by Alexandra Stevenson

Fifty men from forty countries competed. More than half the competitors had packed their Free Skate costumes for naught. Only 24 progressed from today’s event to the Free Skate. There was only one fall in the top 18 and only 11 falls in the whole 50 performances. The sparring began a couple of days before the actual ice battle got underway when Patrick Chan and Brian Joubert began a round of vocal sparring. Perhaps that is what the sport needs. It got people talking about the event. Chan, who turned 18 only on New Year’s Eve, is normally a very polite young man, looking at life in a very positive way, but he got upset at Worlds in Sweden last year, where he was making his debut, and Joubert dissed Chan’s idol, Jeffrey Buttle, who had just dethroned the Frenchman. Joubert said, at the medalists’ press conference, "I am very disappointed, because Jeffrey did the perfect competition. He made no mistakes but he didn’t try a quad." Remembering that incident, Chan said here, on Monday, "I mean, Tiger (Woods) is not going to say (Mike) Weir sucks because he can’t shoot as good as I do, right? Just play a fair game. You don’t talk behind people’s backs like he did at worlds. He’s a nice guy to me. But I think when he’s on the ice and he’s got all the cameras around him, he changes personality, which is kind of bad. I think you should be yourself basically, in front the cameras. It was a bit of a turnoff because now I know he’s a bit of a sore loser. If he doesn’t win he always has an excuse for not winning and not skating well. Unfortunately, that’s his personality and I don’t really like it. He’s always complaining about others not having the quad. He never has anything else to talk about. Obviously, he needs to be taught other things like footwork and spins." Well, Patrick, that’s exactly what Joubert is doing. Only four men attempted a quad, Joubert, Tomas Verner, Sergei Voronov and Yannick Ponsero, who made two errors and lies 11^th.

1. 84.40 (46.00+38.40) Brian Joubert got his revenge by taking a small (1.70) lead, winning both element and component scores, despite putting his hand down on the quad toe loop. That affected the take-off for the second jump, a triple toe. He was crooked in the air causing him to step out of that landing. He still banked 10.60 points for this move which has a base value of 13.80. Joubert later explained the problem occurred because, "I didn’t have enough speed. After this, I just kept going and tried to give 100% on every element and on the components." His triple Axel earned a full point over the base level of 8.20. (Eight judges punched in +1 and one +2, which was slight better than their numbers for Lysacek, where eight also punched in 1 and the other zero. In this strange, complicated mathematical system we have now, the judge giving the +2 and the 0 was either discarded because both competitors ended up with the same GoE of +1.) Joubert received +1.20 for his triple Lutz.

What is new is that two of his spins were Level 4 with +0.40 and +0.50 GoEs. The 24 year old has had great difficulty adapting to the new system and this has previously shown up in the lower levels he has received for his spins. He explained, "After the Europeans, I’ve worked very hard on my footwork and spins, so even with this big mistake on the jump combination, I still get a high technical score." His spin doctor is the Swiss former competitor, Lucinda Ruh, who is in the Guiness Book of Records as having performed the world’s longest spin. Both of Joubert’s step sequences were Level 3 with +0.80 for the circular version and +0.90 for the straight line which includes an amusing section in which he runs in place. His last element, the change foot sit spin was Level 3 and +0.70. "Except for the combination, I’m very happy with my short program today, because I got a good score. The rest of the program was very clean, especially the spins, the footwork, because I had very good levels. It was my main goal. I worked a lot on it after the European Championship."

Skating 43^rd, Joubert presented a techno-pop routine that would not have been out-of-place in this city’s more wild "hot" spots. It was set to Safri Duo’s Rise. He was appropriately dressed in a sexy black complicated outfit with studs, some shiny parts and short sleeves with a back cut-out covered with large fishnet. Apart from the combo, the routine was well presented, well executed and in line with today’s times. Looking forward to the free, Joubert said, "I am strong and ready to compete. I will have to fight and I will. I will also tactically take into consideration what the other competitors did today." Asked about Chan’s comments, Joubert said, "I don’t know what he said exactly about me. I heard a lot of things about it, but I don’t care about it. We had to do our jobs on the ice. We have to fight there, not with journalists’ stories. Patrick is a very dangerous skater for me. He beat me in the Grand Prix series."

He has drawn to skate the free last. "It’s very interesting to be the last skater because you can watch the other ones and see what you have to do. I have to think about how many quads to do. I will have to skate clean on my jumps, but I want to get again the high levels that I got today for the spins and footwork. They saved me today." Canadian 4-time world champion Kurt Browning said, "Joubert went out there with a program that suited him and he sold it. He created his own moment out there, and that’s what’s so great about this sport."

2. 82.70 (44.40+38.30) Evan Lysacek performed immediately before Joubert, skating a Tatiana Tarasova-choreographed routine to Ravel’s Bolero, dressed in black with sequined crosses on his front and back. He opened with a good triple Axel. Eight of the judges punched in +1 with only one awarding 0. That must have been discarded because Lysacek was given a full point over the base value of 8.20. That pleased the 23 year old because he had been encountering problems with this jump this season. "That’s been the biggest area of our concentration, the triple Axel. I’ve had everyone you can think of come out and look at what’s wrong with it and why I was getting downgraded and getting negatives." He and coach Frank Carroll believe limited camera angles on the judges’ monitors could be the problem so they have been experimenting with the placement of the element in the rink.

Lysacek also received a full point over the base value of 10.00 for his combination of triple Lutz to triple toe loop but he was given an exclamation mark for his triple flip, which is a warning for a short wrong edge on the take-off, and received a -0.40 GoE. He said, "I was relieved to get the hard elements out of the way and I tried to work the choreography a little bit more in the second half and show a lot of character. I think it was an improvement on the other performances this year. Once the jumps were done, I started celebrating as the rest of the program went on. I really like this program. I love this building. I felt a lot of good energy."

The top eight competitors all received Level 3 for both step sequences. Lysacek’s circular steps received +0.60, which was 0.20 less than Joubert’s, but his straight line steps got +1.00, which was +0.10 better than Joubert. Lysacek received +0.60 and Joubert +0.40 for their Level 4 flying sit spins. Both got 4s for two of their spins and 3 for the other spin which they used to conclude their routines. For Joubert that was his +0.70 change foot sit, while Lysacek wound things up with a +0.80 change foot combination. For their second Level 4 spin, both got a GoE of +0.50.

Lysacek said, "I feel overall at this event like I’m really well prepared and in good shape. Today was just the continuation of the training that I’ve been doing on the last few weeks. I spent some time in Toronto (with choreographer Lori Nichol) preparing for this event before coming back to LA. I’m just trying to stay calm. Obviously, I’m very excited to be here. I’m an adopted Angelino (he moved from Chicago here in 2003). I love this building and this city. My short at nationals (in January) was good, but I had a bad skate in the free and it just so happened that two other guys had the skates of their lives on the same night (which meant he finished third and lost the title he had held the previous two years). Yeah, I would have loved for it to happen somewhere else other than nationals, but it didn’t. I have to accept that. I’ve been around long enough that I know as an athlete, you have to accept those situations. The old saying is true, ‘You win some and you lose some.’ Sometimes you have a great experience at an event and sometimes it’s not so good. You learn so much more from a competition that’s not perfect. A few weeks later in Vancouver (at the 4Cs where he finished 2^nd to Chan), I had such an exciting experience. We all felt such an electricity being in the Olympic venue. My two good skates there were a confidence booster and almost let me forget about nationals and look forward to this Worlds. I’ve been anticipating this since I found out it was going to be in my home and training town. I’ve just been spending the last two weeks here in LA trying to stay calm and keep consistent training. I want to not only represent my country well, but represent my city well, too. A lot of my friends and family are here and some of my friends haven’t seen me skate live. It’s been a long season for me and I do have a sore (left) foot." Asked if he would do the quad in the long, he said, "I haven’t decided yet. I’m going to see how it goes tomorrow. I pretty much leave that up to my coach (Frank Carroll) and he’ll decide if it’s worth it." Lysacek skates 23^rd, last but one. The coach will have seen how all of Lysacek’s rivals have done except Joubert." Lysacek’s technical score was only fourth best. In addition to Joubert, he was behind Chan and Verner. But he was second by only 0.10 on the components.

3. 82.55 (45.60+36.95) Patrick Chan skated last but one. His style has a beautifully unforced appearance with lots of easy power and he always appears pleased to be out there, performing from the heart. Sitting in the Kiss & Cry area, hearing his scores, his face showed he was very obviously disappointed. But, when the crowd started booing when the jumbotron flashed up that he was third, he, very sportingly, put his finger to his lips to shhh his supporters. Skating last but one, Chan began his routine set to Tango of the Exiled by Walter Taieb performed by Vanessa Mae with a superb triple Axel which gained +1.60 GoE. Six judges had punched in +2 and the other three +1. It meant Chan gained the top marks of any competitor for this one element. However, although he received +0.80 GoE for his solid combination of triple flip to triple toe, which has a base value of 9.50. That meant he banked 10.30 for the jump combination element, which was less than Joubert, Lysacek, Verner, Kozuka, Contesti, Mroz, Voronov, Ponsero, Mura and Schultheiss earned!

Chan earned a full point over the base value of 6.0 for his triple Lutz. All his spins were Level 4 (the maximum) but his GoEs were not high. Two of his three spins received only +0.20, although his last spin, the change foot combination earned +0.70. His steps were both Level 3, the circular pattern got +0.50, and the straight line +0.80. "I did expect a higher score, so I was surprised. But I think, deep down, I already knew because I watched Evan (Lysacek) and he did as good a program as I did. He didn’t get as high marks, either, so I think we were both surprised. I think I was fooled because the first half of the season I had quite high marks. I could’ve done better on the spins. I’ve been training with a spin specialist in Delaware and I’ll take advantage of that in the long. It’s the little things that count when it comes to this level. After I thought about it, I realized the scores were realistic. I was comparing them to what I got on the Grand Prix circuits. But you can’t really compare it to Worlds because you don’t have the same number of skaters there. I think it was a bit of a reality check. I think with the Grand Prix season, I didn’t know until now that it might be a little inflated. But it doesn’t matter, I was happy with the performance. It’s not the points for me. It’s going out there and getting off the ice with a smile on my face.

"I think I came in a little bit more nervous than usual, because I was hoping to skate better than I did last year at the Worlds (where he finished ninth in his debut). When I stepped out in the warm up it felt really good, because it was LA and the crowd was great. There are a lot of Canadian fans. It felt like I was at home. I really enjoyed the performance and gave it all my best and I had a lot of fun. For the free, I just have to go out and do the same thing. I love the program, so I just have to enjoy it and do it 110 percent." Chan will do his Free Skate first of the top six contenders.

4. 80.36 (44.06+36.30) Tomas Verner, skating just before Chan, got off to a fantastic start, receiving +1.0 GoE on his quad toe to triple toe combination which gave him 14.80 total points. But then he messed up his triple Axel, earning only 5.40. The base value of this jump is 8.20. He recovered to execute a good triple Lutz earning +0.80 over the base value. "I’m really upset with my triple Axel," said the 22 year old from the Czech Republic. "Everything else was good." Two of the three spins earned Level 4 but although change foot combination was awarded +0.40, his change foot sit got a slight negative (-0.18) and the flying sit was Level 3 and -0.06. The step sequences were both Level 3 with +0.50 for the circular and +0.70 for the straight line. His music was Melodie en Crepuscule and Gypsy Swing both by Django Reinhardt.

"I was ok at the beginning. I wasn’t nervous, just my legs were a little shaky. For me, not the width (which is less than Olympic size), but the length of the rink is a problem, especially for my set up of the triple Axel. But I just have to shut that out of my mind and do the triple Axel as I can do it easily. I’ve been training well since Europeans. I really wanted to get a small medal today (given for the Short Program only), but now I just have to get a medal tomorrow!

5. 79.35 (44.20+35.15) Takahiko Kozuka, who turned 20 February 27, made a splash in his debut last year at worlds placing 8^th and has continued that good impression all season. The Skate America winner and Four Continents bronze medalist skated to Dave Brubeck’s Take Five showing an emerging talent for interpreting this type of smooth jazz. The twice runner-up for the Japanese title, skated 47^th beginning with a triple Lutz to triple toe and a triple Axel which both earned a full point over their base values, although his triple flip was given only the base value. He said, "I felt so nervous after the last jump that I couldn’t tell if I was still breathing or not." All three of his spins earned Level 4 and GoEs of +0.50, +0.30 & +0.70. His Level 3 steps got +0.50 (for the straight line) and +0.40 (for the circular).

Kozuka said, "Before the program, I was feeling a little bit nervous because I wasn’t doing so well during practices, and even in the six minutes warm-up. But after the first jump, I felt very confident. That gave me the energy and the excitement to stay concentrated until the end. I was good on my elements, except the footwork, which I think were not that good. I wasn’t expecting high scores, but the ones I got were not as high as I thought they would be."

6. 78.50 (44.50+34.00) European championship silver medalist Samuel Contesti skated 28^th only half way through the competition because he has only begun to represent Italy. Until 2006, he represented France. Contesti, who turned 26 on March 4, had an excellent skate, using the music J’envoie Valser by Zazie and Valse des Monstre by Yann Thiersen. He was rewarded with a substantial +1.40 GoE for his triple Lutz to triple toe, +1.0 for his triple Axel and +0.40 for his triple loop. Two of his spins were Level 4, earning +0.40 and +0.50. The other was Level 3 and +0.60. The step sequences were both Level 3 with the circular getting +0.70 and the straight line +0.60.

Contesti was sick while exiting the Kiss & Cry area. "I don’t want to talk about it but it’s true that we’re all very stressed here. My aim was to stay strong until the very end of the end of program, and it did work very well. I am happy with that. Now, tomorrow is definitely another day. Who knows what can happen? There are many very good competitors here, so nobody can predict what will happen. I will just try to do my job and we’ll see!

7. 76.49 (41.94+35.55 -1.0) The Japanese champion, Nobunari Oda, who turned 22 on March 25, skated 41^st just before Lysacek. He performed with great flow one of Nicolai Morozov’s routines, set to Khatchaturian’s Waltz Masquerade beginning with a beautiful +1.0 triple Axel. But then he just went too fast and after his triple Lutz he ran into the barrier completing the second jump in the combination, a triple toe and fell. He still earned 8.20, with only 1.80 taken off the base value of 10.00, less, of course, the one point compulsory deduction for a fall. Had he gained the base value for the combination and not fallen, he would have been only one place ahead of where he currently stands. Since he trains in Hackensack, NJ, where the rinks are hockey sized, it was not because he wasn’t used to a smaller surface. It was the pure adrenalin of competition. Oda was 4^th & 7^th in the 2006 & 2007 Worlds but was suspended by his Association after being given a police ticket for being under the influence of beer while intending to ride his motor scooter. Oda said, "I was very excited and I had more confidence than at Four Continents (where he finished 4^th). I think I fell because I had too much speed and was too near the barrier. I fall in practice all the time so it is no big deal. But I wish that hadn’t happened in such an important event."

8. 76.10 (42.30+42.30) competing in his first Worlds, Brandon Mroz, 18, performed a polished, well-thought out and enjoyable routine to Richard Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel in a modified costume of that period. He skated 44^th right after Joubert, fourth in the last-but-one group of 5. He began with a nice triple Axel. Three judges punched in +2 and five +1 although one thought it worthy only of the base value. Those numbers resulted in a 1.20 being added to the base value. His triple Lutz to triple toe was almost as good. One judge gave +2, seven thought it worthy of +1 and one gave 0. That resulted in a whole point being added to the base value. The triple flip, however, got an exclamation mark for short wrong edge take-off and was saddled with a -0.40 GoE. His Level 4 flying sit spin earned the base value. A second spin, the change foot sit, also gained Level 4 and + 0.20. His final spin, the change foot combination, was Level 3 and +0.30. His step sequences were both Level Three with the circular earning +0.40 and the straight line +0.30.

Mroz said, "I was very happy with my skate today. I had some disappointment with his performance at Four Continents (where he finished 8^th). Today I did what I do in practice and tried to deliver my best. I felt great energy from this hometown crowd. I have a lot of family here, and my family, friends and coaches are a great support system.

9. 72.15 (40.40+31.75) Skating 31^st, to music from The Godfather, Sergei Voronov, 21, the twice Russian champion, tried a quad toe to triple toe and though it was flawed and received a -1.60 GoE, he got credit for the rotation, which meant he banked 12.20 points. He received a full point over the base value for his triple Axel. His triple flip got an exclamation mark and a -0.60 GoE. He earned only one Level 4, which was for his change foot sit spin, which earned only the base value. His other two spins were Level 3 and were awarded +0.10 and +0.30. His steps were both Level 2 with the circular earning +0.30 and the straight line +0.20.

Voronov said, "So far everything has been very positive. I’m here for the first time in California and I hope this competition will have a Hollywood "happy end" for me. Almost everything worked out today. For the first time I went for the quad-triple and I almost did it clean, a grown up combination, not the quad-double that I did before. And finally the flip appeared in my program, even in the Short Program. I also have to thank Oksana Kazakova, who has been working with me as well. With her, Alexei Urmanov and Artur Dmitriev, I’ve got three Olympic Champions at my side, which sometimes adds to the pressure but is also very good. I’ll try not to disappoint them tomorrow."

10. 72.15 (35.70+36.45) Jeremy Abbott got the same total marks as Voronov but the Russian was placed ahead because, in the Short Program, the tie breaker is the elements score. However, since the total marks go forward, it does not make much difference except when drawing for the free skate position. It could make a big different if there was only one spot left in a group, but Voronov and Abbott will both skate in the same group for those who placed 7^th to 12^th . Voronov drew to skate 14^th, which is 2^nd in that group, and Abbott drew to skate 17^th, 5^th in that group.

It was not a good Short Program for the new US champion, who performed first in the last warm-up group to T. Albinoni’s Adagio. Dressed in blue, he began with a triple flip to triple toe loop, but was forced to put a hand on the ice after the second jump. Then he stepped out of his triple Axel, which was downgraded. His triple Lutz was good, earning +0.80 over the base value. His only Level 4 was the flying sit which was given +0.50 over its base value of 3.00. Both step sequences earned Level 3 and +0.70. The change foot combination spin was Level 3 and +0.80 but his closing move, the change foot sit spin was only Level 2, although it got a good GoE of +0.90.

The 23 year old Abbott said, "I just felt tight. It’s been a long, long season. While I was training for this, I wanted to get my best points at Worlds, but it didn’t happen. I’ve been skating consistently all season but I just allowed my mind to get to that place of trying to be too good instead of just being me and doing what I know how to do. I didn’t feel the same pressure coming in here as I felt at nationals. At nationals, I felt like I was expected to win. Here, I felt like I was a top contender to win, but certainly not one of only two or three favorites. It’s a very, very deep field. So I just wanted to come in and skate my best. When I started making mistakes, it made me focus harder on what I know I have to do, which is what I should have been focused on from the starting pose instead of after I started making mistakes. I just have to get back to myself and my thoughts, and allow myself to do what I know how to do."

Missing was the Canadian, Fedor Andreev, who was entered for Azerbaijan, but whose paperwork was not properly completed.