Lights and Shadows at the Scandinavium by Sonia Bianchetti Garbato
PairsIn the pairs, the first place to Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany was questionable. They won the title but they were not the best in the field, in my opinion. They did not skate at their best. They were not perfect. They opened with an outstanding throw triple flip but on their second element, a triple toe-loop/ triple toe- loop sequence, Savchenko had a poor landing on the first jump, and then they messed up their side-by-side triple Salchows when he fell and she put both hands down to keep from falling as well. Through their program they skated with great intensity, in perfect unison, a bit slow. Despite the two important errors, the Germans received the highest Technical Score for the event and they also were scored highest in Personal Components. This, in my opinion as well as that of many other officials and journalists, was not correct. An Easter gift to the European Champions?
Canadians Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison placed second in the free skate and third overall. They skated an excellent program, technically strong , with beautiful lifts and throws. Their only error was a break forward on the landing of throw triple Lutz for which they received GoE points of -0.50. Their program was well constructed and beautifully choreographed to the music. They were passionate and elegant on the ice while interpreting the music with expression and heart. The best for me that evening. Still they earned only the second highest technical score and only fifth in Program Components! A farce.
Ladies Short Program
The women's competition was expected to be a fight between the Japanese skaters and Yu-Na-Kim, winner of the Grand Prix final. But things went differently and Carolina Kostner upset the plans.
But here again the judging raised some questions.
In the short program, Yukari Nakano, from Japan, was the first of the top group to take the ice. She skated clean with all her GoEs, zero or more. She landed triple flip/ double toe combination and triple Lutz. Her spins were very good, fast and well centred and, except for a level 2 straight line step sequence, all elements were called level 3 and 4. She was scored third in Technical Score but only ninth in Program Components, with component marks in the mid sixes.
The next was Mao Asada, from Japan. She hit all of her jumps easily, seeming to fly above the ice before making her rotations. Her triple flip/triple loop combination, triple Lutz and double Axel were all gorgeous although she had an edge call in the triple Lutz. Her spins and the spiral sequence were beautiful and, on the whole, she gave a lovely elegant performance.
Immediately after Asada was Carolina Kostner’s turn. She led off the program with a solid triple flip/ triple toe- loop combination but on her subsequent triple Lutz she stepped out of the landing. Her spins were slow and not of the best quality, while she had a very attractive step sequence. Also her transitions were very poor. Waiting for the marks, I was discussing with some skating officials whether she would deserve the second or the third place when the marks were displayed and she was given the first place. We were all just stunned! This placing was definitely wrong! Being Italian, some thought I should be happy and proud for this result, but I was not. On the contrary, I was ashamed because I strongly believe that fairness towards the athletes, whatever their nationality may be, is essential for credibility of the sport. Mao Asada should have been first.. Although the difference between the two skaters was only a slim 1.12 point, the result was not correct. It was interesting to note that some of the judges of the Ladies’ panel agreed that this placement was wrong. Another Easter gift to the European Champion?
Reprinted With Permission - soniabianchetti.com
March 30, 2008
