A couple of withdrawals......Chuaeva and Palamarchuk are gone, she cut her
ankle during training and Brit Eurosport have just treated us to numerous
images of his fall during Nice......thanks for that. Also gone are Zagorska
and Siudek....she is injured, not sure how.

Krasiltseva and Znachkov ARM
She's wearing a two tone grey dress with sparkles, he's all in black. Not
disaster. Rippling pianos from Russ movie...lucky star of the exiled...nice
double twist to start......and he's gone stepped out of the 3toe, she
doubled hers.....star lift into upright.....throw....double sal which Joanne
calls a triple.....back inside d/s and the position was lovely, nice and
low......throw and she's down on the double loop...got her feet twisted and
down she went hard.....lift.....hand to hand one.....nicely done if
slow........s/s single axels and she's down on the 3rd jump of the sequence
and the crowd clap to get them back into it .....their timing is all gone on
the step sequence and she looks close to tears and she lost it in the s/s
spins a little too......bobbled it going in.....she singled the flip, he did
a double.....spiral sequence.....pretty, including one move where he's doing
a forward shoot the duck holding on to her foot.....pairs spins....backwards
lift.......and they finish well behind the music. He makes an "oh well"
gesture and she just looks devastated. nice sympathy from the crowd, which
is bigger than at any point this week....Joanne notes that they just
couldn't get their feet in the right place.
marks.... 3.7-3.8 / 3.7-3.9

JUDGES NATIONALITIES
ger...pol....ukr....usa....fra....can....aus....yug....cze
Make of it what you will....blessed be Chris Howarth.

Krutska and Sedlmajer CZE
First major championships, she was 16 on Sunday. Wearing a very nice, but
short red dress. He's in black top red trousers. Spartacus. start off with
s/s spins which are way off timing.....camel spins BTW.....s/s triple sals,
neither clean on landing although his was better.....throw triple sal which
was a beauty......overhead lift, great position say s Joanne and I
agree....throw 2loop which she stepped out of and there was no speed going
into it....split double twist, ehavy landing.....s/s double flips
clean.....she's down on the s/s 2loop.....pairs spins.....steps......into
spiral sequence.....extend woman, extend!....star lift and again a nice
position.......pairs camel spin to combo spins... with change of
foot..........backwards lift which also came out backwards in the
dismount...she was in front of him the whole way...timing off on the
steps.....she singles the toe he does a 2.....d/s f/i......very nice and
low, not much arch though. And they are done. The crowd roar..........as she
checks her right boot....that skirt is short short short......She almost
underrotatated the first jump....and she was way ahead of him on
timing.......there was room to spare on the triple sal.....
marks...4.0-4.3 / 4.0-4.3
aww she got a furby!

Durin and Maximov YUG
Not much height differential here....sparkles aplenty on basic
black....first Euros...Phantom of the Opera....and she singles the 2ax ,he
has to step out....2twist with little height.....double sal throw......star
lift and he has to work hard to get her up there......she pops the 2toe and
he'd down on the second in the sequence.....backwards lift and he's
struggling to get her up there too....f/i death spiral, nice
position.....spirals........flying s/s camels.....lost timing at the end but
good at the start,,,,lift and she nearly went and the dismount was
icky.....Joanne literally gasped!.....throw double flip<!> doubles/s
sals.....pairs spins to finish......Chris pontificates about the dangers of
the sport and Joanne agrees that he didn't look safe on any lift as they
reshow the third one which is even scarier in slo-mo.
marks 3.0-4.1 / 3.3-4.2....they're third of three.

Shklover and Mintals EST
This is a Grease medley that I remember from last year...he's in black
tshirt and trousers, she's in a yellow dress....heavy landing on
3twist.....she's down on the 3toe.....throwtriple sal and it was huge! loop
lift with flip out and they flew over the ice! Posey dancey stuff to you're
the one that I want....s/s spins.....hop lift where she's flat in his arms
with an unsual dismount.....she's down and down hard on the s2sal at the
start of s/s jump sequence and she was holding her head but she's going on
as the music changes to a slow piece.....which I don't
recognise.....sprials......throw 2ax and it looked as if he was asking her
if she was ok....two footed says Joanne....backwards lift and she looks
happier! back inside d/s which wa sgreat...Dancey to We Go TOgether....and
the crowd take the hint and clap! another lift.....she goes under and
between his legs.....and over and around! pairs spins...including a mini
Natalia spin and the crowd roar as they're done. C&J think the choreography
was weak (J) junior (C) .....they didn't land any throws in warmups so they
did well.......
marks.....4.4-4.8 / 4.6-5.0
they're first by a ways....

Kautz and Jeschke GER
In 12th......in black with blue navy and white zigzag lines of
sequins....Blood and Shadow is music for the first section.....and he nearly
dropped her on the 3twist, she underrotated.....and he's down on the s/s
3toe....and they're moving so fast.....lift.....throw 2loop....pairs
spins.....as the music slows......double axels, his may have been
2footed....ice certainly flew......spirals.....throw 3toe horribly
doublefooted......lift ......d/s, f/i, very nicely done....straight line
step and the crowd begin to clap......lift where it takes him a long time to
get her up, and to rotate and they come down early, s/s jump sequence is
done fine......flip and toe but I could be wrong....pairs
spins......interesting move where they're leaning on each other
squatting.....perfect timing on s/s flying camels which end it on a good
note, and she pumps her fists when she's finished! She injured her ankle
this autumn and this is their first comp......yep, short on rotation on the
twist.....first lift was great.....and she stepped out of the s/s triple
toe....wellbalanced program, with bits of innovation....
Marks....he's a soldier you know.....she's a student.....4.3-4.9 /
4.4-5.0....4 2nds, but they're first tonight and overall.

Rodionova and Kroukov AZE
Nice red shirt and black trousers for him, burgundy/reddy dress for
her.....Bolero....starts off nice with some musically correct steps......s/s
2ax.....she's down on the s/s 3toes.....his was fine......they took their
time winding them up.....split 2twist......they seem to be very cautious all
over....long wait on the throw 3sal but it was good,,,, down in the knee on
the landing...2ax to 2loops....not the best 2axels ever......star lift and
she dismounts over his back......s/s spins, camel to sit and they get the
timing badly wrong.....throw single axel.....spiral step sequence.....into a
lift.......nice entry! ....f/i d/s....very low......more steps which go
along with the music very well....into pairs spins......and they're done,
not sure about the ending she kinda jumps onto his back and slithers
down....Chris says that he wanted to get out behind them and give them a
shove, that they didn't seem to be giving it their all....Joanne says that
it was brave of them to use that music cause it was so slow, Chris can think
of several other words. I didn't think that it was a great choice, and it
was slow, but what they did they did well, and the choreography was good, it
picked up nuances of the music.....
Marks...4.3-5.1 / 4.3-4.9
they're in first overall....second on the night. and he stayed in kiss and
cry this time!

Group three

Bestandigova and Bestandig SVK
Her hair looks more orange tonight than it did on Monday....maybe it's the
black she's wearing now that picks it up....her dress is missing the entire
middle bit, flesh coloured netting ahoy, and he's all in black with gold
slanting across the chest and down the leg. Music is SDTK of 5th
Element.....and the crowd get really into it as they take the ice! ..he
double foots the triple toe and she doubles it......throwtriple sal and
she's down, huge swing on the way in.....no one could land
it!....lift......looked a little shaky in the middle.......s/s flying
camels....good timing....double twist.....spirals.....not sure about the
position of her foot in the spiral.....point your toe woman!....b/o
d/s....could have been lower......much lower........s/s 2ax to 2toe and she
singled the ax.....they do look sharp as a pair.....lift with much change of
position.....Joanne likes the choreography....throw 2ax, she waas late
getting the leg around....now the music changes to this drummy thing and
they do pairs spins whereupon he falls in the middle. They get it back, hip
lift......steps , he lifts and cartwheels her.....d/s where she holds her
free foot (b/i d/s)....and they're done. Chris calls it a fabulous effort,
and I have to say I really enjoyed it....it wasn't flawless by any manner
of means, but there was plenty to look at, and I'm not just talking about
her hair. Lots of interesting moves, good musical interpretation.....just a
couple of small errors (silly C&J call them, his spin, her not pulling in
and rotating) ...looked as if he caught the outside edge on the spin...
Marks...4.4-4.9....the crowd whistle but it's about right.....pres go up?
4.7-5.1....they're first overall and on the night.

Lefrancois and Blanchard FRA
This was the fabulous looking pair that I liked on Monday, so look for them
to fall apart here....and Chris loves them too, we'll be lucky if they're
not carted off the ice. She's wearing a nice simple ivory dress, he's
wearing an ivory shirt and black trousers. Nice. Skaing to THe Bolt......and
clean s/s triple toes.....she just managed to hold the landing!....2twist
made it look easy!...and she's beaming from ear to ear......lift.....he's so
tall he makes it just look effortless.....throw triple sal and the landing
was scratchy but she held it! Pause for the slow part.....bo/o death spiral
which was a little juttery going around......spirals.....lift where she's
flat and full out.....nicely done.....and she just held onto that throw
2ax....she's not bending the knee enough....s/s spins, camel to sit, timing
lost at the end , pairs spins....crowd begin to clap.....she's down on the
s/s 2ax....took off too late.....crowd get behind them.....or
try!...Steps......lift....where she leans back after getting up
there.....f/i dd/s, much better than the one that went before......pairs
spins to finish.....and they're slightly ahead of the music, but he shakes
his fist and they both look happy. That was really good....I loved it. Her
lines are fantastic....in particular the extension in her free leg and the
point of her toe.... she reminds me of Natalia Annenko in that regard, she's
that good. And they're both dark haired and good looking (she's stunning)
and he's just exactly a head taller than her, so it's a good look for the
two of them. And they can skate too!
Marks....5.0-5.4....5.1-5.5....first by a mile.

Savchenko and Morozov UKR
Oh. My. She's wearing a grey/blue sparkly confection...he's wearing navy
blue and he's got more sequins on his shoulders arms and chest than the
entire haberdashery department of any shop you mention. Man in the Iron
Mask.....s/s triple toes.....and they both touch down when they try them
again......huge split triple twist....straight into a throw 2ax which she
can't quite hang on to....has to turn out of it....too much
elevation!.....lift, scissor lift which flew across the ice.....hip
lift......s/s flying camels...going into illusion spins and the timing stays
there!.....slow posing and emoting.....building for throw triple sal which
is massive and double footed.....badly!....he does single axel before her
and she tries to catch up and doesn't make it off the ice....meant to be
2ax.....steps in which she falls......he yanks her up and they go in
spirals...well, she does and it's a nice one....pairs spins.......and the
music builds again as they do a lift....death spiral...where I think she
was trying to do something original with his boot and it didn't quite make
it....and they're done....interesting end Chris says.....well, if that's
what you want to call it babe. He raves about the height and length of the
throws but they agree it faded at the end....I've got to say, I wasn't too
crazy about the editing of the music....I love this soundtrack so much and
some of the transitions were not as smooth as they could have been...the
change to the final music, in particular sounded as if it was cut together
with blu-tack and gardening shears. yeah....d/s....she was holding ontl his
knee, to make it look original, and then she slipped off her edge. It was
forward inside BTW.
Marks...and she's praying! 4.8-5.3...4.6-5.2.....second on the free and
overall.

Back with the final group in just a minute!

Going in reverse order of their standings.....accident or on purpose, you be
the judge!

Petrova and Tikhonov RUS
Thank the lord above, they got rid of those grey yokes that they had all
season! Her dress was ok, but grey velour trousers didn't work on Brian
Boitano, and they sure didn't work on him! She's wearing an angelic looking
white dress, a Persil endorsement waiting to happen. He's also all in white,
although it's a blousey kinda affair on him. She's had foot problems lest we
forget. Oooh, pretty sparkles.......s/s triple toes....and she has to step
out of hers....they move the length of the ice and come around for the twist
which is slow on rotation and low on catch....2ax s/s are fine, he stumbles
on 2toe which follows....is that them or the coach shrieking on the
music....throw 3sal is gorgeous.......backwards lift, with flip forward and
back dismount....great lift!....s/s dlying camel and they lose the
timing.....into pairs spins....they stop, they gesture...water drips on the
soundtrack, he lifts her up and puts her down....besti squat prior to f/i
d/s.......he hugs her waist.....they build up speed for a hip lift, moving
to her on her side, with him in spreadeagle....she dropped quickly! throw
2ax, cleanly landed....spiral steps.....another hip lift.......steps.... ..I
miss the end of the routine because my sister inadvertantly yanks the aeriel
out of the tv so I've no idea what happened!
marks...5.4-5.7 / 5.5-5.7
all in first....


Totmianina and Marinin RUS
Red dress which is not disastrous in style but not great in colour..wit
hgreyt sash..he's all in black and this is West Side Story.....Jet songs
starts us all off.....and clean on the s/s 3sals.....steps done in nice
unison......huge twist.......triple......throw 3loop out of nowhere! And
those pants are leather....more stopping and posing.....s/s triple toes...to
double toes...his 3toe may have been doublefooted, but only
barely.......quasi d/s wit her in splits......lifts where she's lying back
across his hand.....Maria starts....nice overhead lift........this music
suits them......throw 3sal......just perfect.....f/i d/s.....all the big
tricks are done, 90 seconds to sell it....s/s flying camels....with change
of position....amazing timing......star lift to upside down split lift, taht
was great! straight line step and the crowd are clapping, and loving it!
great timing in the step as well......spiral step.....steps in to pairs
spins..........more after change of foot and they finish behind the music
but who cares! Wow! says Chris and wow is right! That's going to take some
beating says Chris as Joanne talks of cats and pigeons! They didn't put a
foot wrong technically.......could've used elevation on the split and his
triple toe was fine......I was wrong! J&C say a medal but what colour and
while I can't argue with the first bit, I'm saying bronze! I hope!
Marks 5.6-5.8....I can't see the ordinals on this tv....5.7-5.9....they're
in first right now, no big surprise there!


Abitbol and Bernadis FRA
. Another pair who listened and found that real men don't wear tangerine.
She's wearing lilac with sparkles on the chest and lilac things around her
wrists. He's in black..with lilac scarf , inserts and sparkles. Tristan and
Isolde by Rodriguez......clean on the s/s 3toes.....perfect! 2ax to 2toe,
perfect! ....throw 2ax and it was a beauty,,,,,long and clean, room to
spare!....huge split 2twist, Jo says bobbled....hip lift where he swings her
out over his back and down...into f/i death spiral.......and the music slows
and they stop....she mimes disbelief as he's down on one knee...she gives
him water to drink he kisses her hand the crowd whoop and pairs
spins......that was lovely! ....throwoh no! hand down on throw 3loop!
bananalift.....isn't that illegal?....spiral steps.....music builds
again.........lift....flying sits......great timing! much better than
Monday......straight line steps the length of the rink and it looked like he
stumbled but I don't care! Bestisquat as death spiral which is way ugly, but
difficult.......they hug, she's dead......they're finished......big hugs
from Sarah and Stephane....the crowd stand.....and holler and air klazons
go.........that was great....he did well to hold onto the triple toe......I
think we've lost Joanne and Chris.....no commentary,,,,,,for me,it was
great....I'd have it above the Russians...just the emotion in it was
something else, and it's even better in slomo
Marks.....5.5-5.8...this is going to be close the crowd whistle and chris
isn't there! 5.5-5.8....nooooooooooooooooooooooooo! they're second! can't
see ordinals......dont know how close....chris where are you......


Bereshnaia and Sikharulidze RUS
Crowd roar again.....he's in black trousers and suspenders, light brown
shirt. She's in a terracottaish dress....Chaplin routine.......she mimes
tears....we get Nicky doing commentary......clean s/s triple toes.......she
goes into spreadeagle....he skates after her.....great speed.....and she's
down on the 2ax....couldn't hold it........spirals.....huge triple
twist...Joanne is back! throw 3sal clean as you like......and we're losing
picutres now! flying s/s camels to sit....great timing.......dancey
footwork.....perfect unison and he's got the facial expressions doen pat!
Crowd are deafening in clapping.....great musical interpretation....great
upside down entry into the lift and she's swung under and back from his legs
on dismount......she waves the the ccrowd.....throw...triple loop solid as a
rock!.....lift...... where he flips her out of it......into f/i
d/s.........and he mioves during it,very nice....pairs spins......straight
lift up......and down......and they're done and the crowd roar! Chris calls
it wonderful but wonders if it was good enough...Joanne says yes....I
enjoyed it, but I preferred the French, emotionally. Mind you, the speed of
the program the choreography, the overall style and presentation was of a
much higher level than the other Russians....C&J single out the mimey dancey
section in front of the judges for especial praise......
marks.....5.7-5.9.....all 5.9s and one 6.0 from the aussie and they've done
it. First across the board.......

B&S ; T&M; A&B on the podium
Petrova and TIkhonov 4th
Lefrancois and Blanchard are 5th

Final thought....can't argue with them winning, but I'd have had the French
second. I just have an inkling that they only did one throw triple the
Russians did two, and that might have tipped the balance. That being said, I
can't see the ordinals on this tv, so I don't know how close it was.