The Trophée Bompard opened Friday in Paris, France with the Compulsory Dance, the Men’s, Pairs, Ladies Short Programs and the Original Dance. The Trophee Bompard is the fourth of six events in the 2008/2009 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Three reigning World Champions are competing at the Palais Omnisports this week.
Ice Dancing, Compulsory & Original Dance
The Ice Dancers started today’s competition with the Compulsory Dance and returned later in the evening for the Original Dance. The Compulsory Dance for the Trophee Bompard is the Paso Doble. The Paso Doble is a dramatic and powerful Spanish dance requiring good body control and precise footwork. It can be expressed in terms of its origins from the music of bull fighting or in Flamenco style. The Paso Doble was created by Reginald B. Wilkie and Daphne B. Wallis. It was first performed in London in 1938. The Original Dance for this season is “Rythms of the 20s, 30s and 40s”.
Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder of France danced to the lead while Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali (ITA) and Sinead Kerr/John Kerr (GRB) are ranked second and third after the first day.
Delobel/Schoenfelder clearly won the Paso Doble with a precise and strong performance that scored 37.98 points (18.84 element score/19.14 program component score). They remained in first place after the Original Dance to a Boogie Woogie, although they made an error on the twizzle and the spin that were graded only a level one by the Technical Panel. The reigning World Champions were ranked third in the Original Dance with 55.23 points (25.50/29.73) and overall accumulated 93.21 points. “For the Compulsory Dance, we wanted to do something special to make it more interesting. Our coach Romain Haguenauer suggested a Pirate theme, and we had a lot of pleasure skating it”, Schoenfelder said. “We are obviously disappointed with the way we skated (in the Original Dance). Maybe we were too excited. The twizzle and the spin were the worst today”, he said, referring to the Original Dance.
Faiella/Scali delivered a characteristic Paso Doble and finished second at 34.46 points (17.12/17.34). Their OD was set to a Tap Dance and Slow Foxtrot and highlighted by a one-armed rotational lift and smooth footowork. The Italian Champions were awarded a level four for their spin and the lift and a level three for the steps and twizzles. They were ranked first in the OD with 55.79 points (27.90/27.89) and now have 90.25 points overall. “Of course it was a long wait, because we were practicing pretty much straight after the World Championships. We want to start with the first Grand Prix as strong as we can, and I think we did a good job. We couldn’t wait to start the season, because we were so excited with our new programs. We have so much fun in the Original Dance, when we dance on the ice. This is what we did today, we enjoyed this rhythm and this dance”, Scali commented.
Kerr/Kerr earned 32.32 points (16.04/16.28) for a dramatic Paso Doble in bull fighting style and were ranked third in the Compulsory. They came in second in the OD with an energetic Swing and Lindy Hop routine that contained a two level-three step sequences and a level four spin. The brother-and-sister team earned 55.52 (27.60/27.92) for this performance and remained in third place at 87.84 points overall. “We felt really good, with how we skated our routine today. We felt like we actually danced it better than what we did in Skate America. I felt more comfortable, and I think we both felt more relaxed, even though we didn’t get such a high technical score. This is just something we have to work on”, Sinead Kerr said.
World junior silver medalists Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) were fifth in the Compulsory Dance and moved up to fourth with a ragtime program (84.46 points). Pernelle Carron/Matthieu Jost (FRA) are standing in fifth place with 83.99 points. They had chosen a Swing program.
Men, Short Program
Canada’s Patrick Chan grabbed the lead in the Men’s Short Program with Takahiko Kozuka of Japan and Frenchman Brian Joubert following in second and third.
Skating to “Tango de los Exilados”, Chan put out a strong performance that included a triple Axel, triple flip-triple toeloop combination and a triple Lutz out of footwork. His intricate step sequences were graded a level three and his three spins were awarded a level four. The Canadian Champion earned a new personal best score of 81.39 points (44.24 element score/37.15 program component score). “I did everything in the program today, the jumps, the footwork, the spins. Luckily this time I didn’t make any mistakes in the footwork. (There were) Little things, like being a little late in the music, and I know my combo spin didn’t have enough revolutions in it. It’s just being slow in little parts of the program, and I just hope that next time I’ll make them better and quicker and more sharp”, Chan said. “Competing in a different country is different, and there is not so much weight on my shoulders going into the competition, but I’m still going in with expectations from myself and from other people. I didn’t feel as good as I usual do. Because of Skate Canada, a lot of people were expecting a lot from me, and I think it was time for me to show what I had to do. I still felt quite comfortable, and more comfortable than at Skate Canada”, he continued when asked to compare competing at home and abroad.
Kozuka hit a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination and a triple flip in his routine to “Take Five”, but he crashed on his flying sit spin that received no credit. His other two spins received a level four. The Skate America Champion scored 77.00 points (42.70/35.30). “My jumps were fine, but I fell on the spin and I regret that. I never fell on the spin in competition, only in practice at Skate America”, Kozuka told the post-event press conference. “I want to skate with no mistake tomorrow.”
Joubert planned a quadruple-triple toeloop combination in his routine to “Rise” by Safri Duo, but when approaching the jump, he suddenly hesitated and just did a single toeloop. The reigning World silver medalist recovered instantly to produce a triple Axel, a triple Lutz and two level-three footwork sequences as well as two level-four spins. The Frenchman picked up 73.75 points (36.20/37.55). “I’m very disappointed. I don’t know what happened. I was ready for this program, I was confident. I had a great warm up, but then I couldn’t jump. I couldn’t do even a triple toe. My left foot was like blocked”, Joubert explained. “But I’m happy, because the rest of the program was clean. I lost 14 points, and I think I could have a very good score with this program and it gives me a little confidence for the rest of the season.”
Alban Préaubert (FRA) came in fourth with a strong performance that included a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Axel and a triple loop (73.24 points). Ryan Bradley (USA) landed a shaky quadruple-double toeloop combination, the only quad of the day, to finish fifth (69.35 points).
Pairs, Short Program
Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the Pairs Short Program ahead of Russia’s Maria Mukhortova/ Maxim Trankov and Canadians Meagan Duhamel/Craig Buntin.
Savchenko/Szolkowy’s dynamic performance to “Lost in Space” featured a solid side by side triple toeloop, a triple twist, throw triple flip and a hand-to-hip lift that was graded a level four. The also got a level four for their death spiral and the spiral sequence, but the pair combination spin was graded a level two. The reigning World and European Champions collected 68.18 points (37.98 element score/30.20 program component score) to take the lead. “We are pleased, it was a good performance today, it better than at Skate America. We did all the elements. We felt a little tired, but at the end it was nice”, Szolkowy commented. “After each performance there is the big question about the levels (of the elements). We have to work on our levels and improve and we have to find out what was wrong”, he added.
Mukhortova/Trankov gave a strong performance of their romantic “Nobody Home” program as well. They opened the routine with a triple twist followed by a triple toeloop and a level-four spiral sequence. The European silver medalists also showed a high throw triple loop and earned a level four for the death spiral, the two spins and their one-armed lift to score 64.84 points (37.60/27.24). “This is our third competition of the season and we did a clean short program each time. So we did a good job. We enjoyed skating today and we like to be in Paris, this is our second time here”, Mukhortova said.
Duhamel/Buntin landed a double twist, a throw triple Lutz and showed two level-four spins in their program to “Four Lamentations”, but he two-footed the side by side triple toeloop. The Canadian couple scored 58.66 points (34.18/24.48). “We are fairly happy with the short program. We got almost all our levels for the elements. We were a little disappointed with Skate America, and I think really we gelled over the past couple of weeks and came out looking more like a pair tonight and we are definitely more satisfied with our marks than we were two weeks ago.”
World Junior bronze medalists Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu (CHN) are ranked third with 51.12 points. They completed a double twist, a triple toeloop and a throw triple loop. Adeline Canac/Maximin Coia (FRA) finished fifth. She touched down with her hand on the side by side triple Salchow and fell on the triple throw loop, but they received a level four for their lift and the deaths spiral (47.54 points).
Ladies, Short Program
Canada’s Joannie Rochette upset reigning World Champion Mao Asada of Japan in the Ladies Short Program. Caroline Zhang (USA) came in third.
Rochette produced a double Axel and triple Lutz in her routine to “Summertime”, but she fell on the triple flip. The Canadian earned level threes and fours for her spins and steps and got 59.54 points (32.50 element score/28.02 program component score). “I felt really good on the ice, I felt good in the warm up, but when I went into my flip, I don’t know what happened, I think I just overpowered it (the flip), I wanted it too badly. I’m happy that I could do the rest of the program like in practice and I did a good triple Lutz”, the Skate Canada Champion told the press.
Asada went for a triple flip-triple loop combination but she popped the second jump into a single. Still shocked by the mistake, she also doubled the Lutz. The double Axel and the spins were strong, and the Japanese was awarded a level four for the combination spin and the spiral and a level three for the flying sit spin, the circular footwork and the layback spin. She earned 58.12 points (29.00/29.12). “I’m not satisfied. I couldn’t pull my mind together and I hope to do better tomorrow”, the 18-year-old commented. “There was no lack of concentration, but my mind probably was a bit weak. I worked hard on the edge problem of the Lutz and flip, and I’m confident now, but today because I made an error in the combination I probably wasn’t confident enough for the jump.”
Zhang risked a triple flip-triple toe combination, but the second jump was underrotated. She nailed the triple loop, but then her Axel never took off. The 2007 World Junior Champion received 51.76 points (26.80/24.96). “I think my warm up was good, I was a little shaky in the beginning. The triple-triple could have been better, I thought the loop was good, and then on the double Axel I was just surprised. I guess I didn’t hold my spirals long enough. I want to hold my spins and spirals in the long program”, the 15-year-old American said.
Beatrisa Liang (USA) is currently standing in fourth place with 49.60 points. She landed a triple flip but missed her attempted triple Lutz. Candice Didier (FRA) came in fifth. She landed a triple toeloop, a triple Lutz-double toeloop and a double Axel (47.96 points).
For full results, please refer to www.isu.org. The Trophee Bompard continues Saturday with the Ladies, Pairs and Men’s Free Skating and the Free Dance.
