Wednesday, March 26 - Pairs Free Program

First Medals Experience


While venturing further down 7th Street, I had previously discovered a flower shop. A great discovery since I had planned to distribute some flower bouquets during the week of Worlds and none were being sold inside the MCI Center. After the afternoon dance practice, I ventured to this shop in preparation for the Pairs final. It had started to rain, so I made a detour to the hotel to pick up an umbrella on the way. It began to rain very heavily, and I was soaked by the time I arrived at the outside of the MCI Center. I almost got hit by a car as I was running to cross the street in front of the MCI Center with the umbrella held over my head. The crosswalk sign showed white - a walk sign for me, but the oncoming traffic that had a yield to turn left thought they had time to turn left in front of me. I put on brakes as it appeared they weren't stopping, and they put on brakes as well. I then resumed running to the other side.

I entered the flower shop and began to look around as I had no idea what I wanted at that time for a bouquet. The shop owner was talking on a rather long phone call soon after I came in, so I had the time. I wound up daydreaming out the window into the city street. A man on the other side of the glass stopped on the sidewalk and assumed my attention. 'Do you want me to buy you flowers?' He mouthed from the other side of the glass shield of sound, with accompanying hand motions. 'No, thank you,' I lip synched back, shaking my head lightly. If I had him buy the flowers, they wouldn't really be flowers to the skaters from me. They would be from him. That's just reason number one why this stranger should not buy me flowers. 'Are you sure?' He asked as in 'How could you resist such an offer?' 'Yes,' I answered with a nod, and he was soon gone.

The florist hung up the phone, and I decided on an assortment of daisies - violet, yellow, white and maroon. He wrapped them in the type saran florists use, and I asked him if he would add more wrapping to the top so that the flowers would be completely covered. He figured out that the flowers were for the skating event being held at the MCI Center. He had an interest in how the local guy, Michael Weiss, was faring.

I went back to my room, put the flowers in the refrigerator, dried off, and took a nap as I had some time to kill before the Pairs final. As I prepared to return to the MCI Center that evening, I tucked the stems of the flowers under my coat near the shoulders. My coat was just long enough that the tops of the flowers did not peek out from underneath. I was determined not to get turned away at the door as I didn't have much time to spare. I looked pretty bulky when I passed through the main entrance. Kieran found me in the hallway and informed me that his friend, Sherelle, had arrived for Worlds and had two empty seats next to where she was sitting in a lower section. We were able to go directly to the seats, on the opposite side of the judges and down further toward the end of the ice. It was a nice location for seeing the lifts and tricks of the pairs as they went down the diagonal of the ice. We sat about eight rows back from the front. I sat toward the aisle, so it would be no problem to get up to distribute the flowers. I met Sherelle, who was very nice and a skating teacher.

As we were getting settled Diana Rennik and Aleksei Saks of Estonia were on the ice skating to music by Yanni. They did some side by side double jumps toward the end.
Tech: 3.6-3.9
Pres: 3.6-3.8

Marina Aganina and Artem Knyazev of Uzbekistan - Quidam:
This sounds like tunes from a music box.
costumes don't collude with each other - he in a nice shade of maroon, she in pale blue
throw jump - two footed landing
throw double
hand to hip lift with her knees bent
side by side camels
press lift
straight line footwork
side by side doubles - she singled
press lift repeated
combo spin - lost balance and he put his hands down
They both waved with both hands in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 3.4-3.9
Pres: 3.5-3.9

Tatiana Volosozhar and Petro Kharchenko of Ukraine - Romeo and Juliet:
popular music piece for this Worlds
nice maroon costumes with gold trim
side by side triples - fall by Petro
triple twist - a little trouble pushing her out from his body
throw triple - big
he did death spiral pivot position while she rotated around him with her arms out at shoulder level
hand to hip lift
throw triple
she did spread eagle while he was in spiral position
death spiral
carry lift with her in a horizontal position
brief double spiral
Quite nice. A little kiss at the end for her. They skated off the ice with arms around each other. Tatiana stood and waved in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 3.9-4.7
Pres: 4.1-4.8

Maria Guerassimenko and Vladimir Futas of Slovak Republic - Quidam:
sea blue and white costumes - she with blue skirt and he with white shirt and blue pants
double twist
side by side double axels into more doubles - she trailed behind him in location
long setup into a fall on throw triple
side by side doubles
star lift
complicated entrance into a hand to hip lift
side by side spins - off unison
throw single
lift with a rough dismount
side by side doubles
combo spin
death spiral
They finished behind the music. They seemed to be thinking through every element. When they don't think through, she has a nice style. The Jumbotron zeroed in on a cut on her finger as they sat in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 3.6-4.0
Pres: 3.6-4.2

Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn of U.S.A. - Les Miserables:
opening lift
side by side triples
triple twist - caught a little awkwardly
one handed lift
throw triple
good speed
side by side doubles
side by side camels to sit spin
press lift
throw triple
lift where she stood on his thighs
crowd clapping along to the music
another press lift
death spiral
They received a standing ovation before they even finished. People littering the ice with toys. They're not my favorite U.S. team, but I have to say even the lifts looked better than usual. They shared a big hug at the end.
Tech: 4.8-5.4
Pres: 4.8-5.5

Kathryn Orscher and Garrett Lucash of U.S.A. - Spartacus:
This team is close to each other in size live.
triple twist - slight collision on catch
side by side triples - fall by Garrett
side by side doubles
throw triple - two footed landing
hand to hip lift
fell in unison on side by side jumps
hand to hip lift that became a carry lift with her in a horizontal position
throw double
death spiral
hand to hip lift with flipping dismount.
Disappointing meltdown after the relative cleanness of the short program.
Tech: 3.8-4.7
Pres: 3.7-4.8

Eva-Maria Fitze and Rico Rex of Germany - Waterworld soundtrack:
side by side triples into doubles
throw triple
side by side camels
hand to hip lift
throw triple
hand to hip lift
upside down lift
They shared hugs in Kiss & Cry.
Tech: 4.3-5.1
Pres: 4.2-5.1

Jacinthe Lariviere and Lenny Faustino of Canada - A Transylvanian Lullaby/Concert Fantasy on Gounod's Faust/Le Diable and La Pieta/Sinfonia, Opus 12:
a lot of music choices
brown and gold costumes
side by side triples throw triple
hand to hip lift
he picked her up from a spiral position
press lift that went to one handed lift
throw triple
side by side camel spin
death spiral
Tech: 4.7-5.2
Pres: 4.7-5.4

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, Jr. of U.S.A. - Brazil soundtrack:
triple twist
side by side triples - two footed landing by Rena
throw triple
press lift that drops to one hand
one handed lift with Rena in a kneeling position
spiral sequence
throw triple - forward lean on landing
double jumps half loop double jumps
side by side sit spins
press lift with her stepping on his shoulder
hand to hip lift
Tech: 4.7-5.4
Pres: 4.6-5.4

Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola of Czech Republic - El Piano de America:
she in peach dress, he in tux with a peach collar
distinctly piano music
side by side triples - she fell on the glide out and had difficulty getting up
double twist
throw double
side by side doubles - singled by her
she holds foot forward by her ear while skating on her own beside Otto - nice flexibility
throw triple - fall
one handed lift
death spiral
combo spin
one handed hand to hip lift
nice ending position
They looked disappointed after the skate.
Tech: 4.4-5.2
Pres: 4.7-5.3

Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis of France - The Addams Family soundtrack:
pink and black costumes
side by side doubles
side by side doubles into more doubles
throw single - she popped it and they skate around, she's hurt
They skated over to talk to the referee and were allowed to continue where they stopped. Someone in the stands threw something onto the ice while they conferred with the referee. The audience kept shouting, 'There's something on the ice!' Stephane heard and picked it up before they continued.
adagio lift
throw triple - fall
star lift with dip between his legs before the elevating
he kissed her arm in the choreography
straight line footwork with Addams family personality
lift
death spiral
They hugged at the end. Sarah was crying and trying to smile through her tears. She was noticeably in pain.
Tech: 4.2-4.8
Pres: 4.8-5.4

Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Markuntsov of Japan - Those are the Nights:
pink and blue costumes
music similar to clown music
sassy poses and cute dancing at the beginning
side by side double jumps
extension/flexibility move
side by side triples - touch down by Alexander, they almost collide
throw triple - big smile from Yuko
triple twist
he pulled her in a flexibility move
death spiral
one handed lift with flipping dismount
stretch move
throw triple
hand to hip lift that turns into position with Yuko diving downwards head first
hand to hip lift
flexibility moves in combo spin
They hugged at the end, and he put his arm around her as they skated off the ice.
Tech: 4.5-5.2
Pres: 4.6-5.4

Anabelle Langlois and Patrice Archetto of Canada - Tosca:
opening pose with him hugging her from behind
throw triple
triple twist - barely finished last half of rotation
side by side triples
side by side doubles
lift
double spread eagle
side by side doubles
double spiral
throw triple - a look of concentration on her face
back press lift
Anabelle has nice back positions. They received a standing ovation from the audience. Anabelle gave kisses to kids by the boards bearing gifts.
Tech: 5.1-5.5
Pres: 5.2-5.6

Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China - Piano Concerto No. 2:
opening jumps off sync in timing with each other
side by side triples - doubled by Qing
side by side doubles
triple twist
throw triple
press lift
side by side camels - a little off sync
side by side doubles into more doubles
throw triple
combo spin - a bit rough in transitions
They received some boos from the audience for placing in front of Langlois and Archetto, I presume. Rudeness. Even if the booing is for the judges, it can hurt the skaters, too.
Tech: 5.1-5.6
Pres: 5.1-5.6

Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek of Poland - Xotica:
side by side triples
throw triple - stepped out of landing, telling air position of the result
double jumps into more double jumps
side by side sit spins - a little travelling by him
unique lift entrance
death spiral
triple twist
throw triple - tentative distance from takeoff
lift
carry lift with her in star position
star lift
combo spin - fast
Tech: 5.0-5.6
Pres: 5.0-5.6

Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China - Grafin Mariza:
triple twist - again with almost horizontal position for her
side by side triples
throw triple
side by side doubles
side by side triples into doubles
side by side spins - off
hand to hip lift went to one hand
hand to hip lift
They hugged at the end.
Tech: 5.2-5.7
Pres: 5.0-5.6

Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia - Chess:
They wore the costumes from Grand Prix Final free skate B - all black for him and all white for her.
side by side triples
double axels
double toe loops - she stepped out
triple twist
throw triple loop - touch down
lasso lift
combo spin
throw triple salchow
lift with him in spread eagle and her in inverted position
lift where she spins into rotations across his back
straight line step sequence
side by side camel spins
star lift - trouble transitioning out of the exit
death spiral
Tech: 5.1-5.6
Pres: 5.0-5.7
I like the gentle and subtle presentation style they have, still with the traditional grace movements. More major boos went up from the crowd when the Jumbotron revealed that Petrova and Tikhonov had taken first place so far in the competition before the last three teams had skated. Alexei got up and exited the Kiss & Cry bench rather briskly after the marks were read and congratulations shared with his coach and his partner.

The notes for their skate were actually taken from the television broadcast. Their skate went by in sort of a blur live because they were the recipients of my bouquet, and I was busy unveiling it from my coat during their skate. I confess it appeared a little crumpled. Sorry Maria and Alexei! I was trying to keep it on the down low for as long as possible. As I was smoothing out the saran and making sure the flowers were fully covered, Maria and Alexei were taking their bows. They had already turned to the opposite direction of where we sat to head toward Kiss & Cry, and Kieran encouraged me to go forward and just put them on the ice. So, I walked to the front row and leaned over the boards with one hand gripping the underside of the boards so that I didn't fall too far forward. With the other hand, I released the flowers close to the ice surface so that they wouldn't unravel nor make too loud of a sound. Then, I straightened back up and turned around. As I headed back to my seat, a lady seated toward the front said to me, 'I liked your delivery of the flowers on the ice.' I said, 'Oh, thank you.' I'm guessing she meant I didn't throw them too harshly. As soon as I returned to the seat, I looked up and the flower girl that had come to the end of the ice to retrieve the bouquet was handing the flowers to Maria Petrova at the outside of the Kiss & Cry door. I was glad that they actually made it to her instead of being potentially thrown out in the back by the ice sweepers without her ever seeing them. The flowers could also be seen on the Jumbotron when they sat in Kiss & Cry. Sherelle said, 'Look, your flowers are going to be on TV.' It was cool. Others in the area sitting near us that had seen me drop the flowers clapped that the bouquet had made it to Maria. This was a nice group to sit with. Nobody even seemed to mind when I kept out the Russian flag to wave for Obertas and Sokolov and Totmianina and Marinin to follow.

Julia Obertas and Alexei Sokolov of Russia - Spirit Wind/Pearl Harbor soundtrack:
side by side triples - trouble for Alexei
side by side double axels - scratchy landing from Alexei
throw triple
double besti squat
hand to hip lift
throw triple - bend forward at the waist on the landing
lift with Julia diving down head first - unsteady as she reached for his hands throughout
problems in another lift
Tech: 5.0-5.6
Pres: 5.2-5.6

Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin of Russia - The Cotton Club:
side by side triples
triple twist - big
vocals in the music sound cool live - 'whoa-oh-oh-oh'
throw triple
side by side triples - Maxim stepped out
side by side doubles
press lift that became one handed
throw triple
death spiral
another press lift
another lift
side by side camels - end with their hands on knees
hand to hip lift with swinging exit
footwork sequence
combo spin
They shared a little hug at the end and a smile from Tatiana. Some men sitting behind me confer that that was the winning skate.
Tech: 5.6-5.8
Pres: 5.8-5.9

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China - Violin Fantasy from Turandot:
opens with choreography
side by side double axels
side by side triples
throw triple
press lift
triple twist
double spread eagle
side by side double axels
combo spin - a bit rough
throw triple
side by side spins - a little off
more feeling and drama now that they finished the technical part
hand to hip lift
carry lift
The crowd was on their feet in mania for at least the last thirty seconds of their program. It must have been a personal victory for them as well, given Xue's injuries earlier in the week.
Tech: 5.9-6.0
Pres: 5.7-6.0

I actually felt the result could have gone either way - Shen and Zhao or Totmianina and Marinin winning. Shen and Zhao have definitely improved the emoting part of their presentation. I think I probably just enjoy the Russian emphasis on line and balletic presentation for pair skating.

I was anxious to discover what a medal ceremony constituted. I felt excitement. They rolled out some carpet and set up a stage and podium with three tiers. It took only about ten minutes. The podium setup occurred on the ice directly in front of the section where we sat. There were now vacancies in the front row, so I moved down to get a better view and take pictures. People were using mad flash now, and I didn't realize it was allowable. So, none of my podium photos turned out. Shen and Zhao were called to take the podium first, and they received another standing ovation as they crossed to the end of the ice from the Kiss & Cry and backstage area. Everyone stayed standing for the entire medal ceremony. Then, Totmianina and Marinin and Petrova and Tikhonov were called out, respectively, to more applause. Those on the loudspeaker announced ISU President Ottavio Cinquanta leading the procession to present the gifts, and many in the audience booed. The presentation of medals occurred first. The ladies of each pair do the kiss on both cheeks with Cinquanta, and the men shake his hand. The flowers were presented next, with the repeating of the salutation with Cinquanta. Six teen-aged girls in uniform dress brought in the flowers and medals on pillows. The Chinese anthem played as the flags rose on the other end of the ice, above the media booths. Xue Shen sang along to the anthem. After the anthem finished, Petrova and Tikhonov and Totmianina and Marinin joined Shen and Zhao on the top step of the podium for photo opportunities. Part of the set up time for the medal ceremony, aside from the introduction of the podium and carpet, was for the cameramen to leave the camera wall and set up facing the medal podium, about twenty feet away. So, a slew of them took pictures while the athletes smiled, waved their flowers, and held up their medals. The three teams exited the podium only to find the other section of cameramen who had taken over what was previously the judges' seating, to pose for more photos. Then, the victory lap ensued with all three teams and Shen and Zhao leading the way. To the left of our section, near center ice, were some fans with a huge Chinese flag on a white pole. They handed the flag to Xue to carry for the remainder of the journey on the ice. Shen and Zhao later came back to the area where they received the flag to pose for photos for the fans. They also picked another section to pose together for photos for the fans. They were both very happy.

Previous

Next


Reports

Home