2011 Grand Prix Final

Patrick Chan

Nervous Chan Wins Over Audience

1.Overall 260.30; 1.FS 173.67 (87.59+87.08) "I thought they might boo me," said the relieved Patrick Chan as he left the ice after his winning four-minute-forty-second, gold-medal winning Free Skate at the Pavillon de la Jeunesse in the slightly snowy, picturesque Quebec City Saturday night.

He had been hounded by the media for days after his months-old misinterpreted comments ran in Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, which later issued an apology. Patrick Chan held himself together through hours and hours of interview after interview, trying to give his side on what he said.

It was a draining process but he managed to successfully defend his title and win by a margin of 11.18 points. Performing to the Adagio from Concerto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodriguez, Chan, who turns 21 on New Year’s Eve, stepped out of his opening move, the quad toe and was unable to execute the planned second jump, a triple toe. -1.86 was removed from the quad’s base value of 10.30.

He tried the quad a second time, putting two hands on the ice but managing to get airborne for a double toe. Minus 2.43 was removed from that element’s base vaue of 11.60. However, he remarkably put that behind him and the next seven elements were superb.

His triple Axel earned +1.57 extra; his Level 4 circular steps got +1.50; the flying change foot combination spin was Level 3 with +0.93; the combination of triple Lutz-half loop-triple Salchow, accomplished after the halfway stage when the 10% bonus for jumps clicks in, got an extra +0.60; the following triple loop was rewarded with an additional full point; and most remarkably his triple flip was joined with a triple toe not the planned double to make up for the missing triple planned to go with one of the quads. That earned +1.30. The last of the stream of successful moves, the change foot sit spin was Level 4 with +0.93.

But then the reigning World Champion fell badly on his triple Lutz. He sprang back up accomplishing a +0.36 double Axel, delight the audience with his choreographed steps (GoE +1.40) and concluded with a Level 4 change foot combination which gained an extra (0.64). At that point, the audience rose to their feet, embracing him with any bad feelings about his perceived bad-mouthing Skate Canada and wanting to skate for China, forgotten.

Smiling, he said his feeling at that moment was, "It's joy, the most joy I had in a long time. It's finally a big event I was able to win in my home country. It's been a bit of a dream of mine to be able to repeat. I think it shows that what I've been doing, in training off the ice, my preparation has all been very positive. It's a message to tell me that everything I'm doing is on the right track. I just hope to keep the momentum."

Later, after analyzing his performance, he said, "The quads were really good this week, especially yesterday so it is kind of funny how they didn’t work today. I did some quick thinking on my feet. I don’t usually do a triple flip-triple toe but I put one in and it worked well. It was an exciting competition for all of us and the audience. I want to thank Quebec for having us and making it really exciting.

2.Overall 249.12; 2.FS 172.63 (87.05+85.58) Daisuke Takahashi climbed from fifth to take the silver, his third such medal in this event. He was runner-up in both the

Skating to unusual music, Blues for Klook most famously used by the Russian ice dancers, Maia Usova & Alexander Zhulin, the 2010 Japanese world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, stumbled badly on his opening move, a quad toe which owned "only" 7.73 points (compared to its base value of 10.30). But then all of his other elements gained positive GoEs, including a triple Axel and a second triple Axel to triple toe timed for when the 10% bonus marks for jumping click in.

Surprisingly, his first spin, the change foot camel, was only Level 2, but his other two spins and the footwork earned the maximum Level 4. He said, "Yesterday’s result was pretty bad, but, because I had nothing to lose, it helped me relax today. After the short program I was in fifth place and I didn’t have too far down to go and didn’t have too much to lose.

"The audience encouraged me to move better so I am very satisfied with my performance today. It was my best performance of the season because I had a good concentration after yesterday. Just like Patrick said, the audience was great and really helped to push up my performance. Other skaters landed the quad jump but I wasn’t able to succeed on mine. I really need to upgrade my technique. Javier did a spectacular performance yesterday so I realized today that I had to do a better performance.

3.Overall 247.55; 4.FS 166.29 (84.89+81.40) Newcomer to this level of skating, Javier Fernandez from Madrid who now trains with Brian Orser in Toronto, held onto third place, winning the bronze, despite a fourth place in the free.

Fernandez was the only man to produce two clean quads, a toe loop which earned +1.71 over its base value of 10.30 and a Salchow which got +2 added to 10.50. But he had to execute a double three as he struggled to land the following triple Axel which was meant to be combined with a triple toe loop. He added that missing jump to his second triple Axel but was penalized with -0.71 because the second landing was flawed. A triple Salchow also was given a negative (-0.60) and a triple flip to double toe loop got a double arrow for down grade on the second jump.

He said, "I did not feel pressure after the short program as I always try to focus on myself, to do my work as best as I can and to fight through each performance. The Final is just another competition, but the experience here helped me a lot to gain confidence in myself. I can do better and I can win if I work harder."

4.Overall 245.82; 3.FS 166.49 (87.21+79.28); Yuzuru Hanyu, the newly turned 17-year-old Japanese fourth ranked senior, who created a huge impression when he won silver in the Four Continents Championships earlier this year, stayed fourth despite a FS which was ranked third best.

Hanyu, who is a survivor of the Japanese earthquake earlier this year, was skating in his home rink in Sendai when the ground shaking took place. Hanyu ran out of the shaking rink, which subsequently closed due to broken water pipes, not stopping to put on guards. He ruined his blades and lost much practice time. But, after placing fourth in the Cup of China, Hanyu made a name for himself winning the Moscow Grand Prix.

He said, "I am very pleased that I could finish my first Grand Prix Final to my satisfaction. Not only did I succeed with the quad toe loop but, also, I landed all three combination jumps cleanly (triple Lutz to double toe with arm over head on the second jump; triple Axel to triple toe, and triple Lutz combined with two double toe loops). I did make a small mistake on the easier jump (a triple Salchow) at the end of the program because of my lack of stamina and concentration." His other 12 elements all earned positives, with two of his three spins and his circular steps gaining the maximum Level 4. His final element, a flying change foot combo spin was only Level 2 with +0.64 GoE. He performed to Romeo and Juliet.

5.Overall 238.82; 5.FS 156.16 (74.80+83.36 -2) Jeremy Abbott, the former twice US champion who trains in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., dropped from second after the SP to fifth overall, with a FS ranked 5^th best, but he did not seem upset by the downfall.

The 26-year-old performed a choreographically mature and interesting routine to Exogenesis: Symphony, Part 3 by Muse. He began with a good quad toe which earned an extra +0.86. Abbott said, "It was my season’s best by far. Tying my skates, I could hear how the other boys did. I knew I had to throw it down to really keep my position or keep a medal. I started off the program really strong. I got a little off focus before the second Axel (on which he fell badly)."

He also fell on the second triple Lutz which got an arrow for slight under-rotation, and couldn’t do the planned second jump in that combination. "That was a new addition to my program and my legs got tired and I gave it too much. I haven’t quite had the practice with it. I felt like I gave a strong performance. I had two mistakes, but I felt for the most part that I was focused through the majority of the program. I want each competition to get better and better. I did the quad here and I definitely gave a much better performance technically than I did in China or Russia (he won the first of those events and got bronze in the second). I got off the ice feeling much happier today than I did at either of those competitions.

"I feel like I’m on the right track, - maybe not perfect now, not a medal here. The whole goal was to continue improving and getting better through the season. I’ve more than stuck to that. I want to be one more step better at U.S. Championships, Four Continents and Worlds."

6.Overall 281.98; Michal Brezina, Czech Republic; 6.FS 143.72 (71.34+73.38 -1) Brezina, performed to the Untouchables, a television series about the early days of the FBI chasing Al Capone. The 21-year-old from Brno, who has been fourth for the past two years in the World Championships, began well with a +0.57 triple Axel and +1.0 triple flip to triple toe, and although he put a hand on the ice landing his quad Salchow, he still banked 9.50 points for this move. And though he later fell on a triple Axel, meant to be a combination and he singled an Axel in his final jumping pass, it was still an enjoyable presentation.

He admitted, "I had two mistakes in tonight’s free skate. But, overall, for me, it felt like the best Free Skate I did this season. I had a clean beginning. It was the first fall I’ve had on a triple Axel in years so that was like a new experience for me, and then I felt tired so I singled the second attempt.

2011 Grand Prix Final Men's Medalists