1999 Four Continents Championships

Senior Pairs

Final Standings

        J1:  Mrs. Berit Aarnes,  NOR
        J2:  Mr. Charles Foster,  USA
        J3:  Mr. Jiasheng Yang,  CHN
        J4:  Mrs. Evgenia Bogdanova,  AZE
        J5:  Mrs. Frances Dafoe,  CAN
        J6:  Mrs. Susan Lynch,  AUS
        J7:  Mrs. Jacqueline Itschner,  SWI

Notes after the long program.

Just as in the short program, there were two distinct groups here with the top four and bottom four teams.  Shen & Zhao were again rock solid with marks of 5.7-5.8 in the first mark and 5.5-5.8 in the second mark.  This was clearly a World medal caliber performance with four strong lifts - including a great triple twist, two strong throws - the triple Salchow was magnificent, and the rarely seen (except from them) forward outside death spiral.  The only nits we can pick is that their straight line step sequence was a bit slow and there is nary a hint of emotion shown between them on the ice for the entire 4 1/2 minutes.

Sargeant & Wirtz went out tonight to recover their dignity after the two errors in the short program and did just that.  They had four good lifts and two clean throws - triple Salchow and double Axel.  They landed triple toe loops and also a double Axel into double toe loops sequence.  They performed two death spirals - the simple forward inside and the more difficult backward outside.  The latter was well done though fairly brief in duration.  As in the short program, their spins were fairly simple.  By pulling up to second in the long program they won the silver medal in the pairs event.

The Hartsells again did a respectable job to hold third place and win the bronze medal.   The two main errors in the program consisted of the triple twist landing on Steve's shoulder and Danielle stepping out of throw triple loop.  Steve took responsibility for the latter error, saying he put a little too much muscle into the throw because they were pumped up by how well they were skating.  From the boards you could here him call to her that it was his fault and to keep on going.  They landed triple toe loops, double Axels into triple toe loops, and solo double toe loops.  For death spirals they performed the back inside and the back outside, with the back outside among the three best of the event.

Saurette & Fecteau dropped to fourth in the long and fourth overall after a throw gone bad in the warm-up.  Saurette fell and then crashed into the boards.  She had the wind knocked out of her and severely bruised her right side from hip to ribs.   Whether it was the fall or some other reason cannot be determined, but regardless of the source, they did not skate as well as in the short program.  They had some nice elements among the lifts and spins but the jumps and throws had problems.   Saurette landed throw triple Salchow but put her hand down later in the program on throw double Axel.  On a planned triple toe loop - double toe loop combination she fell, and both skaters had errors on triple toe loops again later in the program.   They had an unusual side-by-side change sit spin into a pair spin combination, but overall their routine to "Carmina Burana" really didn't work too well choreographically artistically.

In the long program Pang & Tong again gave a technically strong and artistically weak performance.  They had a good triple twist, a great throw triple Salchow and an excellent back outside death spiral.  The only significant technical errors were Pang falling twice on double Axels.  Keep your eye on this team in the future.

Notes after the short program.

There were two distinct groups of skaters here, the top four senior quality teams, and the bottom two junior quality teams.  The Chinese team of Shen & Zhao are head and shoulders above the rest here.  After placing fifth at the 1998 Olympics and fourth at Worlds they are favorites for a medal this year in Helsinki, and their performance here cemented that view.  They skated a clean program with fast strong elements and the best double twist of the group and the most difficult throw (triple loop) of the group.

Saurette & Fecteau were a respectable second place.  They skated moderately fast in a jungle themed routine with a good quality lift, double twist, and throw triple Salchow.  Their spins were a little on the simple side, and Saurette two footed triple toe loop.  Their back inside death spiral was one of the best of the group.

Hartsell & Hartsell also skated well in a performance similar in content to Saurette & Fecteau.  The Hartsells were a bit slower, with their death spiral not quite as nice; and, in a more obvious error, Danielle stepped out of triple toe loop.

The basic quality of the skating in Sargeant & Wirtz's performance was good, as was their presentations, but they made two major errors in the program.  Sargeant fell on throw triple Salchow and also on triple toe loop.  Their two spins were fairly simple, but the overhead lift was well done as was the death spiral.

Although in no way ready to contend for a medal, the second Chinese team of Pang & Tong must be mentioned.  They performed a difficult overhead lift well and had the second best twist lift of the group.  Their death spiral was among the three best of the group.  They executed a huge throw triple Salchow on which Pang put her foot down.  She also put her hand down on triple toe loop.  They remind one a great deal of Shen & Zhao several years ago - obvious strength and technical skill with a completely undeveloped presentation.  If they mature they way Shen & Zhao have they could develop into a top team in the next three years.

Short Program

Free Skating

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