Magia Gelada - Patinagem artística : CS

The eleventh edition of the Lombardia Trophy, also known as Anna Grandolfi Memorial, took place in Bergamo (Italy) between the 13 and 16 of September. This event is part of the ISU Challenger Series 2018/2019 and captivated the attention of many skating fans worldwide due to the participation of skaters such Shoma Uno and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva. I took some notes about the event and I'll share them with you in this blog post.

So let's do this!

MEN

All eyes were set on japanese figure skating star Shoma Uno. This young man is the reigning olympic and world silver medalist. This weekend he collected his third gold medal in a row at Lombardia Trophy and rightly so. Shoma won both portions of this competition. In the short program he got a score of 104.15pts and in the free program he got 172.05pts, which are the new world records. Shoma's total score of 276.20pts is also a new world record.

The short program is beautiful. This arrangement of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" works perfectly and Shoma's interpretation matches the music very well. From the very first moment, Shoma drew me into the program and captured my attention right away. I imagine that the same happened to many other skating fans. The first element of the short program was the quad flip and he made it look like a triple. For the combination he went for a quad toe + double toe. He didn't have a lot of speed on the landing of the quad toe but managed to perform the double toe anyway. The triple axel was the last jumping pass and happened in the second half of the program. He went for the triple axel on a spread eagle position and repeated the feature in the exit to show total control. The spins were all level 4 and the lovely step sequence was level 3. In the second mark, there were two judges that scored him 9.25 in transitions. As much as I love Shoma and this program, I don't think that there where enough transitions to justify a 9.25 score. I actually agree with the judge who scored him with 8.25 in that segment.

Video of Shoma Uno's short program

Shoma's free program was skated to the gorgeous "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven. This music had been used in figure skating programs countless times. However Shoma managed to make this music his own and that isn't an easy thing to do. Technically, he lost points in five of the jumping passes due to negative GOE: the quad salchow (step out on the landing), the quad flip (under rotated), the second quad toe (rough landing and the right land touched the ice), the triple axel (fall) and the triple axel+Euler+triple flip combo (there was no speed coming out of the flip and he was leaning forward). The only clean jumping passes were the first quad toe and the triple salchow+triple toe combo. All the spins were once again level 4 and the step sequence was level 3.

It's still very early in the season so I don't think that Shoma's fans should panic… There is a lot of room to improve through the season and, once the jumps are there, it will all look much better.

At the moment, I prefer the short program but the free is beautiful too.

Video of Shoma Uno's free program

Dmitri Aliev of Russia took the silver medal.

His short program is breathtaking! The music is soft but powerful at the same time and his skating and interpretation completely matched it. The way he used all of his body to express himself was marvellous. In what concerns the jumps, he did a quad salchow+triple toe combo, the triple axel and a quad toe. The execution of the combo and the axel was ok but he fell on the quad toe (that was also under rotated). Despite the fall in that element he kept on delivering. The change sit spin at the end of the program bothers me a little bit because he finished the element after the music was over. The exact same thing happened to him at the russian test skates that took place the week before. I hope this doesn't become a recurrent problem through the season. Dmitri's short program score was 86.57pts.

Video of Dmitri Aliev's short program

Dmitri's free program is as mesmerizing as the short, if not more. The way he moves isn't just beautiful… it's like watching poetry in motion. Only he knows what was going through his mind as he was performing but to me it looks like there was a lot of soul in what he was doing. Like there was a higher purpose than just doing a good competitive program.

There was a strong technical start to the program with a quad salchow, a quad toe+triple toe combo, quad toe and triple flip. Going to the second half there were some problems. He left points on the table on the flying camel spin which was only level 2, on the triple lutz+Euler+triple salchow combo (bad landing on the lutz and the Euler was under rotated) and on the triple lutz+double toe combo (invalid element). Dmitri's free program got 163.98pts.

I'm looking forward to see this program again in future competitions and I'm also curious to find out if Dmitri will be able to challenge his compatriot Mikhail Kolyada for the n.º 1 spot in Russia.

Video of Dmitri's free program

Andrei Lazukin took home the bronze medal.

In the short program he managed to get a score of 87.92pts. From the moment the music started, he showed that he meant business. The first moves really set the tone for a modern and stylish interpretation. Andrei skated with a lot of personality and it was very enjoyable. I also loved the relaxed costume. The opening quad toe looked effortless and the triple axel was good too. As the combo, Andrei went for the triple flip+triple toe. The step sequence was level 4 as well as the flying camel spin and the change sit spin. However the combination spin was level 3 and got dinged with negative GOE.

The polish judge Magdalena Rusiecka was kind of harsh on the components score especially in transitions (6.00), composition (6.75) and interpretation of the music (6.75).

Vídeo of Andrei Lazukin performing his short program

In free program, Andrei Lazukin skated to a very dramatic and intense music piece: "Bells of Moscow" by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This music has been used before by the unforgettable Mao Asada. This music can easily overpower any skater so that's a risk. There were several nice moments in this program, notably the step sequence. Nonetheless, it kind of lost me after the triple flip+triple toe combo. From that point on forward, I was just able to pay attention to the technical elements. Shoma and Dmitri's free programs went on in a blink of an eye but this one seemed to last longer than four minutes. Maybe as the program gets more mileage things will look more fluid.

There were three jumping passes that were penalized with negative GOE: the quad toe, the triple flip+triple toe combo (hand down on the landing of the toe) and the triple loop (under rotated and bad landing). The flying camel spin was level 4 while the change sit spin and the combination were level 3. The step sequence was level 3 as well.

Other vídeos

Matteo Rizzo

Short program

Free program

Kazuki Tomono

Short program

Free program

LADIES

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, 2015 european and world champion, ran away with the gold medal, after leading the event in both short and free programs.

Elizaveta scored 65.69pts in the short program. The relaxed vibe was very enjoyable and the costume, despite looking simple, is edgy.
She fell on the triple toe+triple toe combo but recovered quickly and the mistake didn't take anything away from the overall impression of the program. The triple lutz was a beauty. With Elizaveta there is never room for a doubt if it's a lutz or a flip. She was so light on that jump! Really awesome. The last jump was the mandatory double axel. Elizaveta's double axel had a very good height and length. The take off and the landing were good too. Her body position was good throughout the jump and the element matched the music. Therefore I believe the double axel could have easily been awarded with +4 or +5 across the board. However only one judge gave the element a +5, with two judges going for the +3 and judge n.º 6 opting for a +2.
All spins were level 4 and the step sequence was level 3.

Video of Elizaveta performing her short program

Elizaveta got a score of 140.38pts in the free program. And she did it again… Elizaveta attempted the triple axel in competition one more time! The landing wasn't perfect and the element ended up penalized with negative GOE. All the other jumps were impeccable: triple lutz+double toe combo, triple lutz, double axel+triple toe, triple loop, triple salchow+double toe+double loop combo and the double axel. I'm a bit torned about this program. Elizaveta is a wonderful performer, with an obvious star quality, but is this enough to take her back on the russian team for Euros and Worlds? Maybe if she is consistent throughout the season… My problem is that most of the jumps seem to have a long preparation and more transitions wouldn't hurt either. Still it was more than enough to win this event fair and square.

Video of Elizaveta's free program

16 year old Sofia Samodurova won the silver medal in her first senior international event. Keep an eye on her because Sofia is scheduled to compete at Skate America and Rostelecom Cup as well.

The russian teenager finished the short program with a score of 64.05pts. Sofia wasn't that far behind of Elizaveta in this portion of the competition. To be honest, while I was watching the stream, I thought that Sofia should have finished ahead of her team mate. After rewatching both short programs, my first impression was reinforced mostly because of the components. I don't understand why Elizaveta scored more in transitions than Sofia. The croatian judge roasted Sofia with scores of 6.25 in skating skills, 6.00 in transitions, 6.00 in performance, 6.25 in composition and 6.50 in interpretation of the music. Overall, I don't think the composition, interpretation of the music and especially the transitions were that inferior to Elizaveta's.

Her jumping layout was of triple flip+triple toe combo, triple loop and double axel (which was the only element with negative GOE due to problems on the landing). All the spins managed to get level 4 and the step sequence was level 3.

Video of Sofia performing her short program

Sofia's free program scored 120.77pts and it was not enough to challenge Elizaveta for gold.

Sofia showed character and personality in her program. She's expressive and doesn't skate like a junior at all. I hope that in the future she will be able to skate clean because at Lombardia there were several mistakes.

The opening triple flip+triple toe combo was penalized with negative GOE due to the fact that the toe was under rotated. The second jumping pass was supposed to be a triple lutz but things didn't go well at all. There was hardly any elevation on that jump and Sofia only did a single lutz with a bad landing. She probably pushed it to far back on the take off and that killed the jump. I'm kind of surprised how judge n.º4 applied 0 on the GOE on the single lutz - that was clearly a -3 or -4 (long preparation, poor take off, bad landing). The landing on the triple loop wasn't the best and that costed her too because the GOE was low. The triple salchow, the double axel+triple toe combo, the triple flip and the double axel+double toe+double loop were OK. The step sequence and the flying sit spin were level 3 while the layback spin and the combination spin were level 4.

Video of Sofia Samodurova performing her free program

Kaori Sakamoto was the highest ranked japanese skater going into this event and finished the competition in 4th place.

Her short program result was dissapointing - only 9th place with a score of 49.91pts.

Kaori skated to a beautiful song called "From my first moment" by Charlotte Church. To some skating fans, having the whole program skated to such a song may fell boring. It's a very soft theme and the choreography reflected that. I think Kaori did a very good job in what concerns the interpretation of the music. Her skating looked delicate and ethereal.

It's a pity that she made costly mistakes. The most damaging mistakes were the lack of the mandatory jump combination and the fall on the triple flip. In what concerns the fall on the triple flip, I would like to know why judges Tomie Fukudome and Tiziana Miorini only applied -4 despite the fall. My understanding of the rules is that when there is a fall on a jump there has to be a -5 on the GOE.

The loop, that she could have saved for the combo, was only a double. Judge Tiziana Miorini went for a +3 on the loop but in the ISU recommendations you can read that if the jump element is not according to the requirements the final GOE must be -5. All the other judges applied -5 in GOE.

There were also obvious mistakes in change foot combination spin. Judge Tiziana Miorini seemed to ignore the mistakes and applied +3 in GOE while the majority of the panel went for negative GOE.

The step sequence, which is lovely, only managed level 2. The flying camel spin and the layback spin were level 4.

This wasn't Kaori's best but still the 5.75 in performance by judge Josip Cerovac seemed a bit harsh.

Video of Kaori Sakamoto performing her short program

Kaori redeemed herself in the free program where she got 130.94pts.

She jumped a triple flip, a double axel, a triple lutz, a triple salchow, a double axel+triple toe+double toe combo, triple flip+double toe combo and triple loop. As you can tell straight away. Kaori only did two combos instead of three. Also the triple flip+double toe combo lost points due to negative GOE. The same happened to the triple loop because it was under rotated.

All the spins got level 4 while the step sequence was level 3.

This program can grow a lot as the season goes particularly because of Kaori's interpretation. She seemed to be completely at ease with the choreography and was putting her soul to what she was doing. The step sequence was very beautiful and during that moment I even forgot that I was watching a competitive program.

Other vídeos

Mako Yamashita

Shout out to Mako Yamashita of Japan. This was Mako's second senior competition and she managed to get the bronze just like she did at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, that took place in early August.

Short program

Free program

Viveca Lindfors

Short program

Free program

Amber Glenn

Short program

Free program

PAIRS

In the pairs event, Natalia Zabiiako & Alexander Enbert repeated last season victory. Their young compatriots Aleksandra Boikova & Dmitri Kozlovskii got the silver medal and home skaters Nicole Della Monica & Matteo Guarise took bronze.

I was expecting a battle between Zabiiako & Enbert and Della Monica & Guarise and that these two pairs would outshine the others. However Aleksandra Boikova & Dmitri Kozlovskii managed to capture the attention for themselves, especially in the free program.

Natalia and Alexander scored 72.50pts in the short program which is the new world record.

They chose quite an epic music for the short program and the choreo/interpretation tried to match it. Natalia and Alexander looked like they could be starring a medieval fantasy movie and there was no lack of allusions to sword fighting during the program. This is a total new style for them and thumbs up for Natalia and Alexander for taking the risk to challenge themselves.

This pair showed great control on the level 3 triple twist and nailed the side by side triple toe loops. The throw triple loop was gorgeous! She hit a great air position and the landing was impeccable. I dare say that the throw triple loop was the highlight of the program.

The lift, the spin and the step sequence were all level 4.

The only thing I didn't like was the level 1 back outside death spiral mainly because of the way she entered the element.

They also got a point deduction due to time violation.

Video of Zabiiako & Enbert performing their short program

For the free program, Natalia and Alexander chose another strong piece of music: "Toi et Moi".

I have mixed feelings about this program. It's like the potential is there but there was no spark in this performance.

The fact that there were several technical mistakes didn't help either.

Natalia fell on the side by side triple toe+double toe combo. For whatever reason only two judges penalized it with -5. If there is a fall than the GOE should be -5. Period.

On what was supposed to be the side by side triple salchow, Alexander doubled his. As a consequence the element lost points due to negative GOE.

The throw triple lutz was the other element that lost them points due to Natalia's poor landing.

The forward inside death spiral was level 3 as well as the triple twist. All the lifts and the spin were level 4.

On the second mark, the russian judge got a bit carried away and marked them 9.00 for performance and composition...

By the way I was kind of puzzled to see Nina Mozer on the side boards. Wasn't she supposed to have taken some time off?

Oh… and on a total random note: Natalia rocks the short hair.

Video of Zabiiako & Enbert performing their free program

Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitri Kozlovskii already have a bit of senior experience as they competed in two Challenger Series events last season: Minsk Arena-Ice Star (gold) and Warsaw Cup (silver).

Here at Lombardia they were close to the gold medal. In fact, they did manage to win the free program.

Aleksandra and Dmitri got a score of 65.21pts in the short program.

Their short program was cute and the elements were OK execution wise. The throw triple salchow was a bit wild but she handled it.
They also performed a side by side triple salchow, a level 3 triple twist, level 4 spin, level 4 lift, level 3 back outside death spiral and a level 4 step sequence.
Not a single element got dinged with negative GOE.

Video of Boikova & Kozlovskii performing their short program

In the free program Aleksandra and Dmitri got a score of 126.78pts.

The choreography in the free program perfectly showcased their qualities: elegance, softness, beautiful lines and balletic arm movements. The first time I watched the program I couldn't take my eyes of Dmitri because of his graceful, yet masculine, posture. There were several moments that I really enjoyed: the way they held the landing position on both side-by-side jumping passes, how he softly put her down on the triple twist right on the beat of the music, the throw triple loop looked huge and the death spiral. Overall, all the elements fit the music. In what concerns the tech score, there was only one element that was penalized with negative GOE: the throw triple salchow.

All the lifts and the spin were level 4. The triple twist and the forward inside death spiral were level 3.

Looking at the program components score, the spanish judge Marta Olozagarre set herself apart from the others by only scoring them 6.50 in transitions and performance and 6.25 in interpretation of the music. I much agree with judges Josip Cerovac (Croatia) and Étienne Dreyer (South Africa) that scored them with 7.75 in performance.

Video of Aleksandra and Dmitri performing their free program

Nicole Della Monica & Matteo Guarise of Italy got the bronze medal.

I didn't really like the short program. It was like the music and the skating were on two diferent planets. Maybe my perception of it will change as the season goes but in here it just didn't do the trick for me. I felt the music was a mere background rather than going hand-in-hand with the skating.

The only element that lost points due to negative GOE was the side by side triple salchow because Matteo couldn't hold the landing.

On the throw triple loop, Nicole put her hand down on the landing but it got away with +0.80 in GOE.

The triple twist, the back outside death spiral, the step sequence and the spin were level 3. The lift was level 4.

The lift was gorgous and I love Nicole's position and how easy it all looked. The back outside death spiral was also a highlight.

The program ended up with 66.93pts.

Video of Nicole and Matteo performing their short program

I much prefer the free program that was skated to Maxime Rodriguez's "Tristan and Isolde".

To this day, whenever I listen to this music, I always think of french pair Sarah Abitbol & Stephane Bernadis. They were the first that I remember performing to this piece.

I think this is an excelent choice of music for them and the choreography is beautiful without being cheesy.

Unfortunately they made several mistakes that stopped them from being able to fight for the gold.

The most costly of them was a botched lift. It was supposed to be the ninth element. Then there were two elements dinged with negative GOE: the side by side triple salchow+single toe and the side by side double toe.

The throw triple loop only got it's base value of 5.00pts. Her landing wasn't catastrophic but it wasn't perfect either. That said, the spanish judge Marta Ologazarre decided to give it a +2...

The triple twist and the first lift were level 3. The forward inside death spiral, the final lift and the spin were level 4. They also did a throw triple salchow.

Video of Nicole and Matteo performing their free program

Other vídeos

Digerness & Neudecker

Short program

Free program

Barquero & Maestu

Short program

Free program

ICE-DANCE

And now it's time for a rant. What the hell happened to ice-dance? The rule changes such as marking separate levels for both skaters in the twizzles made my eyes roll. It's the same element so why diferent levels?

Another thing that has been bothering me as a fan is the lack of diversity in the free dances. It's like the majority of the teams are going for the same style and that makes the events turn into a borefest. Even those that pick music that may seem new to the discipline end up using watered down versions of it. This is something that has been going on for a while now. The skaters are trying their best to improve and it's not their fault that the judges don't seem to reward those that think outside of the box. For me it's getting hard to watch a full ice-dance event. And this is coming from someone that used to watch the compulsory dances… I miss teams such as Denkova & Staviski, Drobiazko & Vanagas and Rahkamo & Kokko. It's not like the judges made the lives of those skaters easier back in the day but at least they would risk anyway.

Now on Lombardia...

Italians Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri were on the league of their own. I thought the spanish team Sara Hurtado & Kiril Khaliavin could challenge them for the gold but they ended up with the bronze medal. The brother and sister team Rachel & Michael Parsons took the silver.

Charlene and Marco got 76.03pts in the rhythm dance. They have come a long way as a team and anyone can see how much progress they have made in these last couple of seasons. Charlene and Marco really do skate as one and that can be seen in this rhythm dance.

The stationary lift was truly gorgeous and the entry was impressive too.

In what concerns the two Tango Romantica patterns, the first one really worked for them: they hit all the key points and reached level 4. The second one didn't match the quality of the first because it was only level 2 and they missed the first two key points.

Video of Guignard & Fabbri performing their RD

The italians scored 117.25pts in the free dance.

It was a cleanly skated program. In my opinion, one of the best things was the entry in the twizzles. It was unexpected to see them go from such a move right into the twizzles without losing momentum. The one foot step sequence was spot on. It felt like watching Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. There was that kind of vibe. Just dancing and having fun.

I'm aware that they skated to the soundtrack of "La La Land" but I've never watched that movie so I don't know if the choreo has anything to do with depicting that story.

Despite the fact that I enjoyed the program, I'm not sure if this will be enough to help them improve their international results.

Video of Guignard & Fabbri performing their FD

Rachel and Michael Parsons scored 68.20pts in the rhythm They had some problems in the levels and that costed them a lot of points. The step sequence was only level 1.

In the Tango Romantica patterns, the first pattern was level 2 and the second was level 1. Of the eight key-points that they were supposed to hit, Rachel and Michael only hit 3.

The beautiful twizzles and the lift were level 4.

For my personal taste, their interpretation of the tango was a bit bland. Maybe the fact that they're brother and sister doesn't help in this type of dances because the tango is passionate and intense in it's nature.

Video of Rachel & Michael Parsons performing their RD

In the free dance this team was able to score 102.48pts.

In my opinion, the wonderful twizzles were the highlight of this dance. They were very well integrated with the music and anyone can see how much precision there was in the execution. Rachel and Michael covered so much ice during the twizzles!

The straight line lift was the other highlight.

The US team had trouble with getting the levels again because the spin and the diagonal step sequence were merely level 2.

I hope they can do better next time.

My problem with this program is that it reminded me of the Shibutani's all along. Rachel and Michael are such nice skaters that it would be good to see them with a style of their own.

Vídeo of Rachel & Michael Parsons performing their FD

The spanish team Sara Hurtado & Kirill Khaliavin scored 65.03pts in the rhythm dance.

They made a mistake in the twizzles and hers was level 4 while his were level 2. This element lost 0.43pts due to negative GOE. All the other elements were level 3.

Interestingly, judge n.º 2 marked -1 in GOE of the first Tango Romantica pattern. The other judges applied +2.

In the second mark, jugde n.º 2 only scored them with 6.75 in interpretation of the music while the others applied scores in the range of 7.25 and 8.25. Go figure...

Video of Hurtado & Khaliavin performing their RD

Sara and Kirill's free dance scored 104.44pts.

My favorite parts of this dance were the serpentine step sequence and the straight line lift.

The twizzles, the spin, the rotational lift and the straight line lift were level 4. The curve lift and the one foot step sequence were level 3. The serpentine step sequence was level 2.

Guess what? The same judge that was harsh on them in the rhythm dance showed his claws in the free too by marking them -1 in the twizzles. He did so in complete contrast to the other judges in the panel.