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They soared through their first move, a triple twist. One judge went as far as to award a +3 Grade of Execution, eight gave Level 2 and one miserly soul punched in Level 1. Was that person marking the same move the rest of us saw? Even 1984 Olympic silver pair medalist Peter Carruthers, here commenting for television, said he was in awe of their execution of that move. However, the Technical Specialist David Moellenkamp and his assistant, 1997 & 1998 U.S. pairs champion Jason Dungjen, awarded only a Level 3. Carruthers declared, "There is no way it could be any better. It was incredible. That’s as good as it gets." Struggling with the language barrier, Carruthers tried to ask the pair what more they had to do to get a Level 4. A triple twist is so difficult even without the added features needed to get the added points for a high level that almost all pairs now stay with the double. Hao, who is 22, said the twist could have been higher but was not because of the difficult steps into the takeoff. They must do them to get a higher level but it slows their entrance a bit. Four of their level-earning moves did gain a 4 but the death spiral was only a 2. Dan turned 21 on October 6. Of course, Hao is aided by the fact that his partner weighs so little. If life were fair, there would be a handicapping system with a sliding scale for a deduction based on weight and height difference. She is obviously one tough cookie. The fall she took in the Olympics when she slammed down onto her knees one half rotation short of the quad in their throw was stomach-turning. There was an enormous controversy because many felt she was permitted too long a time to recover and continue. They won world wide sympathy and silver medals in both the Olympics and worlds. The beefy Hao said he had stomach problems in both Turin and Calgary. It was unclear whether he was living on a diet of bananas and rice or that his doctors had forbidden him to eat those two items. He said doctors in Beijing had discovered what was either three or five types of what they termed "diseases" in his stomach. What with that problem and Dan having to have recovery time for her knee, they didn’t begin preparation for this season until August. A long 11.14 points behind in second are Valerie Marcoux & Craig Buntin. Skating to lively dance music Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White, Buntin fell on his triple toe loop but the rest of their moves were good. The three time Canadian champions are weathering a romantic reassessment period. The couple, who are both 26, say they are getting on much better now they have chosen to terminate their love relationship. "I think that’s because it was a mutual decision. It’s not like he wanted to break up and I didn’t or the other way around. We both wanted it. It was a difficult decision at the time because we didn’t know if we could still be able to skate or not. We had questions in our head. But we’re really lucky and everything is going great. The day after we broke up was the best practice we ever had!" They had a "meeting" to discuss the breakup. Buntin explained, "She spoke her mind for about five minutes. Every word that came out of her mouth, I could have said. It cleared out things. It was a big relief to get that out of the way for both of us. Now we can concentrate on the skating. We won’t be together 24 hours a day. When we’re off the ice now, we can go our different ways and there won’t be as much stress." Marcoux said, "We’re now good friends. I’m sure we always will be." Twice U.S. champions, Rena Inoue & John Baldwin, lie third, 2.94 points behind the Canadians. The just turned 33 year old Baldwin was fit to be tied about what he saw as marks that were too low. Their music is Soul of Spain and they wore modern versions of a sleeveless Toreador outfit for him and a bright yellow flamenco dress for her with a pink inset. They started with +1 GoE for their double Axels and, although she had to turn out of the landing on the throw triple Axel, she got credit for the rotation. It is a move only they do. They received -2 GoEs for their spiral sequence in which Baldwin tripped. Their double twist Level 3 got a very slight minus GoE. Their change foot combination spin, Group 4 lift and pair combination spin all were awarded Level 4 but their back outside death spiral received only a Level 1. Baldwin was upset at that but it is now much more difficult to get high levels on this move. He also considered their component scores to be much too low. Inoue, his significant other who was 30 on October 17, was far calmer. She said, while trying to calm Baldwin down, "We made a lot of small mistakes. We got the marks we deserved." It was the voice of reason that Baldwin did not want to hear. In fourth place, 1.38 points behind the Americans, are Canadians Elizabeth Putnam, who will be 22 on November 28, & Sean Wirtz, who just turned 27. They were Canadian bronze medalists in 2003 & 2004, but fourth in 2005 and fifth in 2006. They have had to deal with some very unfortunate circumstances this year. His uncle, Paul Wirtz, who had coached them, died of a fast developing cancer, early this year and two weeks ago her father died. Nevertheless, said Putnam, "They didn’t want to withdraw." They train with Peter Tchernyshev in the United States but after attending Paul’s funeral in Canada, when Sean went to return to Hackensack, NJ, the U.S. immigration people stopped him. It took about a month to sort out the difficulties and he lost that amount of practice so they are staying with last season’s routines. Their short program music was Sing, Sing, Sing. They were attired in bright yellow and red polka dot fun outfits. They did good side by side triple Salchows but she stepped out of their throw triple Salchow. Their twist only got Level 1 and could be higher. Their back outside death spiral was also a Level 1 but they received Level 4 for their Group 4 lift, spiral sequence and pair combination spin. Their flying combination spin was level 3. Tiffany Vise, dressed in a stunning bright green outfit, & Derek Trent may only lie fifth, 4.32 points behind Putnam & Wirtz, but they scored top marks in one area. They were the ONLY pair to score above Level 2 for their back outside death spiral. Two of the pairs got Level 2 on this move. All the others received Level 1 except Vise and Trent who scored a Level 4! Unfortunately, he singled his side by side triple toe loop. They used music from the popular Japanese "ballroom" movie, Shall We Dance? Their double twist Level 2 was good and their throw triple loop was superb. They gained Level 4 on their lift, spiral sequence and flying change foot combination spin. However on their pair combination spin they had problems and it was deemed only a Level 2 with a negative GoE. In sixth place, 2.48 behind Vise & Trent, are Angelika Pylkina, 16, & Niklas Hogner, who turned 22 September 22. She wore a lavender catsuit and they skated to music said to be Sozo by Kitari and Peacock by Rene Dupere. They were fifth in the last world junior championship. The pair is coached by her mother who moved from Russia to Linköping so her daughter could skate with Hogner and form the first pair to represent Sweden since 1962. Their order of elements was unusual in that they started with their spiral sequence for which they received Level 4 and a good GoE. But she fell on the side-by-side Salchow which was downgraded to a single. They also made a mess of their throw triple Salchow. Only a marginal 0.64 behind the Swedes in seventh place are Kendra Moyle, who is 16, & Andy Seitz, who turns 21 on December 13. They are the current U.S. Junior champions and were runners-up in the world junior championships. They were just thrilled to be entered for this event. Skating to the very popular, Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor performed by Maksim Mrvica, they began with their Group 4 Level 3 lift which scored the base value as did their double Axels and Level 2 double twist. However, she fell on their throw triple loop. Their spiral sequence and flying change foot combination spin were Level 4 and although the death spiral was only Level 1, their pair combination spin was Level 3. It was a very promising senior debut. Lying eighth, 1.80 points behind Moyle & Seitz are Jessica Miller, 25, & Ian Moram, 26, who placed seventh in the 2006 Canadian championships. Miller is an American who initially moved to Montreal to train with Bruno Marcotte in 2002 when she teamed up with Moram. They followed Marcotte to Vancouver when he accepted a position in this area. They performed to Black Magic Woman. She fell on their side by side double toe loops. Lying ninth and last, 5.50 points behind Miller & Moran are the Bulgarians, Rumiana Spassova, 17, & Stanimir Todorov, 24, the three time Bulgarian champions. They performed to music from the soundtrack of a sinister sounding Bulgarian movie, Sentenced Souls. |
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