What's an Olympic event without a few raised brows and a stream of questions on one's Twitter feed? Today's event got tongues wagging as we watched some of the most-anticipated ladies in the field, compete for the first time in the Winter Games roster for their national teams the Figure Skating Team Event. Headliners included Julia Lipnitskaia (RUS), Mao Asada (JPN), Carolina Kostner (ITA) and Ashley Wagner (USA).
There were a lot of questions afterwards, so instead of writing a preamble, let's just get to it!
RANKINGS after the short program:
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| (Source: Yahoo) |
1. (RUS) Julia Lipnitskaya, 72.90 (TES 39.39 PCS 33.51)- Julia skated a clean program. It was surprisingly excellent- but for me, that was mainly due to the crowd. The Russian audience were outstanding in their support for the fifteen year-old as they cheered her on, complete with a standing ovation before she even finished her final spin. Taking the crowd with you and skating a clean program will get you far in the Games, and this performance took Julia to the top. However, was she overscored? In my opinion- yes. Even before looking at the protocol, it was obvious that there were a few kinks in her otherwise fine program. Julia had a very obvious flutz which was 'overlooked' today, and a terrible double axel that warranted a side-comment from Robin Cousins and +2s in GOE from three judges. Considering the entry and the height and distance that her 2A covers- it's generous to give it a +1. Her components score also kept rising, with 2 points higher than her European Championships score. It's not a surprise that such 'inflation' is seen at the Games but when you have the world watching not just the athletes but also Russia itself- one does wonder who's in charge. I also don't understand how the judges could give her a mid-8 score in Interpretation and Choreography when she's hardly an aesthetic performer. There's no fire, no artistry, no choreography. Unlike her free program, this SP is quite bland. Whatever. All I can say is, if the technical panel proves to be lenient on edge calls all the way to next week, Mao better get +GOEs and no calls on her lutz. After all, the Olympics are all about equality, right technical panel?
2. (ITA) Carolina Kostner, 70.84 (TES 35.92 PCS 34.92)- Surprise, surprise! Carolina skated CLEAN. Complete with a triple toe-triple toe, Caro was fabulous on the ice. She skated to her new short program looking inspired and took on her final Olympic bid head on. She's not as flexible as Julia nor as technically competitive, but her crisp landings and considerable ice coverage earned her enough positive GOEs. I'm fine with her being behind Julia in the TES, although really not by four points, but to have them almost neck in neck in components was a joke. Kostner's lines are much more superior, her musicality and interpretation sublime, and her transitions and skating skills greater than Yuna Kim. I just don't get the mark. I would have given somewhere within the region of 36 and Julia around 31. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here.
3. (JPN) Mao Asada, 64.07 (TES 31.25 PCS 33.82)- Yes, Asada fell. Not only did she fall, her triple Axel was also downgraded and with the deduction- it was basically a null element. HOWEVER, the rest of Mao's program was absolutely fantastic. Her lines were great as always, her spins were also good- overall, it wasn't a bad performance. All season Asada has been undefeated, and that's with a season of no 'clean' programs (except for GPF, that axel was round.) and her components scores have been steadily around the 34 area. All of the sudden today- what's with the drop? Okay fine, the fall caused a dilemma- but it didn't really affect her overall performance. Her spins, which all season has been awarded a Lv.4 has now dropped. A judge even had the audacity to give her 7s in components (!)- and this is a skater who exudes Chopin's musicality to the tips of her fingers! Her program was well-structured, it has enough transitions and her interpretation and skating skills were otherwise on point. DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT STEP SEQUENCE. Mao is the QUEEN of the StSq- and hers today was not in way shape or form a Level 3. WHAT IS GOING ON?! She's in the right position but should be a point higher in her second mark IMO.
4. (USA) Ashley Wagner, 63.10 (TES 32.16 PCS 30.94)- Another skater hammered down on PCS was Ashley Wagner. Unfortunately for Diva Wagner, despite landing the triple flip-triple toe which she missed during the warm-up, she landed her backend toe on two feet and her flip was called underrotated. Ouch. She was very cautious and nervous heading in, but in the end she pulled off a good program that would have done her great service at Nationals. However, we're in Russia. Of course it wasn't going to be good enough- and the judges were saving marks for a certain *ahem* favourite. Her skating style fitted the music perfectly, and despite not having the best lines or skating skills (or transitions- while we're at it), her PCS shouldn't have been that low. A 31-2 at the most maybe, and that's with Olympic inflation- but the disgust on her face when she was given her scores said it all.
5. (CAN) Kaetlyn Osmond, 62.54 (TES 33.86 PCS 28.68)- I really am not a fan of Osmond's and I couldn't care less about her performance- however, she skated cleanly after coming back from the injuries that plagued her all season! Well done. She showed flashes of the Kaetlyn that caught everyone's attention last year, full of fire and personality on the ice. I thought it was funny that the judges gave her a mid-6 for linking footwork and transitions. HER WHOLE PROGRAM IS LIKE RAPUNZEL'S HAIR WHEN ITS BRAIDED! In fact, one would argue that there's too much. Whatever. I don't see her medalling, but I would have been generous and given her a somewhere between a 29-30 in components.
At this point, I don't know if the judges are trying to prop up Julia as THE medal contender, or if they're sending Kim a message, or they're just being terribly inconsistent or if they're being pressured (yes, I went there.) The good thing is, this is only a team event. I see this more as a good tune-up for the athletes to test out the Sochi ice before their upcoming individual events. After all, one would hate to see one's favourite peak at the most unimportant event in the roster. On a positive note, putting the over/underscoring aside, it's surprisingly fun to watch the teams interact with each other. It's not quite as fabulous as the World Team Trophy, but at least it's giving enough good vibes for all the athletes, having their teammates' support at the Kiss and Cry.
Watch out for tomorrow's free skate event. It's set a 19:00hrs local Sochi time. For us in the UK, we can enjoy Robin Cousin's enlightened commentary on BBC Sports at 3pm.
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