The Trophee Bompard in Paris, France kicked off today with the Compulsory and Original Dance, the Men’s, Ladies and Pairs’ Short Programs. Trophee Bompard is the fourth of six qualifying events of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.
Ice Dancing, Compulsory & Original Dance
Elena Grushina/Ruslan Goncharov of the Ukraine are leading after the Compulsory and Original Dance followed by France’s Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder. Italians Frederica Faiella/Massimo Scali are ranked third before the final Free Dance.
The competition opened with the Compulsory Dance, the Ravensburg Waltz. The Ravensburg Waltz was invented by Angelika and Erich Buck and Betty Calloway. It was first performed in 1973. Grushina/Goncharov grabbed the lead with a technically strong and characteristic performance of the Waltz. The reigning World bronze medalists earned 36.81 (18.06 element score/18.75 program component score). Delobel/Schoenfelder put out a confident and smooth Ravensburg Waltz. The French Champions scored 35.55 points (17.56/18.09). Faiella/Scali’s Waltz was soft, and the couple showed good knee action. They were awarded 31.98 points (15.90/16.08). Nozomi Watanabe/ Akiyuki Kido of Japan came in fourth with 28.68 points.
The dancers came back later in the evening for the Original Dance. The Original Dance of the 2005/2006 season is the Latin Combination. Skaters can chose two or three different rhythms from the following: Cha Cha, Rhumba, Samba (Group 1), and/or only one of Mambo, Merengue, Salsa (Group 2).
Grushina/Goncharov defended their lead with a lively Samba, Rhumba and Samba Original Dance. The husband-and-wife team produced difficult footwork and lifts including a straight line lift with him in a shoot the duck position and a rotational lift with her in a donut position. Their first Samba part was highlighted by the side by side footwork line. The 2004 European bronze medalists picked up 57.93 points and collected 94.74 overall. “It was a hard day, but we skated well. Our OD at Skate Canada wasn’t bad either, but this here was better. And the compulsory dance also was better”, Goncharov told the post-event press conference.
Delobel/Schoenfelder delivered a strong dance to the rhythms of Mambo, Rhumba and Mambo. Skating close together, they produced a demanding side by side footwork line with twizzles in both directions, a curve lift with him in a spread eagle position and her resting on his leg without being supported, a level-three diagonal footwork and a rotational lift. The reigning European bronze medalists got 55.43 (27.10/28.33) points for this program which added up to a total of 90.98 points so far. “We did a good compulsory and the original dance was much better than at Skate America”, Schoenfelder said. “We hoped for better marks, but we’re still happy.” Asked about their choice of music, Delobel answered: “We didn’t want to do the usual ballroom dance, so we chose Cuban music.”
Faiella/Scali opened their dance to Cha Cha, Rhumba and Samba with the side by side footwork. The Rhumba part contained a curve lift with an unusual entry and the dance combination spin. However, the couple lost speed in their final rotational lift. The Italians earned 47.44 points (22.70/24.74) and remained in third place with a total of 79.42 points, although they were ranked fourth in the OD. “We’re happy that we can skate. Federica has a problem with her left ankle. She fell and sprained it two days before we left Italy”, Scali explained.
Reigning World Junior Champions Morgan Matthews/Maxim Zavozin (USA) pulled up from sixth to fourth with a energetic and expressive routine to Cha Cha and Samba. They edged Faiella/Scali with 47.61 points in the OD and now have 75.46 points overall. Jana Khokhlova/Sergei Novitski (RUS) are standing in 5th place with 74.14 points. They showed innovative lifts in their performance.
Men, Short Program
In the Men’s event, Jeffrey Buttle of Canada moved into the lead ahead of France’s Brian Joubert. Gheorghe Chiper is currently standing in third place.
Buttle delivered an entertaining and technically solid routine to “Sing Sing Sing” by Louis Prima. His peformance included a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Axel, triple Lutz, strong spins and footwork. The World silver medalist was awarded 76.08 points (38.38 element score/37.70 program component score). “Overall I feel very happy with how I skated. Obviously later in the season I’d like to have the quad in the program, but for the short program right now it’s better to put the triple-triple in. I think the performance went well, and I felt really comfortable out there today”, the Canadian Champion said.
Joubert nailed a quadruple-double toeloop combination, followed by a triple Axel in his program to “Die Another Day” (James Bond soundtrack). The Frenchman also landed a triple flip out of footwork and showed improved spins including a level four combination spin to score 71.55 points (36.40/35.15). “I was very nervous. I didn’t have a good short program in Atlantic City (at Skate America, his first Grand Prix event), so it was a little bit difficult today”, Joubert told the press. “I did a clean program, that was the most important for me today.” Asked about whether he thinks a quadruple jump should be given more value, he answered: “I think, it’s almost better to do a triple-triple combination than a quad-double, and I’m a little bit disappointed. I quad should be worth more points. It’s very difficult to do.”
Chiper’s performance to “Groove Collection” by Brigade Mondaine that featured a triple flip-triple toeloop combination and a triple Lutz, and only the triple Axel was shaky. The Romanian Champion picked up 66.25 points (35.50/30.75). “I realize my weak points in this competition. It’s my second competition of the season, and it was the second time to skate clean. That’s good for me”, he commented.
Timothy Goebel (USA) finished fourth with 65.05 points after missing his triple Axel. His compatriot Michael Weiss came in fifth. He doubled his Axel and the landings of his triple flip-triple toeloop combination and the triple Lutz were wobbly (60.50 points).
Ladies, Short Program
World Junior Mao Asada of Japan upset favorites Sasha Cohen (USA) and Shizuka Arakawa (JPN) to win the Ladies’ Short Program.
Asada’s playful “Carmen” contained a triple Lutz out of footwork, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel as well as a difficult spiral sequence (level four) and an excellent layback spin into a one-hand-held Biellmann spin. “My goal was to skate clean, and I’m happy to have skated without any mistake”, the World Junior Champion said, smiling. When asked what she is aiming for this season without being able to participate in the Olympic Winter Games and the World Championships because she is not age-eligible, she answered: “I want to land a quad!” Asada has been practising the quadruple loop.
Cohen hit a strong triple Lutz-double toeloop combination in her powerful performance to “Dark Eyes”, but her triple flip was double-footed. The American produced beautiful spins and a double Axel to collect 60.96 points (31.80/29.16). “Today’s performance was an okay start for the beginning of the season”, Cohen commented. “My past injuries have taken out a chunk of training time, but I feel good now, and I’m getting back into things. I’m a little behind where I want to be, but it’s a process,and you have to take what comes and do the best you can”, she added, referring to the hip injury that kept her out of Skate America last month.
Arakawa opened her routine set to “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” with a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, but then she two-footed and underrotated the flip. The 2004 World Champion went on to complete a double Axel and strong spins, including a camel spin with change of positions and a level-four layback to earn 57.98 points (29.30/28.68). “I was just nervous before the flip”, the Japanese said. She had made a similar mistake at the Cup of China. “Now I want to enjoy the free skating tomorrow.”
Canada’s Joannie Rochette did a three-turn out of her triple Lutz before adding a double toe for her combination. But she landed a triple flip and showed solid spins. The reigning Grand Prix Final bronze medalist is currently ranked 4th with 57.08 points. Elena Sokolova (RUS) fell on her triple Lutz attempt and is sitting in 5th place (48.20 points).
Pairs, Short Program
Reigning World Champions Tatiana Totmianina/Maxim Marinin (RUS) won the Pairs’ Short Program with China’s Qing Pang/Jian Tong and Valerie Marcoux/Craig Buntin (CAN) finishing second and third.
Totmianina/Marinin set the standard with a lovely performance to the Russian piece “The Snow Storm”, nailing a side by side triple toeloop, an effortless throw triple loop and a double twist. The two-time World Champions produced also fine spins and a deathspiral that was graded a level four. Their elegance and flow set the Russian couple apart. They scored 66.50 points (35.10 element score/31.40 program component score). “It was the the first competition of the season for us, and it was a nice performance tonight. We’re happy to be on the ice”, Totmianina said. “The first competition is always very important. It’s going to be better and better”, her partner added.
Skating to “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”, Pang/Tong put out a strong routine as well that featured a side by side triple toeloop, a high double twist and a throw triple loop as well as difficult one-armed lift. The 2004 Four Continents Champions received 62.26 points (33.18/29.08). “We’re quite pleased with today’s performance. Technically, it was better than in Beijing (at the Cup of China), and we hope to skate even better tomorrow”, Tong said.
Marcoux/Buntin completed a side by side triple toeloop, a throw triple loop out of a difficult entry, a hand-to-hip lift and a double twist to earn 58.44 points (32.16/26.28). “It was better than at Skate Canada, and we’re pretty happy with it”, Marcoux commented.
Rena Inoue/John Baldwin (USA) are currently standing in 4th place after he doubled the side by side Lutz (53.46 points). 2004 World Junior Champions Natalia Shestakova/Pavel Lebedev of Russia came in 5th with a solid program and 50.24 points.
The Trophee Bompard continues Saturday with the Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Ladies’ and Pairs’ Free Skating.
Result
