2001

Grand Prix Final

Pairs Event

Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman led off the pairs short program with a poor performance in which Zimmerman fell on triple toe loop and Ina barely squeaked out throw triple loop.  In addition, their back inside death spiral was particularly unattractive and was the worst of the group.  Placing last, it was not a good start for them, but one they were ultimately able to overcome.

Jamie Sale & David Pelletier skated their "Jalousie" routine flawlessly and received a warm standing ovation from the audience.  They landed throw triple loop and triple toe loops without difficulty and on a 4-3 split of the panel were placed first in the short program ahead of the primary rivals Elena Berzhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze.

The French couple of Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis skated their short program with mixed success.  They completed all the elements successfully, including throw triple loop and triple toe loops, but the quality was mediocre with the death spiral executed in a strange, contorted, position and the program overall lacking connecting moves and appropriate expression of the music.  Except for the German judge, who tanked them, they received fourth place marks for their effort.

Of the three top teams in the running for the Olympic gold it was most important for Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao to show the judges they should be taken seriously for top honors.  They completed all their elements cleanly, including throw triple loop and triple toe loops, and skated their "Kismet" routine with decent style but they did not give the impression they should be considered in the same league as Sale & Pelletier and Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze, and the judges agreed.  They received unanimous third place marks.

Former Champions Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov, also in need of a good result here in the run up to the Olympics, did not make the grade.  On triple toe loops Petrova put two hands down, while throw triple Salchow was successful.   The program, Tchaikovski's "Nutcracker", was skated with only middling speed and overall was just plane boring.  They were placed an underwhelming fifth.

Last to skate were Berzhnaya & Sikharulidze.  They gave an intense, dramatic presentation of the routine skated to "Lady Calif".  They skate cleanly landing throw triple loop, triple toe loops, a nice overhead lift ending in   a swoop and a nice back inside death spiral.  They ended up on the losing end of the 4-3 split with the Canadian team, with many (non-Canadian) observers feeling the Russians had been robbed.

After a mediocre skate in the short program, Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis slipped into oblivious with the first of two weak free skates.  On opening triple toe loops Bernadis stepped out of the landing, on double Axel he put his hand down and then on triple twist they had a shoulder bump.  They completed three difficult overhead lifts in addition to a simple throw double Axel and a more difficult throw triple loop.  They executed only one death spiral, a simple forward inside.  They received marks of fourth through sixth for their bizarre "Angel and Devil" routine.

Next to skate were Maria Pertova & Alexei Tikhonov performing to music from the musical "Chess".  who struggled with their solo jumps.  On triple toe loops Petrova doubled the jump and two-footed it while Tikhonov put his hand down.   They both landed a double Axel - double toe loop sequence but later on solo double toe loops they both two footed the jump.  Throw triple Salchow and throw triple toe loop were successful.  On triple twist they had a shoulder bump.  In addition to the triple twist they executed three additional lifts.  Despite completing   several decent tricks, overall the program lacked difficulty compared to all but the French team, and like the short program it was again boring.

For the first free skate Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze skated their Chaplin routine.  It was well skated, despite two errors.  They both landed triple toe loops and a double Axel - double toe loop sequence.  This was followed by a triple twist with no catch and a fall on throw triple Salchow.  The remainder of the program was clean and strong.  In addition to the twist lift they completed three difficult overhead lifts.  They also completed a throw triple loop and a forward inside death spiral.  The result for the free skate was again decided on a 4-3 split, this time with the Russian couple coming out on top.

Unlike most of the competitors here, Jamie Sale & David Pelletier skated this season's program first for the two free skates.  Their Rachmaninov routine was very well done, with but two errors.  On triple toe loop Sale two-footed the jump and in their pair spin there was a minor loss of control near the end of it.  They landed a double Axel - double toe loop sequence, throw triple Salchow and throw triple loop.   Their triple twist was merely adequate but their other three overhead lifts were well done.  They were also one of but two teams to execute two death spirals.   Placed second in the program on a 4-3 split, they ended the first day of competition in second place overall numerically, but in a virtual tie for first place in the minds of most observers.

Finishing up the group, Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao skated their "Mulan" routine.  It was a disappointing performance; sloppy and unprepared looking.  Despite only one major error in the program, not one judge placed them higher than third, a strong indication this team has little chance of being competitive for the gold medal in Salt Lake City.  They completed triple toe loops and solo double Axels.  On a double Axel - double toe loop sequence Zhao singled the jump.   They completed throw triple Salchow but on throw triple loop Shen two-footed the jump.  Their triple twist was clean and they executed three other overhead lifts.   They ended up third in the free skate, the position they would hold for the entire competition.

Skating to the "Four Seasons", Maria Petrova & Alexei Tikhonov gave the French team a good battle for last place but in the end they managed to end up fifth.  On opening triple toe loops Petrova fell but on the following double Axel - triple toe loop sequence both were clean, with Tikhonov reaching on the toe loop but not touching.  Throw triple Salchow and throw triple toe loop were both successful, while on triple twist the skaters bumped chests.  In addition to the triple twist they completed three other lifts though they lacked the difficulty level of the top four teams.  Their death spiral was the relativly simple forward inside and on their closing footwork sequence Tikhonov fell.  With five fifth place marks they placed fifth for the third program of the competition and ended up fifth overall.

Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman gave their best performance of the competition in the second free skate.  Contrary to the rules, however, it was the same program as skated in the first free skate.  The elements and choreography were identical and the music for the two programs was simply two different orchestrations of the Rachmaninov "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini".  Thus no need to recap the elements, except to note that two of their four lifts were basically the same lift, and that the routine was skated cleanly and securely (if a bit slowly) but for a shoulder hit on the triple twist.  On the losing end of a 4-3 split of the panel, they placed fourth, a place lower than they arguably deserved to be.

The Chinese team of Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao, skating to "Turandot" gave another sluggish, lackluster performance.  On their opening double Axel - triple toe loop sequence Shen popped and two-footed the Axel.  Later in the program on solo double Axels she singled the jump and near the end of the program she had control problems on their solo spin.  Both throws, triple Salchow and triple loop, were huge and their triple twist was clean.  Three overhead lifts and one dance lift were completed in addition to the twist lift.  Despite the difficulty to its credit, the program was sloppy and poorly executed.  Nevertheless, they placed third on a 4-3 split with the American team.

For the last two teams, the final free skate would be the deciding factor in their final placements.  The Canadian team was the first to skate.

Jamie Sale & David Pelletier performed last year's "love Story" routine for the second free skate.  The program was well skated, clean and strong.   They were right on both technically and in terms of presentation, and received a big standing ovation from the audience and two marks of 6.0 in the second mark, from the American and Canadian judges.  They landed triple toe loops, double Axels into double toe loops, throw triple Salchow and throw triple loop.  There triple twist was clean but undistinguished, while their three overhead lifts were well done.  They received unanimous first place marks to place first in the free skate and move ahead of Elena Berezhnaya & Anton Sikharulidze to first overall.

When they took the ice, Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze still had a chance to win the gold medal at the final, but not for long.  They landed opening triple toe loops and a double Axel - double toe loop sequence, but their triple twist had no catch and following a spiral sequence Berezhnaya fell on throw triple Salchow.  Throw triple loop was clean and three overhead lifts were executed successfully.  Their routine, skated to "Meditation" from the opera "Thais" was nice enough but was no match for the Canadians and the overall quality of the skating was sluggish and sloppy.   They were placed a unanimous second by the panel to finish second overall.

Short Program

First Free Skate

Second Free Skate