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So much for favorites. Yannick Ponsero, or France, kicked serious butt with a score of 78.05 and a clean quad toe loop and triple Axel. He had planned an opening quad-triple but attempted quad toe loop - single toe loop instead. The quad was big and clean and received GoEs of zero through plus two. His triple Axel was even better, also high and strong with GoEs of plus one and two. The rest of the program was also clean, and his three spins were all called level four. For music he chose a techno version of the theme from Beethoven's fifth symphony, and wore an unconventional modern costume. It was all very French. His Program Components, however, where not up to the standard of his element, with an average component score of "only" 6.50. Canadian Men's Champion Patrick Chan placed second, with only one significant error in his program, a poorly controlled landing edge on his opening triple Axel. He did not attempt a quad. His only other error was a small stumble near the end of his straight line step sequence, but only three judges in ten gave him a negative GoE because of it. His spins and sequences were called levels two through four. Skating to "Tango de los Exilados" by Walter Taieb, he received the highest Program Component scores of the group, mainly in the mid-sevens. It was a complete and expressive program, and even in Transitions he reached a mark of 7.00, the only skater in the group to do so. If the French connection wasn't enough of a surprise for the evening, Ryan Bradley, of the U.S. placed third. He landed a quad toe loop - triple toe loop combination though with a wild landing edge and a hand down on the triple toe loop. But even with GoEs of minus two, the element still garnered him 10.5 points. Both his change camel spin and his change combination spin were also scores slightly negative. Overall it was a fast lively performance to an Elvis Presley Medley, if a bit uncontrolled throughout, and on his closing change combination spin the was so poorly controlled he nearly lost it, but he held on for dear life and finished the element. His program scores reflected the strengths and weaknesses of the program, with Skating Skill and Transitions scored below 6.0 and his artistic components (the other three) scored above 6.0 Evan Lysacek, who skated last, had a costly error on his combination. He stepped out of triple Lutz, and though he completed the intended triple toe loop, the extra steps between the jumps invalidated the toe loop. In addition, the judges marked it with GoEs of minus three. His other elements were well done. For Program Components he received scores mainly in the low sevens, for the second highest Program Component Score. Were it not for the error on the combination his point total would have been close to the marks of the top two skaters. As it turned out, though he now sit sin fourth place 6.65 points behind the leader. Nothing here or in the past week has changed our opinion of the choreography or costume for this program. For now we stick with our comments in these areas from Skate America. The third U.S. man here, Brandon Mroz, placed eighth, 11.02 points behind the leader. His opening triple Axel was poorly landed, but he stayed upright. Four of ten judges gave minus one GoEs for his flying sit spin, and yet the element ended up loosing 0.12 points for the error. This tells you that the three discard were some of his higher scoring judges. Tough luck of hte draw there. His spins were called levels three and four, but sequences were only level two. Except for the two elements scored negative, his GoEs were mainly zeros -- clean elements, but nothing special. His routine to Richard Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel" was capably presented, but with no hint of emotion or facial expression. The full title of the work in English is actually Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. Till Eulenspiegel is a character from German folk lore who is a trickster or fool who played practical jokes on his contemporaries. There was nothing particularly merry about this performance, however. His component marks averaged around 6.00. |
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Free Skating
Shawn Sawyer
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The Men's Free Skate had as many surprises as the Short Program. Shawn Sawyer, who place seventh in the Short Program with major errors on two elements, won the Free Skate and placed fifth overall. Consigned to skate last in the first warm-up under the seeded start order used, he had only one significant error, a triple Axel that was two-footed and downgraded (as was the triple Axel in his Short Program). He landed seven triples, and his spins were all called level four. Skating to the music of Mozart as used in the movie Amedeus, it was a technically stronger an cleaner performance than at Skate America. His Program Components averaged around 6.75, nearly identical to the component marks he received at Skate America. The way he used his whole body to express the music was a wonder to behold. Second in the Free Skate was Ryan Bradley, who again beat Evan Lysacek and placed second overall. He opened with a quad toe loop, but not in combination and with a poor landing cost him nearly one point. In addition to the quad he landed seven triple jumps including two triple Axels. Typical for him, his performance was exuberant, but a bit wild, with the quad and two other jump elements scored negative for quality. His spins and sequences were a mix of levels two through four. Skating to a medley of Latin music by Perez Prado, it was lively but the choreography was an incoherent muddle. His component scores averaged around 6.5. If Bradley could polish the rough edges and add some sincerity to his skating so it didn't look so much like a put-on, or a joke, he could easily challenge for the U.S. Championship with this level of technical difficulty. Patrick Chan struggled with four elements, and fell once, but still managed to place third in the Free Skate to win the Men's event. His opening triple axel had a very poor landing, and on a later triple Axel he fell. Near the end of the program, he popped a Lutz to a single, and on double Axel he stepped out of the landing. Despite these errors the performance, to a medley of themes from Rachmaninov, commanded attention with good skating skills and use of his body without appearing like a windmill or a footwork tornado. His average component mark was around 7.75, substantially higher than the rest of the group. In addition, he also received some substantially higher marks, going as high as 8.75 from one judge. Evan Lysacek, of the U.S., placed fourth in the Free Skate, and moved up to third overall and the bronze medal thanks to Frenchman Yannick Ponsero tanking big time. Lyscaek had major errors on two elements, a downgrade of a triple Axel in combination, and a downgrade on a solo triple loop. He did not attempt a quad in the Free Skate. HIs other elements were well done, with GoEs from zero through plus two, the highest scored element being his opening triple Lutz. His spins and sequences ere a mix of levels three and four. His element score was about he same as at Skate America, but his Program Component scores here were about half a point less here, averaging about 7.0 compared to 7.5 at Skate America. As in the Short Program, nothing here or in the past week has changed our opinion of the choreography or costume for this program and we stick with our comments in these areas from Skate America. We add the further observation that without a quad and with the triple Axel downgrade half the time, Lysacek has a fight on his hands this season to retain his National title, with both Johnny Weir and Ryan Bradley clear threats. Yannick Ponsero looked so strong in the Short Program, he seemed a shoo-in for a medal, if not the gold. But his performance in the Free Skate was a disaster. He fell on a huge opening quad toe lop which was all the way around, but whose landing he could not control. After that the first half of the program went fairly well, but in the second half he fell apart, perhaps due to stamina issues. On three consecutive jump elements (elements 8 though 10) he had errors with negative GoEs. The energy also went out of the program as did his presentation. He placed sixth in the Free Skate and fell out of the medals by 0.30 points. |
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2008 Skate Canada Men's Medalists
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