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Nations Cup 2001 - Pairs Long Program
General Comments: I didn't always note down all the elements for all the pairs. Sometimes I only noted down elements that had a mistake or that were performed exceptionally good. If an element isn't mentioned, it usually was performed clean. If an element is mentioned without further comments, it was usually also clean.
Abbreviations:t=toeloop, l=loop, s=salchow, f=flip, z=lutz, a=axel, sbs=side by side
Leray & Osseland (France)
Black costume. Some Spanish music. 2-twist, not very high. 3t, clean. 3s. press lift. 2a-2t. Her 2a was overrotated. Weak lift, problem with entry and bad ice coverage. Rbo and rfi death spiral. throw-2a. Nice entry in final lift. They seemed getting slower towards the end. They didn't have too many in-betweens. Their skating style is quite nice, but they don't seem very polished and not that elegant. Overall this was a good performance, their lifts are weak though. In a whole this team was noticable weaker than the rest of the field. I also think a little more height difference would be better for them. Liked the music.
TM: 4.4-4.6
Pres: 4.3-4.4
Berankova & Dlabola (Czech Republic)
Both in blue costume, her dress was nice. Music: "El piano de America". She nearly fell on her 2a. 3t with little problems. 3-twist with a problem on the landing. Throw-3s was 2-footed. 2s, 2t. Nice press lift. throw-3t with problem on the landing. The exit of one lift was weak. They lost unison in their sbs spin. Very nice star lift. Nice spins. I like their style, they are quite artistic, very harmonic, balletic and soft. They look as if they've been skating together for a very long time and have a good unison. I liked the program, it was very lyrical and harmonic, their presentation is stronger than their technic.
TM: 4.3-4.9
Pres: 4.4-5.1
Maxiuta & Dubina (Ukraine)
He in beige pants and a brown shirt, her in a green skirt and a bikini-like top (and of course illusion fabric). Music: "Polovesian Dances". She falls on the 3t. 3-twist, a little rough looking, but high. 3-throw (haven't noted which one), she falls badly. 2a-2t, her axel might have been a single. Nice lasso lift. Another 3-throw. Good lift, not that good unison in spins. They look quite elegant, chose a very dramatic music. The presentation looked unpolished, but their are graceful skaters. For a pair that I had never heard of before, they really were pleasant to watch.
TM: 4.3-4.7
Pres: 4.6-5.1
Saurette & Fecteau (Canada)
Beautiful blue costumes! Music: "Palladio and Songs from a secret garden". 3t, she stumbles and 2-foots. Nice star lift. 3-twist, not very high and the landing wasn't very soft. Good 3-throw, nice lifts. 2a, she falls. 2t, out of synch. 3-throw, leaning forward on landing. Very close on sbs spins, cool press lift. A romantic program, skated quite elegantly, I especially liked the presentation in the slow part. I liked the music, the program was beautiful. Good lifts. A very nice program, except for the problems with their jumps. Liked it!
TM: 4.8-5.2
Pres: 4.6-5.3
Chuvaeva & Palamarchuk (Ukraine)
Wear very ugly blue costumes. Music: "Beethoven: Sonata in C-Minor". 3-twist ok. 3t, she nearly falls. throw-3s good. throw-2l. 2a-2t (she singles hers and they were out of synch). Liked the music. They were quite smooth and had nice flow. Seemed quite fast. The choreography was ok, nothing really outstanding, but nice to watch.
TM: 4.6-5.1
Pres: 4.5-5.1
Marceaux & Marcotte (Canada)
Nice plain costumes, he in black, she in red. Music: "Beyond the forest". 3-twist, problem with landing. Sbs 3t - both fall. Very nice lift. throw-3l, she has problems with the landing and 2-foots. sbs 3s - she falls. Their deathspirals were pretty good. Nice 2a. Nice triple throw. Their last lift looked a bit shaky. She's a very elegant skater. I thought that the music was a bit heavy for them, I'm not sure whether this style of music suits them so well. I think I would rather see them skate to something more lyrical and soft. Still their presentation was very good. If they skate clean, I think they are better than Saurette & Fecteau and would have beat them.
TM: 4.6-5.2
Pres: 4.6-5.3
Petrova & Tikhonov (Russia)
Black and white costumes that are ok and fit the music, pieces from the musical "Chess". Sbs 3t - good, hers might have been slightly 2-footed. 2a, 2t. 3-twist, that was not very high and a little shaky on the landing. throw-3l. As usually they have very interesting lifts, with creative entries and exits. Throw-3s. Their speed is mediocre, they are noticable slower than Ina & Zimmermann and Shen & Zhao. Sbs spins close to each other. They look smoother than last year, generally better choreography, outward appearance and presentation than last year. They should really try to improve their speed though. Nice music, nice choreography. I heard she's still having problems with her ankle. The program was overall skated good, with a number of little mistakes and wobbles. They'll have a hard time making it onto the podium at Worlds or Olympics, as long as the top-3 teams from last year don't make many mistakes, but they have good chances for 4th place, if they perform this program a little better than here.
TM: 5.5-5.7
Pres: 5.6-5.8
Ina & Zimmermann (USA)
I don't like the costumes. Music: "Variations of Themes of Paganini". I noted down that I don't like the music that much, but I just watched the program on TV and I quite liked it. Maybe it's something that needs a little getting used to. 3t, 2a, good 3-twist, 2a. Throw 3l - problems on landing. Throw-3s. All elements looked very clean, good and smooth, good transitions. They were faster than Petrova & Tikhonov. The presentation was nice, but I wasn't as impressed with this program as with the short program, their unison could be a little better. They had some nice innovative elements and movements in this program. Overall I liked it. Deservedly moved up to second place.
TM: 5.4-5.7
Pres: 5.7-5.9
Shen & Zhao (China)
She wore a dress in white and grey, he a costume in black and grey. Their music is "Turandot". 2a, 3t, throw-3s. Lift with a wobbly entry. High 3-twist, landing not that soft. Either second 2a or second 3t, I forgot to note it down. throw-3l. She has a noticable stumble in the sbs spin. Their presentation has really improved since last year. They still didn't look as smooth and harmonic as Ina & Zimmermann here. But they got nice movements, especially their arm movements. The transitions are much better, they don't just skate from element to element anymore, the in-betweens are better. Still not that connected and emotional. The lifts and spins haven't improved. The choreography is very good, I like the music and the program. A good skate from them.
TM: 5.8-5.9
Pres: 5.8-5.9
Final Standings Pairs
