2010 Skate America

Men's Event

 

by

Alexandra Stevenson

 
Final Standings
Place Skater Country SP FS
1 Daisuke Takahashi JPN 2 1
2 Nobunari Oda JPN 1 2
3 Armin Mahbanoozadeh USA 4 3
4 Adam Rippon USA 3 7
5 Daisuke Murakami JPN 5 4
6 Kevin van der Perren BEL 8 5
7 Adrian Schultheiss SWE 7 9
8 Shawn Sawyer CAN 11 6
9 Stephen Carriere USA 10 8
10 Nan Song CHN 9 10
11 Denis Ten KAZ 6 11
12 Viktor Pfeifer AUT 12 12

Short Program

 
Starting Order - Short Program

Warmup Group 1

  1. Daisuke Murakami, JPN
  2. Armin Mahbanoozadeh, USA
  3. Viktor Pfeifer, AUT
  4. Stephen Carriere, USA
  5. Shawn Sawyer, CAN
  6. Nan Song, CHN

Warmup Group 2

  1. Denis Ten, KAZ
  2. Adrian Schultheiss, SWE
  3. Adam Rippon, USA
  4. Kevin van der Perren, BEL
  5. Daisuke Takahashi, JPN
  6. Nobunari Oda, JPN

Start Time: 20:45

 

Short Program Placements
Place Skater Country
1 Nobunari Oda JPN
2 Daisuke Takahashi JPN
3 Adam Rippon USA
4 Armin Mahbanoozadeh USA
5 Daisuke Murakami JPN
6 Denis Ten KAZ
7 Adrian Schultheiss SWE
8 Kevin van der Perren BEL
9 Nan Song CHN
10 Stephen Carriere USA
11 Shawn Sawyer CAN
12 Viktor Pfeifer AUT

 

 


World Champion lies second to Japanese teammate, while Adam Rippon feels the pressure.

1.Total Score 79.28 (elements 39.60 + components 39.68) Fatherhood has given Nobunari ODA, Japan, a new outlook on life. Skating last of the 12 competitors from eight countries, knowing that his main rival, his teammate, the world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, Daisuke Takahashi, had made mistakes, Oda seized the moment and goes into Saturday’s Free in first place, although only by 1.16. "I got married in April and had a baby in October and that makes it easier for me to skate," he said in the press conference following the event.

Oda, 23, also led at this stage in his previous Grand Prix, Skate Canada, with a slightly higher score of 81.37 but was overtaken by Canadian Patrick Chan. Oda said, "I was nervous going into the program, and slow going into a spin, but it was better than I skated in Canada. Skating to Storm by Yoshida Brothers, Oda opened with a splendid triple Axel, which gained 1.86 marks over the move’s base value of 8.50. That was followed by a solid triple flip to triple toe loop combination of jumps which earned 10.60 (1.20 over its base value). His third element was a Level 4 + 0.43 GoE flying camel spin.

His triple Lutz was given a wrong edge call which resulted in a full point being removed from the base value. His second spin was Level 3 but the last spin gained the maximum Level 4. His straight line steps were Level 2. He fist-pumped the air as he acknowledged the crowd’s applause.

2.TS 78.12 (35.69+42.43) Daisuke TAKAHASHI began well with a +1.30 triple flip to triple toe loop. But he had a near fall on his triple Axel which was saddled with an arrow for under-rotation and -1.57 removed from the base value. His first spin was only the base Level 1. He explained, "I am not flexible and I struggle to get the required positions for spins." This season, skaters may not repeat positions in spins which penalizes the less flexible competitors. His other two spins earned Level 3 and Level 4.

Takahashi also stepped out of his triple Lutz, which had -1.20 removed from its base value. However, the uniqueness of his routine, with its tremendous dance quality, held him up. He was the only competitor to get a Level 4, the maximum, for his step sequence. The Japanese current world champion, who is 24, performed his SP to Rumba d’Amor, Que Rico El Mambo and Mambo No.5 all played by Perez Prado. If this sounds like an ice dancer’s choice of music, it is. His choreography was created by 2003 world champion Canadian Shae-Lynn Bourne.

3.TS 73.94 (36.83+37.11) Adam RIPPON, US, who won bronze in Skate Canada, skated to Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet. The 21-year-old messed up his opening move, a triple Axel and had -2.14 taken off its base value of 8.50. He also had problems with the second jump in his combination of triple flip to triple toe loop, which was saddled with an arrow meaning a slight under-rotation. However, the other five moves, all received a positive Grade of Execution. Those included his unique Rippon triple Lutz with both arms in the air during the rotation (instead of clenched to the chest), three Level 4 spins and Level 3 straight line steps. (He was the only competitor to earn the maximum Level for all his spins.)

Rippon, who turned 21 the day before the Short Program, said, "I’m healthy and well-trained. I’ve got my feet under me. The Grand Prix events for me are building blocks. I’m really proud of what I did at Skate Canada but I would like to do even better here. I want to make the Grand Prix Final." (Skaters compete in two of the six Grand Prix events with only the top six scorers making the final in Beijing in December.)

"Making the Final is a bench mark, but Evan (Lysacek) didn’t make the final in the year he won the world title, so it’s important, but the world title is even more important." His coach, Brian Orser, said, "This is the time for him to make his mark. I told him, 'You just have to take a big, deep breath and be grateful for all the publicity and that people are looking at you in this light. There’s no need to feel extra pressure. Why? This isn’t an ordeal or a punishment. It’s what you want. Enjoy the opportunity. This is a reward for all your hard work.’"

Although Rippon practiced and fell on quads on Thursday, he did not try this feat in the Short Program. He explained, "For me, personally, it's really important that I feel stable and consistent in the jump before I would even attempt it in competition. It’s really important for me to go out and show a clean, solid program. Whether it's with a quad or not, to me it's really just one element. If you have that element, it puts you at a big advantage. And if you don't, you need to work a little bit harder. But basically it's the same goal, to have a really nice, strong clean skate."

His marks for this section were four and a half marks higher in the Skate Canada Grand Prix, two weeks ago, when he was also lying third at this stage. He said, "I’m competing with some very strong skaters. I got the Levels but I didn’t feel my jumps were under me. I'm trying to continue to improve my overall skating. The guys above me are seasoned veterans. (Rippon has only been to the world senior championship once.) I’m just trying to take all my experiences and use them, especially in these building-block competitions. I would like to do much better."

4.TS 67.61 (37.05+30.56) Armin MAHBANOOZADEH, US, was not originally on the entry list. The space was reserved by USFigure Skating for Evan Lysacek. However, once the Olympic champion made the decision not to skate in this series, and eventually not to compete in ISU-eligible events at least for this season, the 19-year-old, who is now coached by Priscilla Hill, was slotted in. He began his international season with a fourth place in the Nebelhorn Trophy in September.

"I had a fall in the warmup on my triple Axel and that made me a little nervous," said Mahbanoozadeh, whose long name is pronounced exactly as it is written. Skating to Mario Takes a Walk and Prelude, both by Jesse Cook, choreographed by Irina Romanova, he opened his routine with this move. He was leaning in the air which resulted in his losing -1.14 off the base value of this element which is 8.50. The following move, triple flip to triple toe loop earned its base value but his jump out of steps, the triple Lutz, got minus 0.20 taken off. Two of his spins were Level 4. The flying camel and the serpentine steps were Level 3. Mahbanoozadeh admitted, "The flying camel was not as fast as I planned."

5. TS 67.01 (36.26+30.75) Daisuke MURAKAMI, who is 19 and an American resident, represents Japan, the country of his birth. He was the first competitor in the mens event. Performing to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue, performed by Vanessa Mae, he opened with a triple Lutz to triple toe loop, but received a wrong edge call, and -0.70 was removed from the base value of the combination. He recovered with a +0.57 triple Axel and a base value triple flip. His final spin, a flying camel earned Level 4. The other two spins and his straight line steps received Level 3. Murakami said, "I feel like I’ve improved since competing in the Finlandia Cup a few weeks ago. I was happy with my levels." He has just moved up from Juniors and was only 19th in the Japanese nationals. "I had a few problems with my stamina and with injury, so that wasn’t a good time," Murakami explained.

6. TS 64.50 (32.50+33.00 -1.0) Denis TEN, Kazahkstan, is now being trained by Frank Carroll at Lake Arrowhead. The 17-year-old, who was 11th in the Olympics and 13th in the 2010 Worlds after making a debut splash and finishing 8th in the 2009 Worlds in Los Angeles, skated to Astor Piazzolla’s Primavera Porteno. He had a bad fall on his opening move, a triple Axel. He was then forced to execute a double three turn between his triple Lutz and triple toe loop in his combination, and got an edge call on his triple flip. However, two of his spins were Level 4. The other spin and his straight line steps were Level 3. In Nagoya, in the first of the six Grand Prix events, he had a hesitant start, finishing last.

7. TS 63.71 (32.21+31.50) Adrian SCHULTHEISS, Sweden, who skated to Scuba, a remix of Amon Tobin by Bonobo, began with a good triple Lutz to triple toe loop combination. But then he put his hand down on his triple Axel. Although his change foot sit spin was the maximum Level 4, his other two spins were only Level 1 and his circular steps Level 2.

8. TS 62.22 (30.12+32.10) Kevin VAN DER PERREN, Belgium, skated to The Art of War based on Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet performed by Vanessa Mae. The 28-year-old began with a triple Axel which earned +0.71 over its base value. His triple Lutz to triple toe loop gained an extra half point. But then he doubled instead of tripled his flip. Two of his spins were Level 3, but his step sequence was only Level 2 and his final spin just the basic Level 1. When he acknowledged the crowd’s applause, he mimed shooting himself over the error on the flip.

9. TS 62.21 (31.23+30.98) Nan SONG, 20, from Qiqihar in the north of China, performed in red and black to Requiem for a Dream by Clint Mansell, a piece which is now banned from ice dance. He stepped out of his first jump, a triple flip and was unable to execute the planned triple toe loop he had hoped to combine it with. His second and fourth elements, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz both earned more than their base values. His change foot sit spin was Level 4. The final move, a change foot combination spin, was Level 3 but the flying camel only Level 2. His straight line steps were Level 3.

Trained by Wei Li in his country’s capital, he was second in last season’s Junior Grand Prix Final, the World Junior Championships and in his own Senior nationals. He is also entered for the last Grand Prix, in Paris

10. TS 59.14 (27.17+32.97 -1.0) Stephen CARRIERE, 21, tried to insert some humor into his routine. In his planned program guide, he had put down that he would try a quad. "There’s all this serious talk about whether it is worth the risk of doing a quad and how you can’t be a top skater without one, so I just put one down! I’m trying to poke fun at all the controversy. I’m dressed with one leg in pin stripes and one leg not. How can you be serious when you wearing a funky costume like that? He skated to two fun pieces by Danny Elfman, After Midnight and Hot Honey Rag.

"Before Champs Camp," Carriere explained, "I had a swelling of my ankle and a fever that I couldn’t shake. The doctors examined me at the camp on Monday. I had an X-ray on Tuesday, an MRI on Wednesday and an operation on Thursday. The doctors were great. I’ve still got ten weeks to nationals and I hope to peak then."

He fell on his first move, a triple Axel which was saddled with an arrow for slight under-rotation. That was followed by a base value triple Lutz to double toe and a +0.40 triple loop. However, his first and last spin received only Level 1. His other spin and his straight line steps were Level 3.

11. TS 56.94 (24.63+33.31 -1.0) Shawn SAWYER, 25, Canada, who is known for his unique split spiral, has said this will be his last season. Skating to Assassin’s Tango from the soundtrack of Mr. & Mrs. Smith by John Powell, he got off to an unfortunate start, falling on his double downgraded triple Axel. His second jumping pass was planned as a triple-triple but became a triple flip to double toe loop. And then he doubled his Lutz. His first two spins were Level 4. The last spin and his straight line steps were Level 3.

12. TS 55.01 (26.82+28.19) Viktor PFEIFER, 23, Austria, who trains in Wilmington with Priscilla Hill, skated to music from the movie The Mask. He began with a double Axel and a triple Lutz to triple toe loop but then doubled his flip. His first spin was Level 4. The other two spins and the footwork sequence were Level 3.

 

Free Skating

 
Starting Order - Free Skating

Warmup Group 1

  1. Viktor Pfeifer, AUT
  2. Shawn Sawyer, CAN
  3. Stephen Carriere, USA
  4. Nan Song, CHN
  5. Kevin van der Perren, BEL
  6. Adrian Schultheiss, SWE

Warmup Group 2

  1. Denis Ten, KAZ
  2. Daisuke Murakami, JPN
  3. Armin Mahbanoozadeh, USA
  4. Adam Rippon, USA
  5. Daisuke Takahashi, JPN
  6. Nobunari Oda, JPN

Start Time: 19:00

 

Free Skating Placements
Place Skater Country
1 Daisuke Takahashi JPN
2 Nobunari Oda JPN
3 Armin Mahbanoozadeh USA
4 Daisuke Murakami JPN
5 Kevin van der Perren BEL
6 Shawn Sawyer CAN
7 Adam Rippon USA
8 Stephen Carriere USA
9 Adrian Schultheiss SWE
10 Nan Song CHN
11 Denis Ten KAZ
12 Viktor Pfeifer AUT

 


 


World Champion wins his third Skate America while his Japanese teammate loses because he can’t count;

Rippon fails to deliver and loses medal to U.S. star newcomer;

Carriere’s costume so realistic, stories appeared on the agency wire about his trousers being torn on his fall and blood pouring out of his injured hand.

Daisuke TAKAHASHI, lying second after the SP, won, not so much because he skated well, although his Tango routine to Invierno Porteno by Tango Siempre, composed by Astor Piazzolla and choreographed brilliantly by Pasquale Camerlengo, was entertaining, but because his main rivals failed to step up to the plate. Nobunari Oda, who led after the Short Program, fell foul of a technicality, which has happened to him before. He changed his routine around and the computer discarded his last jump combination. With this win, and his previous gold in the NHK Grand Prix, Takahashi has earned a place in the GP Final, which is in Beijing next month and is limited to only the top six scorers in the Series of six events. Adam Rippon, who was third initially, gave his poorest showing in years and handed over what had looked like a sure medal to his teammate, newcomer, Amin Mahbanoozadeh.

1.Total Score 227.07; 1.Free Skate 148.95 (Elements 64.95 + Components 85.00 -1.0) Takahashi, the current world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, who also won Skate America in 2005 and 2007, opened with two flawed jumps. He tripled and stepped out of his opening move, a planned quad toe loop, and had a wonky landing with his weight pitching forward on the following triple Axel. He did complete a triple loop but his first spin, the flying change foot combination, was only Level 2. Then he pulled himself together for his highly energetic circular steps, which were very well received by the audience. He received Level 4 for this. No other competitor got the maximum level for their step sequence.

He had a combination planned for the point where the bonus points click in but after the triple flip, he doubled instead of tripled the second jump, a toe loop, and the move received a negative GoE (-0.30). He fell on his second triple Axel, which received two "arrows" meaning it was downgraded to a double, and he was unable to attempt the other two jumps with which it was meant to be combined.

Once again, Takahashi tried his unique "flying layback" spin. This was classified as a Flying Upright spin and given Level 2 by the Technical Specialist Ravi Walia and his assistant Shin Amano, who were supervised by Sissy Krick, the Technical Controller. This was a slight improvement from the Short, in which the move was given only Level 1. Takahashi then did a triple Lutz. That and his second triple Lutz, which was combined with a double toe, were both given a wrong takeoff edge call. Between the two Lutzes, he presented a triple Salchow. He finished with a change foot combination spin."

The 24-year-old, who has won the Japanese title four times in the past five years, earned only the fifth best technical score but won the components division by 5.36 points. He said, "Tonight I couldn’t skate well and popped out of my quad, but I thought my presentation was better than at NHK (the first Grand Prix which he also won.) I need to get in better physical condition (for the GP Final in Beijing in December). I need to improve my spins. But I’m very happy I got the Level 4 for the footwork."

2.TS 226.09; 2.FS 146.81 (68.17+79.64 -1.0) Nobunari ODA, lying first after the SP, lost the gold by only 0.98. Because he changed around his routine, the 23-year-old had one element disqualified. It received no points. This situation has happened to him before so he should have learned from it. Had he not thrown away these points, he would have stood on top of the podium.

Skating last of the 12 competitors, to music from Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto No.1, Oda began with a quad toe but fell on the landing. He recovered well and the following triple Axel earned 0.43 over its base value. He had meant to make the Axel a combination and this is where his problem started. He began looking for an opportunity to add an extra jump to make up for this lost opportunity, and did so by adding a triple toe loop to the following triple flip. That was successful and this combination gained a small positive (+0.20) over its base value (9.40).

His circular steps were only Level 2 although they earned an extra 0.57 GoE and his change foot combination spin was only Level 1. At this point, the bonus marks came into effect, and he executed his second triple Axel, which was good enough for +0.86 to be added to the base value. However, skaters are not allowed to repeat a triple jump unless it is in combination.

So, since this was his second triple Axel, it was classed as a combination. His next move, combining a triple Lutz with a triple toe, instead of adding the planned double toe to double loop to triple,.was his third combination. He not only was saddled with a wrong takeoff edge of the Lutz, the triple toe was deemed slightly underrotated (one arrow).

Then he did a triple loop which earned +0.90 over its base. However, then came what was classified as his fourth, and illegal, combination a triple Salchow to double toe to double loop. If only he had left the two doubles off, he would have received points for the Salchow and become this year’s Skate American champion, a title he had held in 2006.

Oda admitted his mistake. "I am very disappointed with my performance tonight, because I did a silly mistakes on spins and steps. But speed-wise, it was much better than in Skate Canada (where he also finished second). I was just thinking of doing another combination. I repeated this mistake in the past (including at the 2009 world championships where he finished seventh) so many times that I can't say anything about a solution." He did add, with a smile, "But it won’t happen again!" His routine finished with a double Axel and two Level 3 spins.

3. TS 211.17; 3.FS 143.56 (73.62+69.94) Armin MAHBANOOZADEH, lying 4th after the SP, was the only skater in the top four who did not fall in the Free. He was also the only contestant in the 12-strong field to receive either the base value or better for all 13 elements in his routine which was set to the soundtrack of the Sci-Fi hit Avatar. However, he did have a reduction in difficulty in his last jumping pass, in which his planned second triple Lutz was singled, although he still managed to combine it with double toe to double loop.

He completed seven triples, including two triple Axels, the second in combination with a double toe. One spin received level 4 and the other two Level 3. His circular steps earned Level 3. The other 11 contestants all made more significant errors. Mahbanoozadeh, whose long name means Born to a Woman as Beautiful as the Moon in Farsi, earned the competition’s top elements’ score for the Free. His total for this section is more than twenty points better than his previous personal best.

The audience gave him a standing ovation. His delighted facial expression was priceless. "I’ve never gotten a reaction like that before, so it was my first time experiencing something like that. I was really happy that I was able to let the audience feel a little bit of what I was feeling at that point. I felt really confident today. The long program has been going really well in practice and I let myself do what I do in practice. It went better than I could have hoped for. I'm just ecstatic right now." The 19-year-old, who is trained by Priscilla Hill, has earned medals in junior Grand Prix events but this is only his second season as a Senior. He does not yet have a second GP assignment but is more-than-ready to be a last minute replacement should one be needed. He said, "I can pack my bags for Russia right now!"

4. TS 203.12; 7.FS 129.18 (57.94+72.24 -1.0) Adam RIPPON dropped to fourth overall, with a Free, set to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2, that was marred with errors right from the Get Go, when his first element turned into a single Axel to single toe. With only four clean triples (Lutz, Axel, Flip and a second Lutz, he was lucky to get seventh place in the Free. He fell on a double loop. He did two Level 4 spins but his change foot combination and the circular steps were only Level 2. As he stepped into the kiss ’n cry area, he was shaking his head. It was difficult to believe that this was the same skater who won bronze in Skate Canada a couple of weeks prior.

Rippon, who turned 21 two days prior to performing this program, freely admitted, "It’s a big disappointment to skate like that. It happens, and I am just lucky that it happened here and not at a more important competition later in the season. If I could say anything about the performance, I would say that it was like a complete out of body experience, -. something I’ve never done in practice, never done in competition. It’s just something that I'm going to take a look back on, review it, and move forward."

5. TS 203.00; 4.FS 135.99 (68.83+68.16 -1.0) Daisuke MURAKAMI , who has lived in California since he was seven, but represents the country of his birth, Japan, gave a very promising showing to music from the soundtrack of Lawrence of Arabia by Maurice Jarre to take fourth place in the Free. With only another 0.13 of a point, which he could easily have received if he had not fallen on his triple loop, he would have displaced Rippon from overall fourth.

The 19-year old, who is trained by Frank Carroll, said, "I was really pleased with the score. It was much better than my first international this season, (when he finished fifth in the Finlandia Trophy)." Although he received a wrong take-off edge call on his opening triple Lutz to triple toe loop, that, his fall, and a very slight negative (-0.07) on his last jump, a double Axel, were his only mistakes in a program which included two triple Axels, one with a double toe, and Level 3 for all three spins and his straight line steps.

6. TS 194.63; 5.FS 132.41 (69.87+62.54) Kevin VAN DER PERREN, from Belgium, skating to music from The Mummy soundtrack, moved up two spots to sixth. He opened his routine with a +0.14 quad toe loop, immediately followed by a +1.0 triple Axel, a +0.10 triple flip to triple toe loop, and a Level 4 +0.29 flying sit spin. He also accomplished a triple Salchow (+0.70), a slightly flawed triple loop (-0.50), a triple flip to double toe loop (+0.10) and a double Axel to triple toe (+0.10). However, his Lutz was doubled and his two other spins and the footwork were only Level 2.

7. TS 188.20; 9.FS 124.49 (60.21+64.28) Adrian SCHULTHEISS from Sweden was only ninth in the Free but managed to hold onto his seventh place from the Short Program. Skating to two versions of Romeo and Juliet by Raul di Blasio and the classic version by Sergei Prokofiev, he began well with a very solid quad toe loop which earned a full point over its base value, a triple Axel to double toe which got a slight positive GoE of +0.14 and a +0.30 triple Lutz to double toe loop. But then things deteriorated. His flying camel spin was only Level 1, he doubled his planned triple loop and later singled a double Axel attempt. .

8.TS 186.62; 6.FS 129.68 (63.10+66.58) Shawn SAWYER, Canada, a 25-year-old in his what he expects will be his last year of competition, had a great idea for a routine. He decided to skate to music from the recent movie, Alice in Wonderland, with him playing the mad hatter. At the end of the routine, someone in the crowd threw him a fittingly appropriate top hat. His sixth place in this section pulled him up three places from 11th.

"It’s a magical story," Sawyer said, "and Marie-France Dubreuil did a great job on the choreography. It challenges me to emote and act more on the ice. The character is already taking over." His triple Axel and two other jumps received one arrow meaning a slight under-rotation but not enough to lose credit for the rotation. His flying sit and change foot camel spins earned Level 4, while his change foot combination spin and the circular steps were Level 3. He had some negatives, but that was quite fitting for the character.

9. TS 184.20; 8.FS 125.06 (62.28+63.78 -1.0) Stephen CARRIERE, the 2007 World Junior champion, performed to West Side Story. His eighth place in this portion advanced him one slot overall to ninth. He fell on his quad toe loop attempt which was downgraded to a triple. He was not so upset at that as not having a triple Axel. "Not doing a triple Axel knocked me down about ten pegs," the disappointed 21-year-old said. However, he had the last laugh. His costume was so realistic it fooled the Associated Press reporter. Her story said he’d ripped his trousers at the knee when he fell and came off the ice with a bloodied hand. Carrier had explained the character he was playing was in a fight and if he’d had that amount of blood he would not be in the mixed zone available to talk to reporters.

10. TS 180.10; 10.FS 117.89 (60.55+58.34 -1.0) Nan SONG from China who is competing in his first senior season, performed to The Yellow River Concerto by Xinghai Shen. The 20-year-old doubled his first move, which was to be a quad toe loop, but managed a triple Axel to triple toe loop which earned its base value before falling on a triple Loop. There were other faults and he dropped a place to tenth.

11. TS 176.11; 11.FS 111.61 (54.69+61.92 -5.0) Denis TEN skated to Franz Liszt’s Totentanz. This is definitely a day the 17-year-old from Kazahkstan, who now trains with Frank Carroll, would rather forget. He fell five times, four more than any of his competitors and dropped from sixth after the Short Program to 11th overall.

12. TS 162.47; 12.FS 107.46 (53.02+55.44 -1.0) Viktor PFEIFER, Austria, skated to three pieces from The Elephant Man; the Entry of the Gladiators; and Circus Contraception. "I’ve been through some tough times with injuries. I think sometimes you can want something too much. I’ve had injuries and had to cut back on the quad and the triple Axel but hopefully by Europeans (in Switzerland in January) I can get back to form."

 

2010 Skate America Men's Medalists

 

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