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| 2002 Worlds Men - Free Program |
| 24. Sergei Davydov /BLR/ QR:12 SP:22 (24) He was the first one to go and he wasn't shown on tv. However I've seen his free program to "Mask of Zorro" many times already, especially that he has been using it last season. I have to say that the choreography of is weaker than in his short. Sergei has competed for Russia before and, just like Julia Soldatova, he changed his citizenship to make the team for Worlds and Europeans. He has the basic skating quality, good spins but at the big events he seems not to be able to cope with the pressure. 23. Sergei Rylov /AZE/ QR:8 SP:24 (23) Just as in the short program, his costume was horrible. White shirt, fading to pink and grey trousers. He skated through "The Legend of the Glass Mountain" by Nino Rota and "Cornish Rhapsody" by Hubert Bath. He has a good, "classical Russian" skating quality therefore it really is a shame that this program didn't have any choreography whatsoever. Sadlly, Sergei is not able to cope with the pressure and I know that his capable of much more than he showed here. He has been very inconsistent throughout this whole season. His program started with a wonderful combination (a copy of the one from the short), however things started to fall apart as the program progressed. (21st) 3F+3T(perfect); 2A; 3L; 3F(saved on toepick); 3R(stepped out); 2L+2T; 3S...3T 22. Markus Leminen /FIN/ QR:13 SP:20 (21) This was probably his last amateur competition and it wasn't a great way to finish his career, nevertheless Markus has struggled so many times in the past and I'm sure that he is happy to have made it to the free. The program had a gangster theme. Music was drawn from soundtracks to: "Carlito's Way", "Mobsters" and "The Untouchables". He wore black trousers, a vest and a white shirt beneath. In all honesty, he looked more like a waiter than a gangster. The problem with Markus is that his basic skating quality is rather poor. And the program lacked choreography, he was just going from one jump to another. I would have him behind Rylov, but boy he really showed guts, landing that triple axel right at the end! (22nd) 3L; 2A; 3T; 3R; 3F(fall); 3S+2T; 3A(lean) 21. Dmitri Dmitrenko /UKR/ QR:12 SP:23 (22) I mentioned it already in the short program review, I just don't understand why this excellent skater keeps on competing when he is in such a weak form! His music was from the movie "Meet Joe Black". He had a black costume with silver stripes on his arms, coming down his chest and back. Better than flower power from the short for sure! He doesn't have the jumps but you can see that he once was a great skater indeed because of his skating quality. Very good spins. He choreographed the program hismself and it was very well constructed. It also contained nice footwork and he interpreted the music very well. Actually it wasn't a horrible skate but , unfortunately for him, the standard of this competition was very high. (19th) 3T(planned quad); 3A(stepped out)+2T; 3L(double footed); 3F; 3R; 3A; 2S; 3S 20. Vakhtang Murvanidze /GEO/ QR:9 SP:19 (20) Mr Showman strikes back. This time skating to "The Godfather". It's a up to date topic now you know. I wonder if Boris Chait had anything to do with constructing this routine? The costume was composed of a white shirt, black trousers and black braces. For his standards, it was quite a good skate. A well put together program thanks to Mrs Elena T. Some nice showy moves in it as well. Presented it well and skated nice&soft. In my opinion he shouldn't be ahead of Dmitrenko though because his choreography was definietely worse. (20th) 3A+2T; 3L+2T; 3F(stepped out); 3R; 3A(foot down); 3L; 3T; 3S(stepped out) 19. Roman Skorniakov /UZB/ QR:8 SP:21 (19) The husband of Tatyana Malinina. Since the death of their longtime coach in 1999, they train each other and that doesn't seem to do them any good. He skated to the music from "The Professional" by Ennio Morricone in dark violet trousers and a white fading to grey-blue loose shirt. Although Zhulin choreographed his program, there wasn't much going on between his jumps. Roman had a very ambitous combination planned at the beginning (3A+3T+2R) and although he didn't manage to land it, the rest was pretty good. 1A+3T; 3F+3T; 3A; 3L; 3R(stepped out); 3S(lean) 18. Ivan Dinev /BUL/ QR:10 SP:13 (17) The first Bulgarian skater to ever land a quad in competition. He decided not to do it in the short but it was back to his repertuar in the free. Some "folky" music for him from the Bulgarian musical entitled "Two Worlds". He was wearing black trousers and and black top with a yellow, green and red "tribal mask" on it and had black wrist bands as well. This was a total disaster, he managed to land only two triples and was really held up in 18th. As you look above you'll notice that all of the guys who finished below him landed actually much more triple jumps. And his presentation isn't very good. The concept of the program was clever however he needs more polish, more choreography and better basic stroking. (23rd) 4T(double footed); 1A; 3L; 3A+3T(fall); 2F; 3F(stepped out); 3S(hand down) 17. Stephane Lambiel /SUI/ QR:6 SP:18 (18) He was another skater here to skate to the music by Cirque du Solei. "Quidam" was the title. Had a nice costume. Black trousers and a black top which's back was red with a sun on it. One sleeve was yellow with the black glove while the other was black with a yellow glove. Stephane has never landed a triple axel in a competition yet and didn't attempt it here neither. He has got a lovely style and aboslutely amazing spins. He doesn't attempt 3A or 4T but the ones he lands are of a very good quality. 2L, 2A, 3F+3T; 3R(hand down); 3F; 3L+3T(just saved); 3S 16. Song Gao /CHN/ QR:9 SP:16 (16) His costume was just disgusting. Black trousers and golden shirt with big black buttons. And I feel sorry for this guy. He is an excellent jumper and skated a blinder here but there was absolutely nothing between the elements. Jump, wander, jump... And to make it even worse, he was skating to "The Man in the Iron Mask" but when this poor boy was preparing his program, he couldn't have known that Yagudin will also use that music. All the jumps were wonderful, however spins and step sequences were very poor&basic. He makes his triples look so easy and he just can't miss. If he works hard on his basic skating skills and gets a quad, with such consistency, he will be a threat for ones at the very top. 3A+3T(perfect); 3L+3T; 3F; 3L; 3R; 3S; 2A(looked like planned) 15. Brian Joubert /FRA/ QR:5 SP:8 (13) He stormed onto the scene this year, winning bronze at Europeans in Lausanne. He is a great talent and I guess that it just wasn't his day. Dark blue trousers and vest with a white shirt beneath for him. Vest had a golden pattern on it. And god, Brian you are beautiful and you really don't need so much make-up (his Pamela Anderson like eyliner rivaled Sandhu). The music was from "The Mission" by Ennio Morricone. The choreography in this program was better than in his short but he still has to work a lot on it. His style of skating is definitely athletic. Brian is a jumping machine but the machine obviously got broken today. 5 triples only and 15th place for him was very generous but he was skating very late so the judges placed him high. (grrrrr) 4T(fall); 3A(turn out); 3F; 3A(stepped out); 3R; 3L+2T; 3S 14. Kevin van der Perren /BEL/ QR:7 SP:10 (14) I haven't noticed this before but fantastic Kevin skates only for ten years. Dear me, if he skates like that after 10 years of training I'm scared to think what he would be doing if he started being 3 years old. His outfit was dark blue with silver stripes on it. "Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye was his music. I never was as nervous as watching this. When he hit the ice on the opening axel, I nearly fell of the chair. Fortunately the rest of the jumps were spot on. He has a very good jumping technique, can put a triple toe at the end of anything. Good smooth running edges on the landings. He needs more maturity though. The spins are still a bit slow and he could have more choreography. He seemed very tired at the end and because of that the presentation suffered a little. Nevertheless great job Kevin. His progress this year is amazing, he hasn't even qualified last year! 3A(fall); 3L+3T; 3R; 3S+3T; 3F; 3L; 2A(planned) 13. Ben Ferreira /CAN/ QR:10 SP:17 (15) His music was by Dean Marshall and his red costume with a black belt looked rather ugly. It was a tale of two halves. Ben had an awesome opening but fell apart later on. This program really dissapointed me. It lacked choreography, there wasn't much between the jumps at all. I think that Ben is an average skater and in all honesty, I can't understand why Skate Canada sent him instead of Jason Denommee. 3A+3T; 3L+3T; 3F(fall); 3S; 2A; 3R; 1L 12. Jeffrey Buttle /CAN/ QR:4 SP:7 (8) I guess it isn't very relevant to the skating but he is just so gorgeous! He was skating to "Gelsomina" by Nino Rota, wearing dark blue trousers, blue shirt and dark blue braces. Opposing to his short program, I thought that the choerography was excellent. What makes his programs so entertaining is that you can actually see the joy in his skating. Very good basic skating quality and amazing spins. He did one spin on the opposite foot and in the opposite direction. Ziggy says: Best spins of the evening! Jeff's jumps could get a bit higher though. He has a very fast rotation but lacks height. I hope he gets a quad soon because the overall quality of his skating is really excellent and having it in his repertoire, he can easily become a future world champion. 3F+3T; 3L; 2A; 3T; 2A...3S; 3R; 3L(stepped out)+2T(stepped out) 11. Matthew Savoie /USA/ QR:6 SP:14 (12) He was dressed in a black suit with white shirt beneath and skating to some classical music. And this boy skated a real blinder! He was ridiculously undermarked, having skated very early. Matthew has got a lovely, soft kneebend. This program was well choreographed and his spins were very good. The solo triple axel was out of a spread eagle, which is a very difficult entry. The triple lutz he did at the end was out of the hydroblade and that was really impressive as well. A great routine. I'm looking forward to seeing the improvement of this guy. 3S; 3A+3T; 2A(planned); 3F+2T; 3R; 3A; 3L 10. Frederic Dambier /FRA/ QR:5 SP:12 (11) And again cute Frederic wanted to focus the judges attention on his butt, wearing the tightest trousers possible. Ivory shirt and black glove on one hand to go with them. The music was from "Samson and Delilah" by C. Saint Saens and "La Boheme" by G. Puccini. The first Frenchman to land a quad salchow in competition (Euros 02) his biography says. This program was well constructed and featured some interesting choreography. Frederic also has good spins. But the jumping quality isn't there. The jumps he landed were out of axes or pulled on the landing and apart from a couple of ones, there was no good, smooth running edge. 3A+2T; 4S; 3A; 3F(stepped out); 3S; 3L; 2R(double footed); 3T 9. Andrejs Vlascenko /GER/ QR:11 SP:9 (10) After a disaster in the qualification, Andrejs managed to skate two great programs. Dressed in black trousers and violet shirt with transparent sleeves, he skated to "Blues in Rock". This was just sensational. He did easier elements than he normally attempts (no 3A+3T or 4S) because he preffered to skate an easier program clean. And it worked. He's got a real passion in his skating. He interpretes the music very well and has a feel for it. There were some great step sequences in this program and he couldn't have skated any better I guess. 3A+2T; 3S+3T; 3L; 3F; 3A; 3R; 3T 8. Min Zhang /CHN/ QR:4 SP:15 (9) This was a completely different Min Zhang than the one I saw in the short. This program actually had choreography in it and the spins weren't that bad either. I was so impressed! The music was by Michael Kamen and his outfit wasn't from charity this time. Black trousers, red shirt and black gloves. Nice. His jumping technique is very impressive. After the lading of the axel, he was on a standstill but still managed to get a triple toe at the end. Amazing! A late developer he is. In the previous years he wasn't consistent but in Nagano he managed to land three quads in both qualification and free program. 3A+3T; 4S; 4T+2T; 4T; 2L; 3R; 3F(hand down) 7. Anthony Liu /AUS/ QR:7 SP:11 (7) Dressed in dark blue trousers and vest with a white shirt beneath, he was another competitor to skate to the music by Cirque du Solei. It's very popular here. "Journey of a Man" was a title. Anthony's journey was from China to Australia. And I'm mentioning this again because Mr Liu skates like an average Chinese skater. He has a huge quad, high quality jumps but poor spins and simply no choreography. Jump, wander, jump. He skated last in the penaltment group and really got overmarked thanks to that. 4T+2T(could do triple); 3A; 3L+3T; 3T(quad planned); 3R; 3S; 3F 6. Michael Weiss /USA/ QR:2 SP:5 (6) He was wearing black trousers and a wine top. Skated to the music by G. Puccini. I wrote before that Weiss is male Maria Butyrskaya because I think that he was the most mature skater here. His interpretes the music very well and has wonderful choreography. And he did a perfect mike pike as well! Well, he had nothing to lose, being down in 5th and he went for everything. He failed to land the ambitious jumps he planned though, however the judges held him up anyway. 4L(fall); 3T(should be a quad); 4T(hand down); 3A+2T; 3F+3T; 3S(stepped out); 3L 5. Chengjiang Li /CHN/ QR:3 SP:6 (5) "Star Wars" was the music and his costume was really dull looking. Dark blue and black with some glitter on his left arm. Li had in fact some traces of choreography but only in places. Apart from them it was just jump after jump after jump. His spins aren't that terrible in general but he had some problems with the camel spin. This wasn't a great skate for him and he is lucky to finish in 5th place. 4T+3T; 4S; 3A(stepped out); 3L; 3S; 3A(stepped out) 4. Alexander Abt /RUS/ QR:2 SP:2 (4) This season he is in a form of his life! Already won silver at Europeans but this time didn't do well enough for a medal or at least the judges thought so. Black trousers and light blue shirt with lots of loose fabric for him. And some music by Rachmaninov. Great choreography, fantastic fluid style of skating. All the jumps he landed (apart from loop) were of a very good quality. Great spins as well. And I couldn't believe that he lost with Honda... (3rd) 4T(stepped out)+2T; 3A+3T; 3L; 3A; 3S; 3F; 3R(just held on); 3T 3. Takeshi Honda /JPN/ QR:3 SP:3 BRONZE Takeshi skated to the beautiful "Concerto de Aranjuez" by Rodrigo. He was dressed in wine loose shirt and black trousers. The construction of this program is very interesting. Most entries to the jumps are very difficult. The choreography was also good but Honda doesn't have the balletic training Abt does and for me that made a difference in the presentation. Abt also has much better spins than Honda. Of course not taking anything away from Takeshi. I think that he is a great skater and in fact I like him much more than Abt but on the night, Alexander was better. (4th) 3F; 4T+2T; 3S; 3A+3T; 4T(fall); 3R; 3fL(stepped out) 2. Timothy Goebel /USA/ QR:1 SP:4 SILVER Timmy, dressed in black vest, trousers and a white shirt, was playing the role of "An American in Paris" by George Gershwin. As I said before, theoretically Timmy's quad sals shouldn't be recognized because they are double footed on take off but ISU doesn't seem to respect its own rules. His presentation has improved a lot but he still has to work on his posture. He gets slouched on the entries to the jumps. He delivered the tricks but looked very unsecure . Also he had just bad luck. When he was entering triple axel out of spread eagle, he ran through a hole in the ice (probably), had a stutter and that had do deconcentrate him so he stepped out. A bit later on, his black sequin tie got loose and was flying in front of his eyes. That had to be really disturbing as well. The triple loop he did at the end was out of a hydroblade. Nice. If he continues improving his presentation, he is capable of challenging Yagudin and Plushenko in years to come. (2nd) 3L(out of nowhere); 4S+2T; 3A(stepped out); 4T; 3A+2T; 4S; 3F; 3R 1. Alexei Yagudin /RUS/ QR:1 SP:1 GOLD He couldn't lose here, could he. The iron mask from the movie was on his chest. Black costume with tarnished gold gloves. And he was skating of course to "The Man in the Iron Mask". He deserved to win anyway, and there's no doubt about that so I can allow myself to be a little critical here. His spins and jumps were of a great quality. He played safe again, like at the Olympics, doing only one triple axel, not in combination. I think that opposing to his short, this is one of his worst programs. There was some very nice choreography but only in places and the program didn't seem to work as a whole for me. There was lots of posing. It was the best on the night but I expected more of Yagudin and when I saw this routine for the first time I was really dissapointed. Just as in Salt Lake City, he had a horrible lean on the flip, but managed to hold it. That's what makes a real champion! Even if something goes wrong, he can still do it. I'm sure that many skaters would put the hand down on that flip. So Alexei Yagudin of Russia won by a country mile again. And he's not turning pro so probably he have to get used to seeing him on top of the podium. 4T+3T+2R; 4T; 3A; 3S; 3L; 3R; 3F(lean) |
| The skaters are listed from the one who finished last to the one who was first in the free program, not overall. Each skater's name is followed by his qualifying round and short program placements. The overall placement is at the end in the brackets. The number at the end of each review is how I would place the skater if I were judging this event (in case anybody cares :P). L is a lutz. R is a loop (rittberger). fL is a flutz; X+X is a jump combination; X...X is a jump sequence. When a skater planned a double axel (2A) it is stated, otherwise it's a doubled triple. |
| The judging made me sick again, as again, it followed the same pattern. The later you skate, the higher you will finish. I can understand that judges are afraid to run out of marks and that's why they leave room but when I look at Matt Savoie finding himself down in 11th after a simply fantastic skate, I just think that this is not right. And I couldn't believe that Abt lost the medal. I know that many of you have a different opinion but I can't understand it at all. Abt is a much better all-around package. He has got a better skating quality, better spins, he landed more jumps. Honda's program may have seemed beautiful but he only had upper body choreography. Here's the podium picture from AP: |
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