The competition at Trophee Eric Bompard concluded Saturday with the Free Dance, the Men’s, Ladies and Pairs Free Skating. The Trophee Bompard was the fourth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The skaters compete for a global prize money of US $ 180, 000 per individual event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and receive points according to their placements. The top six skaters/couples then qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Torino, Italy (December 13-16).
Ice Dancing, Free Dance
Today’s competition opened with the Free Dance. Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder of France danced away with the gold medal, their first ever in the Grand Prix Series. Russia’s Jana Khokhlova/Sergei Novitski earned the silver medal, and the bronze went to Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA).
It was an interesting competition with many different programs. Skating to “The Piano” soundtrack by Michael Nyman, Delobel/Schoenfelder told the love story between a mute aristocratic woman and a common man. The European Champions incorporated the use of sign language into their program and completed a beautiful one-armed rotational lift, a curve-rotational lift, and a straight line lift. They showed intricate footwork, earning a level four for both the circular and non touching midline step sequence. However, Schoenfelder stepped out of a twizzle. The French were awarded 94.53 points (46.90 element score/47.63 program component score) and were ranked second in the Free Dance. Overall they held on to first place with a total of 194.41 points. “This is our very first victory in the Grand Prix, and we’ve waited a long time for it”, Schoenfelder said. “We are disappointed with our performance today. It wasn’t perfect technically. I missed a twizzle, and the program lacked flow”, he added.
Khokhlova/Novitski delivered an exciting and powerful dance set to “Night on Bald Mountain” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King”, in which she portrays a witch and he is a demon. The program featured a dance combination spin, smooth steps, and difficult lifts that showed off Khoklhova’s flexibility. The 2006 Grand Prix finalists received a level four for all elements but for the non touching midline (level three) and scored 97.97 points (52.80/46.17), improving their previous personal best by six points. They won the Free Dance and racked up a total score of 191.01 points. “We are very pleased with our performance and with our marks. We showed everything we can do”, Khokhlova said. “Our costumes were a collective idea of us, our coaches, choreographer and costume designer. To reflect the theme, we chose dark colors. His costume also contains red to symbolize fire. My costume was designed to be more revealing”. The couple got a costume deduction as Novitski wore tights, which is not allowed.
Davis/White went for a romantic theme, dancing to “Eleanor Rigby” and Eleanor’s Dream” by The Beatles. The 2006 World Junior bronze medalists executed a straight line-rotational lift with changes of positions, a level-four circular step sequence, a serpentine lift and rotational lift to earn 89.22 points (49.40/40.82), which was a new seasonal best for them. Overall, the Americans got 176.21 points. “We are excited about our first Grand Prix medal. This is something we have been looking forward to”, Davis said. “We can skate our Free Dance much better, but we’re happy for now.'
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte (ITA) finished fourth with a dramatic “La Traviata” routine (168.75 points). Pernelle Carron/Mathieu Jost were fifth. They skated to “Nocturne” by Frederic Chopin (159.26 points).
Delobel/Schoenfelder picked up 15 points and will meet Khokhlova/Novitski (13 points) again at the NHK Trophy in two weeks. Davis/White earned 11 points and now have 20 from their two events.
Men, Free Skating
The Men’s event concluded with an exciting Free Skating. Patrick Chan of Canada took the title, while Russia’s Sergei Voronov pulled up from fourth to claim the silver. Alban Préaubert of France settled for the bronze.
Chan, who stood in second place following the Short Program, opened his “Four Seasons” routine with a high triple Axel followed by a triple flip-triple toe and a triple Lutz. The 16-year-old hit three more triples, but he doubled a Salchow and then fell on his final spin. Chan picked up 144.05 points (72.85/72.20) and moved up to first at 214.94 points total. “Coming to Trophee Bompard, I wasn’t rally expecting to make the Final or even win the competition. I was really grateful to be second in the short. Coming into the long, I was pushing the envelope and trying to win. I just didn’t want go any lower than second”, Chan told the press. “I really can’t explain what happened, technically. I just know that going into it I was fighting to stay upright, I was hoping not to fall, but unfortunately it happened. I landed the last triple flip at the end of the program, so that maybe overjoyed me a little, because it was the closest thing to a clean program this season”, he explained, referring the fall on the spin.
Voronov delivered a strong performance to a selection of Tangos by Astor Piazzolla that included two triple Axels (one in combination with double toe), two triple toes (one in combination), a triple Salchow, loop as well as two level-four spins. Handicapped by an ankle injury, the Russian currently is unable to practice a triple Lutz and flip. The World Junior bronze medalist earned 140.21 points (71.71/68.50), smashing his previous personal best of 120.91. He accumulated a total score of 208.91 points. “To get a new personal best is super”, a happy Sergei Voronov said. “I have very positive feelings. This is my first (international) competition this season, and I didn’t expect this result. Now I will continue to work very hard and to improve.”
Overnight leader Preaubert nailed his opening quadruple toeloop in his routine to “Dracula” and “Interview with a Vampire”, but missed the next jump, a triple flip. He recovered to produced six triples including two triple Axels (one in combination), and the only major error came when he popped his last jump, a loop. The Frenchman scored 134.40 points (67.90/67.50), which added up to a total of 207.10. He was ranked third in the Free Skating and slipped to third overall. “I am very happy with my performance. I did the most difficult program with a quad and two triple Axels, and it was the first time for me to do two triple Axels (and the quad) in one program. This gives me confidence for the future”, Préaubert told the press. “I need a lot of energy in the beginning of my program and I was a little tired at the end and I singled the loop.”
Kevin van der Perren (BEL) landed seven triples including two triple-triple combinations in his Free Skating to “Lawrence of Arabia”, but he fell on a triple Lutz. He dropped from third to fourth at 204.75 points. Ryan Bradley (USA) pulled off a nice quadruple toeloop to move up from seventh to fifth (191.32 points).
Chan got 15 points from his win and now tops the Grand Prix standings with 26 points, which is enough to qualify for the Final. Voronov collected 13 points. He will not compete in another Grand Prix event as he withdrew due to injury from Skate Canada earlier this month. Préaubert earned 11 points in Paris and has 18 overall.
Ladies, Free Skating
Mao Asada of Japan captured the title ahead of Kimmie Meissner (USA). Ashley Wagner (USA) moved up from fifth place to claim the bronze, her first medal on the senior Grand Prix.
Overnight leader Asada skated last. She went for a triple Axel as the first element in her program set to “Fantaisie Impromptu” by Frederic Chopin, but she fell, and the jump was downgraded. The World silver medalist recovered instantly to reel off a triple flip-triple loop combination, a triple Lutz, loop and another flip. She produced three level-four spins and posted a score of 122.90 (63.94 element score/60.96 program component score), which added up to 179.80 points. “Today’s performance was very good. I fell on the triple Axel, and I was nervous after that, but the next jump combination (triple flip-triple loop) was very strong”, Asada told the press.
Meissner opened her routine to “Nessun Dorma” with a triple flip-triple toe combination, but the second jump was cheated and downgraded by the Technical Panel. Meissner then landed a triple Lutz, and two solid double Axels, but made errors on her triple Salchow (downgraded), loop (fell) and popped her second Lutz. The 2006 World Champion received 102.76 points (46.08/57.68) for this performance and was ranked third in the Free Skating. She remained in second place with a total of 158.74 points. “It was not my best. I started off pretty good, but I didn’t finish that way”, the American said. She was pleased to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final for the first time in her career. “I am happy to go back to Torino (the site of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games”, she added. “I learned that I can perform a lot better than I have in the past years. My second mark was a lot higher and I was really happy about that, because we’ve been working on it”, Meissner continued.
Wagner’s Tango program included a triple Lutz-double loop, a triple Salchow, triple loop-double loop as well as a triple flip-double loop, another triple loop and a triple Lutz. The 16-year-old American’s spins were all graded a level three. At the end of her performance, Wagner happily hid her face in her hands, overwhelmed by what she just had done. The reigning World Junior bronze medalist scored 108.15 points (57.35/50.80), setting a new personal best for herself. Overall she accumulated 158.63 points. “I was living the moment. I was so excited and happy”, Wagner said about her emotions at the end of her program. “This is my first time on the Grand Prix. At Skate Canada, I got on to my first practice, and I saw Mao (Asada) is there, and was really excited, and my coach told me, ‘calm down’. I kind of learned that you really need to stay focused, worry about yourself, just go out there and do what you can do”, she answered when asked what experience she got from competing on the Grand Prix.
Sarah Meier (SUI) came in fourth. The European silver medalist landed a triple flip and a triple Lutz, but made some errors on other jumps (147.15 points). Mira Leung (CAN) was fifth at 144.57 points. Elena Glebova (EST), who stood in third place after the Short Program dropped to sixth after falling on two triple toeloops (141.71 points).
Asada collected 15 points in Paris and now is on top of the Grand Prix standings with 30 points. She is qualified for the Final. Meissner will join her in Torino with a total of 28 points from her two events. Wagner got 11 points in France and has 18 overall.
Pairs, Free Skating
The last to compete were the Pairs. In what was a competition at high level, Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang of China took the gold medal ahead of their teammates Qing Pang/Jian Tong. Russia’s Maria Mukhortova/Maxim Trankov earned the bronze, their first medal on the Grand Prix series.
Zhang/Zhang gave a strong performance to the soundtrack of “The Myth” that contained a double Axel-triple toelop combination, a big triple twist, a throw triple loop and Salchow as well as a side by side triple Salchow and difficult lifts with one-armed entries (level four). The 2006 Olympic silver medalists were awarded 125.36 points (68.00 element score/57.36 program component score), slightly improving their previous personal best. The couple accumulated a total of 196.96 points. “We are quite pleased with this performance, but we didn’t have enough time for our spin and the death spiral, so we didn’t achieve a high level on these elements”, Hao Zhang said. “But it was better than last year.”
Pang/Tong landed a side by side triple toeloop, a double Axel-double Axel sequence, a triple twist, and a throw triple Salchow and high triple loop in their program to “Romeo and Juliet”. The 2007 World silver medalists earned a level four for their three lifts, but their footwork and death spiral were graded only a level one. Pang/Tong scored 122.61 points (63.17/59.44), which was a new seasonal best for them. Overall they remained in second place at 186.93 points. “We had a big problem at Skate America with our pair spin (got level zero), and we changed five elements before the Cup of China. Now after the Cup of China we changed again four elements. So it was better here, we improved our score since Skate America by about 15 points. We still have to change our footwork and our death spiral to increase the level, and we hope to improve our program for the Grand Prix Final. Overall we are satisfied with today’s performance”, Tong commented.
Performing to an Elegy by Sergei Rachmaninov, Mukhortova/Trankov completed a triple toe-double toe combination, a triple twist, a one-armed Axel Lasso lift (level four) and a strong triple loop and Salchow. However, Mukhortova crashed on the side by side triple Salchow. The Russian Champions received 108.06 points (56.58/52.48) and were ranked fourth in the Free Skating. They held on to third place at 169.82 points overall. “We are happy to have won our first medal on the Grand Prix, but we can’t say that our performance was really good. We made some mistakes and we lost some levels on our elements. The competition was late today, and there was a long break in between practice and competition. Maybe because we were lacking experience, we burnt out a little”, Trankov told the post-event news conference.
Tiffany Vise/Derek Trent (USA) performed a quadruple throw Salchow. It was the first quadruple throw Salchow performed in ISU competition and ratified as clean by Technical Controller Ann Hardy-Thomas. The couple finished fourth (165.76 points). Sixth-ranked Jessica Miller/Ian Moram (CAN) also went for a quadruple throw Salchow, but she two-footed it (142.92 points).
Zhang/Zhang received 15 points and will compete again in Moscow at the Cup of Russia next week. Mukhortova/Trankov (11 points) also will move on to Moscow. The Trophee Bompard was an additional, non-scoring event for Pang/Tong, who already qualified for the Final with 28 points from their two previous events.
Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang (CHN)
Full results are available at www.isu.org. The Trophee Bompard concludes Sunday with the Exhibition Gala. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating continues next week in Moscow with the Cup of Russia, the fifth of six events in the series.
