Petrova and Tikhonov
lying in 4th
Four Seasons
clean triple toes, 2axel into double something else, not the best 3twist
ever, huge throw 3sal "all the time in the world" Nicky gushes, lift with
upside down dismount, theres that ugly tuck lift again, some in place look
at me I'm a butterfly choreography, death spiral, f/inside i think, spiral
step sequence, "beautiful soft landing" on the throw 3loop? (i didn't see a
toe, he didn't say) o/h lift, s/s camels, pairs spins, I think they're
running out of steam, but that's me....it's over! Crowd clapping, Chris
gushing...."these 2 have thrown the cat amongst the pigeons....in 4th at
the moment".....bit about who she used to skate
with.......chemistry....lovely to watch.....(note to Nicky get new cliches)
spectacular 1st two minutes
tech 5.5-5.7 pres 5.4-5.8
every judge has them first. german 5.5, 5.4 - with Peggy and Mirko last to
go?

the 14 year old wunderkind and her partner are behind them. flea and
gorilla pair if ever one there was, but really good. They were 7th in
Milan last year, fifth here at the minute. <Obertas/ Palamarchuk>

Now we have the 3rd place Russian pair, whose name I didn't get,
(Totmianina and Marinin) but they start with a throw 3loop.
She whaps him coming down on the 3twist, but not
mandy and ingo like, they go on to land 3toe/2toe combo. nice o/h
lift....she's down on a side by side triple sal.....good s/s spins....star
lift......is it just me or is there nothing between tricks?.......lands the
throw 3sal.....b/inside death spiral.......she's doing a biellman he's
doing an arabian, the crowd clap. say I, is not pairs! ending behind the
music but Chris is yep you guessed it, gushing. fabulous effort.pressure on
top skaters. down to the wire. The usual (you guys must be able to guess as
well as me by now) not much prep on throws, you can see on replay. Nicky
doesn't like the biellman.arabian either.
tech 5.2-5.5
pres 4.9-5.7
2nd overall....me disagreeing, what else is new? Split decision.

Czech pair - hear the crowd! Berankova and Diabola.
hands down on throw 3sal......another dodgy split 3twist - she wasn't all
the way around....she double 3toe, he falls. good helicopter lift or
whatever it is.....2 footed throw,,,,,,she's just done a spiral that would
make Kazakova cry, leg straight up, spinning on her own!wow!......perfect
s/s 2a......b/outside death spiral.....star lift ......another Kazakova
move, this girl is so flexible.....he pops the jump <single> this time and
he's lost the choreography...still gets cheered....s/s spins.....not so
sure about the circular step....b/inside death spiral......pairs spins.....
crowd are standing. flags are waving. "by no means flawless but an
entertaining program."
watch for the side by side 2axels if this gets shown in the US. They are
spot on together.
tech 5.0-5.2
pres 4.8-5.3
4th across the board except for the czech.....will finish in 7th unless
disaster strikes those to come

Final group warming up...back soon!

Abitbol and Bernadis
look nervous - couldn't land a thing in warm up with out some mistake,
major or minor. Poles won the warm up......smashing 3twist......perfect
throw 2a, we won't see 3a, saving for helsinki (all together now!!!) he
just saves the triple toe, clean double toes....shoot, he's down on the 2a
and I've just realised I forogt to put on the video.....great lift,
pendulum into it...nice slow part.......pitch forward on throw 3loop, but
clean....strong o/h lift....great timing on s.s spins......straight line
step, I like it....o/h lift, unusual posidtion, forward inside death spiral
into pairs spins.....ending.
They look happy......happy enough. just the mistake on the axel. Stephane
has had the flu, so no wonder he looks exhausted.....door left open....give
them credit,,,real teamwork....cliches are out in force. It might be enough
with B&S out. I hate I forgot to set the video! Stanislav Leonovich is
coaching them....he hasn't changed, he still looks the same as ever.
tech 5.4-5.7
pres 5.4-5.8

I'm in shock! THey're in the lead but only second on the free! 6judges to
3, Petrova and Tikhonov are above them. I didn't tape them either! Smeg!

Zagorska and Siudek <POL>
men don't look good in dark green velvet....huge throw 2a........s/s
3toes.....super split 3twist...she falls out of a jump.......they both
missed the 2a I hear... nail s/s toes.....fantastic timing on s/s
spins...what an entrance into the lift! Then a lasso with a step
through......f/inside death spiral.....huge throw 3sal...slight pause on
upside down entry to lift.......b/o death spiral....pairs
spins......another helicopter lift to finish....
my gut reaction? They're going to be first after this free. THey have to
be. It's probably better than the French, should beat the
Russians......overall a great program. Super throws and lifts, quality of
the elements second to none (chris says, I agree) best 3 twist for
sure......
tech 5.4-5.7 crowd whistles
pres 5.4-5.7
2nd place overall, behind the russians abitbol and bernadis in 3rd with the
germans to go....i no understand this....i had them first.


Schwartz and Muller
he looked better blond and clean shaven
ugly costumes
nothing ugly about the 3twist.
good 3toes...couldn't get them in warm up but did here
clean throw 3sal
great lift.
f/inside death spiral, super.
oh no, she's gone on the 2 axel....as all top 3 couples have
o'h lift
pairs spins
hideous pop on the throw 3toe......a single if that!
star lift
s/s 2toes
b/o death spiral and she's down on it. Looks like A&B still have their
medal....I'm still trying to work out the placements. Not OBO but how they
got there. Nice s/s camels though.
interesting ending but she's devastated.
And I want to know if this means that Petrova and Tikhonov have gone from
5th to the title. To do that the leaders have to be what 3rd on the free?
fourth =2.5+1=3.5....A&B 2nd=1.0+3=4.0.....yeah they can

Marks 4.9-5.4 tech
pres 4.9-5.5
4th overall - no medal

that means that Petrova and Tikhonov are European champions. Anyone who
predicted that, with the poles in silver and french in bronze, I salute
you. Nicky says you couldn't have written it. I agree. He says he thought
the Poles had it. I also agree. Chris says in his wildest dreams not gold
for P&T. They weren't even in the final group fer crying out loud! Their
first european championships! bronze for 3rd time for sarah and
stephane....I should stop supporting skaters, First Tobel, now them.