First off, I have to say that I really, really don't like this new thing the ISU is doing at Euros and 4CC where only 20 (? I think it was 20 for the men) skaters get to go through to skate the long. It doesn't seem fair on the 'lower-tier' skaters (in this case, Matt Parr, Viktor Romanenkov, etc), who skate pretty much the best they can in their short, and yet still don't get to even skate their frees; I can't see how the ISU expect these guys (and girls, and dancers, and pairs) to develop as skaters, particularly their stamina, if they're not being allowed to skate the free programs in international competition. Of course that means that they're going to train their short programs harder, there's not going to seem much point rigorously training a long program they're barely going to use, and it just seems kind of disheartening. But I have to say, the 'mini shows' that the Euros organisers in Estonia provided us with were absolutely hilarious.
Anyway, that said, onto the action. We were sitting up on the second tier of the arena so we weren't as close to the ice as we were for other events, but at least our view was unrestricted. I was cheering for Viktor Pfeifer (Austria), who has been one of my 'pet skaters' since Nebelhorn, when he and Priscilla Hill (who I love, by the way) seemed to spend the whole competition sitting next to us. He managed 15th or so going into the free, but didn't have a particularly good skate, which was a shame, although good on him for trying the quad. I have my fingers crossed for him in Vancouver! I also definitely had a new 'find' in Paolo Bacchini (Italy), though, he was good. I'm not sure of his age but he looked quite young - definitely one worth watching. Contesti was 5th at worlds last year - does that mean Italy have two Olympic spots? Is Bacchini going? I should really find out!
I was surprised to see Voronov sitting so low. I don't remember all that much about his program but he pulled up a fair amount; unfortunately he ultimately ended up losing his Olympic place in favour of Artem Borodulin, who wasn't at Euros (did Russia only have two spots?). He has good jumps, landed (just) a 4T and two 3As, but he doesn't have great presentation, or maybe he just wasn't 'on' that night. He's probably another one cursing the return of Plushenko, either way.
The programs of the Swedish boys never fail to disappoint (Adrian Schultheiss skates to Smack My Bitch Up. That right there is genius) but neither of them skated particularly well, especially Kristoffer Berntsson, poor guy, who had a terrible skate and ended up 15th, with no chance of going to the Olympics. Apparently the Swedish Federation had originally stated that, in order to get the place, one of the two had to finish top ten at Euros? I'm not sure, but either way, Schultheiss, who ended up in 12th place, now has the place and will be in Vancouver for sure. I'm sorry for Berntsson, but definitely excited to see Schultheiss and his hilariously surreal program at the Olys!
It was nice to see Kevin van der Perren skate relatively well, he's not been doing too great lately - he had surgery some time last year, I think? - and it was also interesting that he's gone back to his Robin Hood program from a few years back, which I'd heard good things about. Loved the costume. KvdP always has the best costumes, they're just great.
I had heard a lot about Javier Fernandez and I liked his free at TEB, and wow, the boy did good! Pulled up from 13th after the short to 8th overall with his fantastic Pirates of the Caribbean program, complete with brilliantly drunken step sequence...he'll be at the Olympics this year and it'll be good to see him there but I am even more excited to see him (hopefully) join the Rippon/Brezina crew in 2014!
The way it worked out with the groups was really great, because the penultimate group was made up of the 'showmen', the ones that are fun to watch and really get the crowd going (think Contesti & Préaubert), which meant that the atmosphere, which was already good, just got even better, the audience were getting so into these guys! Weirdly, I'm just looking at my results sheet and I have just realised that I have no memory whatsoever of Stefan Lindemann skating, which is odd. He ended up in 9th though, which is nice for him, coming back after such a long time injured.
He's a fantastic performer when he's on and bless his heart, he kept selling it, but Verner was almost hard to watch. I know it's a long time since he was ill on the GP circuit but he still doesn't look healthy, he's really thin and he looks a little slow, it's almost like he just needs to take some time out and rest but of course, there's no way he'll do that until after the Olympics. The poor guy, his jumps were just not working. It's such a shame because I really think that when he's on form, and if he was slightly less of a headcase, he could definitely be challenging for a medal in Vancouver.
Like I said earlier, the French guys really brought it. Préaubert had a pretty good performance and I love that he skates his program in a Rolling Stones t-shirt, his program just suits him down to a T. He's never going to set the world on fire technically but he is definitely fun to watch and he seems to love being out there, and he looked absolutely devastated when he missed his quad, he obviously really wanted to do it.
I already covered Berntsson, so of that group, that just leaves Contesti (who actually skated first, but I'm saving my favourites till last). Wow, this was a brilliant performance. He landed everything, the crowd got right behind him, and I just love this program. He actually went 4th on the free, only behind Plushenko, Lambiel and Joubert, but since he'd been 7th after the short, he ended up 5th overall, but still, good for him! I really like this guy, and I love it that he is just sticking it to the French federation, who really must be kicking themselves right now (although God knows, what with Joubert, Ponsero, Préaubert and Amodio all pulling it out this season, they hardly need anymore men!)
The last group was always going to be intense. In skating order:
Yannick Ponsero. Honestly, given his track record this season, I was half-expecting this guy to bomb the long, but to his credit he didn't at all. I love his music, and I love his basic skating, and I love his big puppy dog eyes! He had an absolute beauty of a quad and a nice 3A, too, but he seemed to lost stamina or something and it all kind of fell apart a little towards the end, which left Brezina & Contesti to step up and leave him in 6th place, but hey, not bad!
Brian Joubert. My new favourite wasn't on form in the long, which I was sad about. He didn't fall (I don't think?) but he had several shaky landings and doubled a salchow, which probably cost him a silver medal - but then, as he said when we met him later on in the competition, there isn't really much between silver and bronze. That guy wanted gold :(.
Plushenko. I'm not a fan of Plushenko, but wow, the arena went crazy for him, and obviously you can't deny that the guy can jump. It just irritates me that he has taken the whole four years away from competition and will now likely just stride in and take the Olympic title once more. This wouldn't bother me much if I really liked his skating or if I thought that, in anything other than jumps, he was miles better than the other guys, but I really don't think that Plushenko has the 'full package', as it were. How his PCS for this program were only 2 marks below Stéphane's, I will never know. I didn't quite know whether to laugh or cry at the kisses he was blowing to the judges...I'm never exactly sure how much of his brilliant arrogance is tongue-in-cheek.
Michal Brezina. This boy is definitely shaping up to be one of my firm favourites. I absolutely cannot wait to see the battles he'll have with the likes of Adam Rippon at Worlds over the next four years, hopefully culminating in 2014 at the Olympics in Sochi, but anyway. He is just so lovely to watch. His jumps (for the most part) are absolutely textbook. He made a tiny error, but it hardly mattered. I just love him. I was actually convinced, after Stéphane put his hand down on the quad and randomly fell on the steps, that Brezina was going to take the bronze, but apparently the judges liked Stéphane just as much as I do!
Stéphane Lambiel. I am seriously glad that this guy came back. To me, he embodies everything that I like about figure skating, all in one incredibly good-looking, well-dressed, adorable little package. I love how he feels every single second of his music and of his performance. After his short program, I was so, so nervous for him, and like I said, I was convinced that he'd given his medal away with the mistakes, but I definitely should have had more faith in my boy, and he came through! Interestingly (or maybe not - everybody loves Stéphane, after all) the crowd were much more into him than they were Plushenko, not only during the program but before and afterwards - the arena just erupted after he finished, and I'm serious, when his marks and placement came up, I don't think I have ever heard such a collective scream of sheer joy. It was really an amazing moment. I actually haven't re-watched his long on YouTube since I got back, I've been too busy trying to catch up with school/US Nats and I want to appreciate it again, but I am definitely looking forward to that. Even more interestingly, he actually ended up finishing not even 4 points behind Plushenko (on the free), and that was without a perfect program, so maybe there is hope? If Stephane Lambiel nails his programs and wins Olympic gold, I genuinely think that I will probably die of joy.
Overall it was a fantastic event, I'm so glad to have seen it live. What a brilliant atmosphere. As much as I don't like Plushenko, the man is a legend, and getting to see him, Lambiel and Joubert skate for what will probably be the last time (although I'm kind of hoping that Stéphane will stay on another season to skate Euros in Switzerland next year!) is something that I am really, really glad that I got to do.
xxx
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