Four Continents Championships 2017 review: pairs
I continue to share my impressions from 4CC 2017. You can read the part about ice dance here.
Pairs get silver medal in my personal ranking “Most interesting competition at Four Continents Championships 2017”.
The main impression of the first warm-ups brutal man with a beard Timothy LeDuc, easily stretching his leg to the ear.
I look at Kirsten Moore-Towers and think…..ok her Michael has matured, looks stronger and no longer bends, like an aspen, under the weight of lifts, they have a solid short program…..but, Kirsten, tell me honestly, did it worth it? However, thank you very much for the “release” of Dylan, I like him in a new pair a lot.
I didn’t recognise Alexa Scimeca! No grimacing, no scary lipstick! That’s what a marrige can do with a woman) First I wanted to write that I don’t like such sweeeeet programs (too sweet to my taste), but then saw how tender they’re, how they look at each other…..So who am I to criticize! It’s their story. Welcome back guys! Do not get ill anymore!
Chen Peng clearly wanted to correct her reputation of a pair-girl who fails jumps…… and failed side by side spin for a change. Damn it! They had such a great performance of the free program! But in general, once again I admit the wisdom of the Chinese figure skating federation (yeah, I’m taking all my words back), they knew what they were doing. Both new teams turned out wonderful.
Oh, yes, I’m definitely in Xiaoyu Yu‘s fan club! What a girl! She is not only incredible beauty, but also melted the heart of big and scary Hao Zhang! Have you ever seen that Big China hugged his partner after the skate?) So no more “father and daughter” only “strong man with a young woman of an exquisite beauty”. And with a quad twist in their arsenal. Not everything turned out after it, but it was a statement.
If you ask me, whose medal at 4CC made me happy the most, no doubt I’ll answer that it was Luba and Dylan‘s bronze. Luba was so happy on the podium, it was impossible to remain indifferent. They have such a beautiful programs and this time stars were in right positions, so Luba landed her jumps! Well, how can I not be happy?!
This season doesn’t go easy for Meagan and Eric, something isn’t working. Lots of mistake and with mistakes this programs don’t make strong impression. I think frequent change of elements paid its role. Do 3a throw / don’t do, do a quad/don’t do, change of combination etc. Such rearrangements take a lot of energy and concentration. I have a clear picture, how Meagan being in Korea calls a moving company in Canada to move their thing to the skating rink, where they’re going to live till Worlds. From the positive things: Eric has a new elegant shirt; huge respect to Meagan for adopting Korean dog, she has such a big heart! It’ll be one more reason for me to cheer for her at Worlds.
Sui – Han returned and showed who is a boss) Not only to their rivals, but also to ice dancers. Because Chinese pair skaters showed such a hot blues, that ice dancer should be ashamed. Mind blowing short program and mind blowing performance! The free program isn’t so polished yet, but I’ve been singing “Bridge over troubled water” since Saturday)
Pairs became such an interesting and exciting discipline to watch! What a battle expects us at Worlds!
To be continued.
Related topics: Alexa Scimeca Chris Knierim, Ashley Cain Timothy LeDuc, Cheng Peng Yang Jin, Four Continents Championships, Kirsten Moore-Towers Michael Marinaro, Lubov Iliushechkina Dylan Moscovitch, Meagan Duhamel Eric Radford, pairs, Wenjing Sui Cong Han, Xiaoyu Yu Hao Zhang
At the beginning of the season I thought “Alexa in a tender program? What a joke!” Then I saw it and got just a little misty…it was so beautiful and I’m happy they’re back.
Peng finally hit her side-by-side jumps. What a RELIEF. Maybe someday she’ll hit the spin.
Xiaoyu Yu is a queen. She is so elegant that you just think, “dang, I want to be like her!” She’s exactly what big Hao Zhang needs. And a quad twist…pairs is scaring me.
Luba and Dylan’s free program was the highlight of the event for me. So beautiful! And so much respect for Luba when she fell on the throw at the crescendo of the music and hopped RIGHT BACK UP! I love these two.
Meagan and Eric are a technical pair, and so if the jumps fail, the programs fail. They were not bad in the short, but the free had so many little mistakes that it was hard to enjoy. Lifts, however, are still flawless. And Meagan’s love for animals is just so admirable. Gotta love that girl.
If Xiaoyu Yu is a Chinese queen, that makes Wenjing Sui a Chinese goddess. Watching her, I picture an army of warriors at her back, marching after their commander. She is made of iron. The short program is so sassy and fun and kudos for the hair flipping :) I didn’t think they could pull off such a lyrical free, but it’s beautiful and makes Wenjing seem more like a lady and less like “scary warrior in the Hunger Games”. I like these two sides to her.
I’m going to make a bold prediction right here: Sui/Han will win Worlds, Tarasova/Morozov will win silver, and Diva Aliona will fight her way through an insanely difficult program to get bronze. And Meagan and Ksenia will help each other bandage up their wounds backstage.
So, you’re predicting that both your favorite pairs will finish off the podium at Worlds?
Unfortunately yes. I will have chocolates ready just in case.
But if they surprise me and hit the podium, it will make me so much happier than if I expected them to win.
If they’re 4th and 5th, I don’t know who will take it the hardest: Meagan, Ksenia, or me.
If Sui and Han win worlds I will be insanely happy. They are everything. I also love Aliona! I’m not sure if they’re ready for the podium or not. Tarasova/Morozov are good but don’t quite move me and their music is the worst. I can’t wait for new programs for them! My perfect podium would be Sui/Han, Aliona/Bruno, Megan/Eric but I think you are probably right.
I like Sui/Han and Aliona/Bruno too. I feel like Tarasova/Morozov are getting hugely overscored because they’re skating clean and the judges just keep going higher and higher until it’s ridiculous. They’re nice skaters but I don’t feel like they have that x-factor of a top team yet.
“Tarasova/Morozov are good but don’t quite move me and their music is the worst.”
They are good but don’t have much personality.
That’s the feeling. They’re just nice people who struggle with looking interesting on the ice. Same problem as Gracie Gold but without the mental block.