After the first two of six warm-ups, Evgeni Plushenkp leads with 90.85 points. Technically superb with strong elements, including quad toe - triple toe and triple Axel he was in complete control both physically and emotionally. No sign of nerves, though that was not the case in the warm-up where he paced the ice like a caged tiger, throwing a few jumps and little more.
He was not the Plushenko of old in some respects. Covering the ice with less speed than we remember and spins that were also a bit slow. Skating to " Concierto de Aranjuez" it was a cold performance with limited interpretation. Transitions were nearly completely lacking for the first three elements (the jumps). But beginning with element four (change foot combination spin) he did back to back elements for the remainder of the program with each spin and step sequences flowing directly into the next. His average Transitions mark was 6.8, which is reasonable considering 2/3 of the program flowed seamlessly from one element to the next. His Interpretation marks were in the 8s, which is hard to fathom. Where it not Plushenko on the ice doing difficult elements, we would have been quite bored for the entire performance. Despite all these limitation, he is clearly will be a hard competitor to beat, and is unlikely to crack in the Free Skate.
Some great skates in the fourth warm-up group. Denis Ten did a great performance of his Sing Sing Sing routine. Past history says he will not sustain his position in the long, but he rocked in the short. The judges, however, did not agree, with some components marks as low as 5.75 and an average of only 7.00. His Interpretation score was an embarrassment at 7.25 and one mark of 6.75.
Daisuke Takahashi gave a season best Short Program with an energetic, almost frantic tango, with four clean triple jumps in the routine. He held second after this warm-up just 0.60 points behind Plushenko and without a quad in his routine.
Stephane Lambiel brought back William Tell with a superb performance. He had an extraordinary save on his combination jump that almost went terribly bad, barely holding onto a quad toe attempt and then forcing in a double toe to complete the combination. His triple flip was clean though a little on the toe. Unfortunately the lack of a triple Axel is a big limitation for his TES mark. But his components were superb, the highest of the night at this point, averaging 8.6, thanks to a rousing performance. They held up to the end as the highest PCS of the night. He was in fourth after these two groups, and ended the night in fifth, 5.62 behind the three leaders.
Nabunari Oda ended the group with nearly clean elements, and a strong performance, but not a barn burner like some of the others. But collectively the elements and components were good enough for third at the time, and he held fourth at the end of the night. His triple Lutz had an edge alert, though only one judge went negative on the GoE.
Brian Joubert started the fifth warm-up and went down in flames. Joubert missed his opening quad toe and then went to pieces. Triple Axel was landed, but triple Lutz was downgraded. He got slaughtered in TES and ended with 68.00 points, in 18th place. Looking shell-shocked for the rest of the performance, his PCS was only a few points below the leaders, but his Olympic dream is over at 22 points behind the leaders.
Patrick Chan also did not live up to the hype and the hopes of his nation. He stepped out of triple Axel, stumbled in straight line steps, and finished late with a time deduction. His PCS scores held him up, so he only ended up in seventh at the end of the night, 9 points behind the leaders. He like several other skates with points in the 80s will need to work a miracle in the Free Skate, and get help from Takahashi, to move up to the medals. The fact he has even this slim chance is thanks to the judges who put his component marks in the eights and nines, outnumbering the judges who had him in the sevens. A significant spread of opinion there was for this performance. And add to Chan's woes tonight, a time deduction.
Johnny Weir ended the fifth warm-up group with one of his better performances of the year. He landed four triples, but an edge call on triple flip cost him two points. Some say the jump was two footed. Others disagree. His components averaged 7.8 and at 8 points back he, like Chan, needs a strong Free Skate and Takahashi shooting himself in the foot attempting a quad. Stranger things have happened. His components were as controversial as his costume fashion choices with a lowest component mark of 5.75 and highest of 9.00
In the last warm-up group Lysacek gave a solid performance, his best of the season. He landed four triples in a secure confident performance with good speed. One judge went to -2 on triple flip, for God only knows why. It was the only negative GoE among all the elements. His component marks were also strong, second best of the group, exceeded only by Lambiel. He squeezed ahead of Takahashi by 0.05 points, and ended 0.55 points behind Plushenko. Those who feel that Plushenko was over-scored in Transitions and Interpretation would claim that first place should have been Lysacek's rightful place. As in most of skating, others, however, would disagree.
Jeremy Abbott gave Brian Joubert made it a contest for worst collapse by a major competitor. Abbott landed triple flip into triple toe loop then singles his Axel and doubled his Lutz. He was stunned to find himself in 15th place in the short, 21 points behind the leaders. His components averaged 7.8 giving him the eighth best PCS. But his Olympic dream has ended thanks to a total base value of 27.90 points, vs. 44.1 for Plushenko, and 40s for the other leaders.
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| Evgeni Plushenko -- First | Evan Lysacek -- Second | Daisuke Takahashi -- Third |
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| Stephane Lambiel | Johnny Weir | Jeremy Abbott |
Copyright 2010 by George S. Rossano