular step sequence – the pattern seemed short 2axel – off-axis, poor flow out combination spin – mediocre diagonal step sequence sit to broken leg/change sit – weak second position The music has been quite monotonous throughout and he hasn’t been responding to it a lot in any case. The spins were slow and with quite poor positions. Nevertheless credit to him for giving it all and attacking the program strongly as usual. 3. Roman Serov /ISR/ 4. Viktor Pfeifer /AUT/ 5. Trifun Zivanovic /SCG/ 2flip/3toe 3axel – fall flying sit circular step sequence – slight wobble, slow and not selling steps into 1lutz straight line step sequence – messy sit into holding foot var and coe/change sit camel/sit/change camel/sit into coe After the first two mistakes, he really lost it and stopped selling the program, which wasn’t too ambitious in the first place, but at least it had some crowd pleasing choreography touches, which he unfortunately wasn’t able to bring out this evening. 6. Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari /FIN/ 3lutz – fall 3flip – great flying camel – with butterfly entrance and sit position in the air, into doughnut circular step sequence – the pattern was clearly incomplete 2axel – great sit to broken leg/change sit with coe – ok straight line step sequence – looks like improved content mitf moves into ???/sit+var/camel+var/upright He has very nice basic quality (skating skills, carriage, lines), it was quite a well choreographed program and the two jumps he did land were of very good quality. The spins didn’t rotate very fast but were difficult and had nice positions. 7. Vakhtang Murvanidze /GEO/ big 1axel 3lutz/3toe – good flying camel into inverted position into doughnut steps, huge gap, 3flip – fall straight line step sequence – fantastic edgework and from barrier to barrier camel/cranston camel/sit/change camel/catchfoot/fi upright circular step sequence – again using edges all the time camel/cranston camel/change camel to inverted position to doughnut Negative body language from the start. At least he kept selling the program and had a great suave feel, perfectly fitting the music. Improved his spins, adding difficulty but there was something wrong with them, which I can’t really vocalize. Maybe his positions weren’t extended enough? You can see that he can do those jumps and its just mental when he falls on a triple flip soon after landing a perfect triple lutz/triple toe combination. 8. Frederic Dambier /FRA/ 4salchow/3toe – just held the toe spread eagle, break, 3axel – scratchy coming out ?/sit/L/change sit with coe – had to re-centre it straight line step sequence – weak into flying sit with camel position in the air – travelling after landing 3flip – steps? circular step sequence – again weak execution sit/jump to sit to coe/change sit with hands behind back Taking extremely long time for a prep talk. That was a comeback skate he was looking for. Great for him, nevertheless, this isn’t a well put together program with his movements and layout of elements not bearing a lot of relation to the music. He’s the kind of skater who can deliver the goods but the quality of most of his elements is quite poor. I also though that his programs last season were better than the ones he is using this year. 9. Kristoffer Berntsson /SWE/ 3axel – short preparation, high but poor running edge out 3lutz/3toe – two-footed, got into shoot-the-duck on lutz but managed to hold on to the toe flying sit with coe it seems – ok circular step sequence – “Breathe” is going madly and is overshadowing him, quite weak execution 3flip camel/sit/L/change sit/fi upright – quite slow straight line step sequence – projects more now but still not very strong sit to coe/change sit to holding his foot Starting with breathing and heartbeat choreography into bouncy, urban “She Wants to Move” and more heartbeat to finish. It’s great how from a terminal headcase, he changed into a strong fighter! I have no idea how did he manage to hold on to that combination. The team tried to make this program interesting, however the problem was that he seems very shy and doesn’t project enough, gets quite overshadowed by the powerful, racing music. 10. Jamal Othman /SUI/ 3flip off a back spiral 3lutz/2toe – poor flow out camel to inverted position to doughnut sit to coe/change sit+var diagonal step sequence – seemed quite basic 2axel off transitions circular step sequence – better than the previous one, more edgework into camel with coe/sit+var/change camel/catchfoot Capturing the mood of the music straight from the start. The way he uses his long arms is quite amazing, constantly performing some upper-body choreography. Lots of difficulty on the spins, although he could improve the speed of rotation. 11. Gheorghe Chiper /ROM/ 3flip/3toe – great 3axel – fall into flying sit with camel position in the air, possibly tried coe circular step sequence – difficult and secure steps, break, 3lutz – fall, was leaning backwards turns into sit to coe to var/change sit with coe straight line step sequence – lots of detail on both steps and choreography camel/change camel/sit/fi upright Selling it right from the start and considering that he usually has problems projecting, this was a great effort and both choreography and the elements looked even more improved since Europeans. Even after both mistakes, he still gave it all on the straight line step sequence. That was a great effort. 12. Karel Zelenka /ITA/ 2axel – poor flow out 3lutz/2toe steps into flying sit with coe into var – coe only held 1 rev 3flip – no flow out circular step sequence – heavy, lacked flow ?/sit/Y/change sit with coe to var straight line step sequence – weak execution, slow sit with coe to var/change sit to holding his foot His father-coach looks very scary and he is indeed a very scary man. I remember him making Karel do multiple quadruple toe-loop attempts in practice at 2003 Europeans. Coming back to this performance, this wasn’t a good skate. His lines were much messier than usual, he seemed quite slow, his skating looked heavy and the quality of most elements was quite poor. The choreography looked very basic as well. I assume he’s still not back to full form after his injury. 13. Min Zhang /CHN/ 14. Emanuel Sandhu /CAN/ 4toe/3toe – toe possibly cheated 1axel into flying sit+var steps into 3lutz circular step sequence – camel spin with bent leg and possible attempt at coe at end straight line step sequence – not really selling it camel/sit/Sandhu/change camel/sit+var/Y After the mistake on the axel, the performance was quite subdued, he held back and didn’t sell the program as well as he can. It was quite flat but then I was in shock from Eurosport not having shown Min Zhang because of showing more freedom blades. 15. Timothy Goebel /USA/ serpentine step sequence 4toe – fall 3axel into scratch butterflies into flying sit – decen position sit two pos/change sit+var 3flip circular step sequence – three-turned twizzles camel/sit/change camel/sit/L/scratch His presentation has improved beyond belief this season. This wasn’t as good a skate as the one at NHK Trophy but now has decent carriage and lines and even a feel for the music. Improved positions and rotation on the spins as well. 16. Andrei Griazev /RUS/ 3lutz/3toe 3axel – poor flow out 3flip – no steps before flying camel to inverted position to doughnut circular step sequence – sit to holding his leg/change sit to holding his leg to coe straight line step sequence - ???/camel/sit/Sandhu/sideways/fi upright/scratch He has improved his presentation since last season but he still is quite a “juniorish” skater. There was some reaction to the music but things like carriage or lines still need a lot of work. But he’s getting there and he has a great team behind him. Both his step sequences were really flashy and Yagudin-esque but not very difficult. Tv idiots showed a shot of Tarasova in the middle of his performance. 17. Kevin van der Perren /BEL/ very long set-up into 3axel – almost hand down, over the toe 3lutz/3toe – good flying sit+var circular step sequence – 3flip – no steps before sit to broken leg to hands behind back straight line step sequence – camel/sit to holding his leg/change camel/sit to hands behind his back/scratch He didn’t sell his program anywhere near as good as at Europeans and it was quite empty in any case. But spins have improved a lot and other than the axel, his jumps have been of his usual great quality. 18. Sergei Davydov /BLR/ 3axel – fall 3lutz/2toe – somehow held both jumps flying sit+difficult variation steps, big gap, 2lip camel/change camel – basic diagonal step sequence – wobble towards the end camel/sit/sideways/change camel/upright var circular step sequence – music is overshadowing him, seemed he didn’t complete the pattern Horrific mix of Bolero. It’s difficult to do much with that music in any case, and not only the program didn’t do him any favours but his basic quality looked much worse than usual. 19. Jeffrey Buttle /CAN/ 3flip/3toe 3axel – not great flow out circular step sequence flying sit+var – I think landing and take-off on same foot steps into 3lutz – over the toe camel to inverted position/change camel to doughnut straight line step seqeuence – nothing to do with the very slow music whatsoever camel/sit var/sit var/change sit/camel coe/upright Finished slightly behind music. Great lines and carriage and very good skating quality but big question mark over interpretation and choreography. I find it quite sad that for most people having flashy choreography touches, good lines and flow equals good CH and IN. While the two latter come under SS and PE, there actually are other things, which need to be taken into consideration than the former, like timing those to the music, layout of the elements in relation to the ice surface and the music, and many others. For example I have no idea what did the quick straight line step sequence have to do with very slow music at the point. 20. Johnny Weir /USA/ 3axel – slightly underrotated, fall 3lutz/3toe – weak flow out scratch butterflies into sit/change sit+var circular step sequence – steps into 3flip – poor flow out into flying sit+var – I think take-off and landing on same foot straight line step sequence – into scratch butterflies into camel/sit/sideways/change sit/cannonball/Y While Jeffrey Buttle at least has very good basic quality, I find the massive hype surrounding Weir really puzzling. His lines are usually clean but his use of his carriage and arms, and even his skating skills could be better. Furthermore why does everyone say that he has good jump landings, when he usually loses a lot of speed coming out of his jumps. As for this particular program, the way elements are laid out and the way he moved had little to do with the music. 21. Daisuke Takahashi /JPN/ 4toe/3toe – just held the triple 3axel flying sit to coe some posing circular step sequence – tripped into 3lutz – just held, no flow out at all sit+var to coe/change sit straight line step sequence - camel/sit/sideways/change sit to coe/upright His basic quality is quite good and there were some nice choreography touches but this program visibly lacked transitions. He came limping off the ice and got an ice pack and the team’s physiotherapist was massaging him in the kiss and cry. 22. Ivan Dinev /BUL/ 3flip/2toe 3axel – completely off-axis, messy step out flying sit to coe – slow circular step sequence - weak 2flip camel/sit/ to holding his leg/change sit (travelled)/fi upright/scratch straight line step sequence – slow and heavy sit to coe/change sit to holding his leg - slow The costume and the music was just appalling. Typewriter sounds, heard throughout and a black suit with lots of white letters stuck. Like a mad person from an asylum. Poor quality of steps and spins and all over the place on the jumps. Sadly this was his (in recent seasons) usual messy, inconsistent self. 23. Sergei Dobrin /RUS/ very long set-up into 3axel(step out)/3toe 3lutz – poor flow out straight line step sequence – slow 2axel camel to catchfoot circular step sequence – sit/change sit – slowish camel/sit/L/change camel into doughnut/upright – not sure of positions here This was quite out of this league, a clearly a junior program. He seemed slightly slower, the steps and spins were quite basic and of quite poor quality and the planned jump content was very easy. He only had just over a week’s notice before this competition so I assume he didn’t have enough time to re-choreograph the program for senior standards. Horrific costume. Bright yellow t-shirt with silver brocade on the black trousers with bracers and a neon lime tie. 24. Samuel Contesti /FRA/ 3axel – went off-axis, fall 3lutz – short on rotation, fall flying sit – short on rotation? no steps into 3lip – lean, step out and hands down sit to coe to hands behind back/change sit – back to front circular step sequence – pattern seemed incomplete camel+var/change camel into inverted pos/sit/fi upright straight line step sequence – lots of content but quite messy Very unbalanced program with no choreography at the beginning where all the jumps were crammed in, but there was some nice interpretation later, which I think would look really great if he was able to perform it in a clean program. But this was a total disaster and he’s not even going to qualify to the free program. It’s his first Worlds and it just seemed that he just completely freaked out. 25. Evan Lysacek /USA/ 3axel – great 3lutz/3toe – great flying sit to coe – difficult entry circular step sequence – quite basic and toe-steppy three-turns into 3flip - great sit to holding leg/change sit to coe straight line step sequence – going for difficulty but messy combination spin ?/change camel/sit to coe/cannonball/scratch – got distracted here Why is he using this mediocre short program for the third season?!! It’s not doing him any favours, he’s actually a better skater than that. There was a lack of height on the axel, which could have been pre-rotated but other than that, he had great jumps, quite difficult and decently executed spins. It’s only the steps, which were disappointing. As for the components, his carriage and lines are dead straight but he’s just too stiff and there wasn’t really anything in the program for him to work on. Just checking the elements and maintaining a nice, tango-ish posture. 26. Stefan Lindemann /GER/ 4toe – fall 1axel camel/sit to holding foot/Y/change sit(travel) steps, 3lutz – fall, went off-axis straight line step sequence – good sit to var to coe (v slow)/change sit to var circular step sequence – flying sit to var What an unbelievable disaster! Also finished slightly behind the music. Nevertheless, he was performing his choreography very well as if nothing happened, for which he deserves a lot of credit. 27. Stephane Lambiel /SUI/ 3axel - ok 4toe(hung on)/3toe – poor flow out difficult entry into flying sit to var to coe 3lutz off steps – hesitation on landing but hung on diagonal step sequence – and he’s selling it very well serpentine step sequence – slight stutter but very good flow throughout camel/sit to var to sandhu/change sit (travel)/fast upright sit to hands behind back to coe/change sit to var Seemed quite tense at the beginning but once all the jumps were done, he has let loose and sold the rest of the programs extremely well with his usual beautiful quality. A question mark over the construction of the program, though, with jumps crammed in at the beginning, the steps in the middle and the spins at the end. 28. Evgeni Plushenko /RUS/ 4toe – fall 3axel – slightly off-axis but hungs on strong flying camel – difficult entry, to doughnut circular step sequence – pattern seemed short, ok but not as good execution as usual 3lutz – over the toe sit/change sit – back to front straight line step sequence – again ok but not his usual flare camel/sit/bielmann/change sit/Y/upright You can see that he is obviously injured. He had problems on all the jumps, the step sequences lacked his usual sparkle and the spins were slower than usual. 29. Brian Joubert /FRA/ 4toe(hung on)/3toe – not great flow out 3axel – pulled flying sit to coe circular step sequence – very toe steppy, hard for me to believe this could be Lv2 3flip – just one turn before camel/sit/change sit/Y straight line step sequence – again, very toe steppy and how can it be Lv2? sit to coe/change sit to var Good, solid skate for him but the difference in terms of the overall quality between him and other guys in this (and some in the previous) group did not work in his favour. I find it quite surprising how the judges suddenly started awarding him massive components this season. 30. Chengjiang Li /CHN/ 4toe/3toe – huge 3axel – just held, free foot down quick flying camel – with bent free leg 3loop off steps – over the toe ?/sit/Y/change sit(travel)/scratch serpentine step sequence – quite basic, not covering a lot of ice straight line step sequence – stumble at start, quite weak sit to holding his foot/change sit+var+coe Somehow managed to pull through until the end, just saving the two latter jumps and struggling a little on the steps, which were weaker than during his GP. The music was terribly tedious, with an unchanging beat and he should start looking for a new choreographer. He can skate to the beat, he can do better than that but you can’t really do much with such a boring, flat piece. |