Grand Prix of Figure Skating Concludes in Japan

Ladies event improves from last week, men’s event does not; meeting of top two teams in ice dance has somewhat disappointing results.

Days after Japan was rocked by a rough earthquake and even a tsunami scare (although thankfully nothing serious came of that), the NHK Trophy wrapped the Grand Prix series up in Sapporo, on Japan’s biggest northern island. This was a competition which, like China, had a pair of strong singles fields. This week, they partially delivered. It also had a pairs field that proved stronger than initially thought. Finally, it had both of the two best ice dance teams current competing, although their matchup did not prove quite the showdown fans hoped for.

Men

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Nathan Chen of the USA (bronze), Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan (gold) and Keiji Tanaka of Japan (bronze) pose on the podium during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

The men’s event was mostly a disaster zone. But it wasn’t much of a disaster for Yuzuru Hanyu, Nathan Chen, or Keiji Tanaka, and not just because the first won by a lot and the second two won their first ever Grand Prix medals. Certainly Hanyu would’ve liked to skate better. Wearing a new lavendered costume for his Prince short, he got through his quadruple loop jump with a stepout, landed his quad salchow-triple toe loop jump combination clean, and put on a good show. But in the free, he went down on his second quad salchow, and also had a double in his three jump. But he landed three more quads, including the loop, clean, and all in all had a pretty great skate, easily his best so far this season. He even said afterwards he felt he’d built his base from this.

Chen came to Sapporo with would-be ex-coach Rafael Arutunian with him once again. For his short he went for what he has already, falling on the quad lutz, landing the quad flip-triple toe, and then nearly falling on his triple axel. In the free, likely on Arutunian’s advice, he watered his content down slightly, still going for the lutz and flip combination, but going for two quad toes instead of the toe and salchow. This time he went down on the lutz and stepped out of the first quad toe, but managed the combinations. More importantly, he then performed decently, if with a few rough spots, for the rest of the program. Silver was no problem, and with it came a berth to the Grand Prix Finale.

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: Nathan Chen of the USA compete in the Men’s free skating during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

It was a breakout performance for Tanaka, who had struggled to get notice in the crowded Japanese men’s field. He was the only skater to get through the entire competition without any major errors, which was a large part of the reason he medaled. Solo quad salchows in both programs with only a stepout and a hand down, and a clean quad salchow combination in the free also helped. So did his being more or less clean in both programs outside the quads.

Although what really sealed it was what went on below the podium. Only two other skaters skated decent free programs, and neither had the best short. Israel’s Alexei Bychenko came in fourth by keeping his errors in the short to a flipout on a quad toe and doing only a triple-double, then following it up with a decent free including a clean quad toe, although he tripled the one in combination, and lost value on his axel combination when he stumbled through it. Latvian Deniss Vasiljevs actually delivered the only clean free skate of the night, thought without a quad and not without moments of difficulty. He ended up sixth, however, because of a quadless short with a triple-double and an underrotation.

The other half of the field and other three contenders for the podium fell apart at the seams. Indeed, one questions how he presentation scores kept Russian Mikhail Kolyada in fifth, when his short was much like Vasiljevs’, and his free started with falls on quad lutz and toe attempts, and didn’t get much better from there. Even his tragically still beautiful skating couldn’t save Skate America winner Jason Brown, who underrotated, fell, stumbled, and doubled his way down to seventh and out of the Grand Prix Finale. Canadian Nguyen Nam lacked even that. In the short, he at least combined a fall with a clean quad salchow combo. But in the free, a clean quad salchow couldn’t help when he had a fall, three underrotations, and not enough quality to make up for it. He finished eighth.

Grand Prix Finale Lineup

1. Javier Fernandez (ESP)
2. Patrick Chan (CAN)
3. Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN)
4. Shoma Uno (JPN)
5. Nathan Chen (USA)
6. Adam Rippon (USA)

Ladies

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Maria Sotskova of Russia (bronze), Anna Pogorilaya of Russia (gold) and Maria Sotskova of Russia (bronze) pose on the podium during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

Generally, this packed ladies field delivered a better show than last week’s. However, once again, only one Russian delivered the kind of goods needed to win. Anna Pororilaya is now showing herself to have the strength and the expression needed to climb high in even that national ladies’ field. In the short, the failure to rotate her triple lutz-triple toe meant she needed that presentation to hold off countrywoman Maria Sotskova, who landed hers and was the only lady to skate clean that day. But in the free, she did rotate it, and in fact landed all her triples, most of them very well. She might have gone at it too hard. After a fumbled double axel just before a finish behind the music, she was clearly showing strain. The job had been done, though; she won by over a dozen points.

Sotskova landed her triple lutz-triple toe again, but later in the program she had four underrotations and one full downgrade. That opened the door for home star Satoko Miyahara. She had been behind after the short, where she lost her triple lutz-triple toe to a fall, and managed only a triple-double later in the program. She underrotated it and two other triples in the free, but she did everything else very beautifully, with the mature presentation Sotskova’s still working towards. It was enough to nudge ahead for silver by two points. Sotskova might have even lost bronze, except none of the other ladies rose up to take it from her.

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: Satoko Miyahara of Japan competes in the Ladies free skating during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

Her fellow rising junior Wakaba Higuchi came the closest. But first she had a triple-double in her short program. In her free she went for a triple lutz-triple toe twice, rotating it only the first time. Generally her free program was very good, but she also doubled a loop, and her presentation, too, is still developing. She finished fourth, a very respectable disappointment. Also winning some respect was Mirai Nagasu in fifth. She is still struggling with multiple underrotations, including on her triple flip-triple toe attempts in both programs, but still did some of her best skating of the season. Her fellow American Karen Chen also arguably acquitted herself in sixth. She didn’t manage to rotate either of her triple lutz-triple toe attempts either, and had a single in her short, but despite another underrotation had a better fifth place free than last week’s.

Much more disappointed was Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva in eighth. She landed an easier triple-triple but also had a single in her short. In her free she landed both easier triple-triple and triple lutz-triple toe, only to fall on a flip, underrotate a loop, and not do the rest well enough to quite make up for it. Most disappointed of all was Canadian Alaine Chartrand. She started with a short program of multiple small issues, and followed it up with a free of multiple major underrotations. She finished all the way down in tenth.

Grand Prix Finale Lineup

1. Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS)
2. Anna Pogorilaya (RUS)
3. Elena Radionova (RUS)
4. Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN)
5. Maria Sotskova (RUS)
6. Satoko Miyahara (JPN)

Pairs

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: (L-R) Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China (silver), Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada (gold) and Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang of China (bronze) pose on the podium during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

Up until a week ago, this seven-team field looked like it might be a blowout for the World Champions. But then Cheng Peng & Yang Jin debuted at home, and showed themselves a force to be reckoned with. Here they followed that up by winning the short program. They delivered a clean program, while Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford had to hold onto their side by side triple lutzs, and fell on a throw triple axel attempt. Third also went to China, with Xuehan Wang & Lei Wang also charming, though their side by side toes were underrotated. Germans Marti Vartmann & Ruben Blommaert got fourth with a clean skate. In fifth, Americans Tarah Kayne & Danny O’Shea both went down on underrotated salchows in the short, though they landed a shaky throw lutz.

However, Cheng & Peng didn’t hold on in the free, where she failed to even partially rotate their double axels, and fell to lose their combination. Duhamel & Radford didn’t have their best program either. They too failed to manage their combination properly, and they only got up in the air for their fumbled final lift out of sheer stubbornness. But they held onto their lutzs again, and this time followed up with an almost clean quadruple salchow (her free skate just touched the ice on the landing), as well as a good throw flip. They blew past the Chinese to win their second gold of the series.

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 26: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada compete in the Paies free skating during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 26, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

Xuehan Wang & Lei Wang underrotated their side by side triple toes again, and this time that was to the detriment of their side by side combinations. They also went for side by side salchows, only to double them. But landing their easier throws and a charming performance proved sufficient to hold on to bronze thanks to what went on below them. Americans Tarah Kayne & Danny O’Shea pulled up to fourth with a better free that had a similar throw lutz and more successful salchows. But they also had an underrotation in their axel sequence, and generally were weaker even on their clean elements. Vartmann & Blommaert had an ugly sixth-place free where they did none of their elements well, and their salchow attempts produced a single and their throw lutz a fall. They finished fifth.

Grand Prix Finale Lineup

1. Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford (CAN)
2. Aliona Savchenko & Bruno Massot (FRA)
3. Xiaoyu Yu & Hao Zhang (CHN)
4. Cheng Peng & Yang Jin (CHN)
5. Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov (RUS)
6. Julianne Seguin & Charlie Bilodeau (CAN)

Dance

Ice Dance winner Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (C) show their medals with second placed France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (L) and third placed Italy’s Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (R) after the ice dance free dance at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2016/2017 NHK Trophy in Sapporo on November 27, 2016. / AFP / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

This was the most anticipated event of the series for ice dance, the clash of the former Canadian king and queen of ice dance, Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, and the current French overlords, Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron. Unfortunately, only one of the two teams delivered their best. The competition was arguably decided in the short dance, which left Papadakis & Cizeron nearly four points behind, a gap very hard to make up in dance. Virtue & Moir in fact broke the world record for highest-scoring short dance. A large part of this was the technical tariff. Lower levels of technical difficulty on their steps left the French team with one three points lower. But also Virtue & Moir were just a little more technical precise, and may have won even had the tariffs been equal.

Matters did not improve in the fee dance, where Papadakis & Cizeron fumbled one of their lifts, and got a lower tariff again due to weakened twizzles. If Virtue & Moir’s choreographic twizzles weren’t absolute best either, much of the rest of their program was. For their high-value competitive twizzles, dazzling opening lift, and choreographic closing lift, they even got the highest scores possible. They also pretty much outmatched the French in expression and even the beauty of their skating. They didn’t break the world record in free dance score, but they broke the record for overall total as they trounced the Papadakis & Cizeron to win by nearly ten points.

SAPPORO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 27: Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada compete in the Ice dance free dance during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy on November 27, 2016 in Sapporo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

In the free dance, Papadakis & Cizeron were even beaten by two other teams technically, though they held them both off with presentation. Bronze medalists Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte of Italy topped their technical score by nearly a point. Their short dance had not been quite perfect. Their twizzles were slightly out of sync, and their tariff, though higher than the French, was lower than the Canadians. But in the free they matched Virtue & Moir in tariff, and had a technically excellent and very comic skate.

For the second week in a row, Russians Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katasalapov not only failed to challenge the best teams, but got beaten by a team they had not wanted to lose to.  In the short dance, their technical tariff was the lowest of the top five, but they performed their program well enough. That was enough, there, to hold off Americans Kaitlin Hawayek & Jean-Luc Baker, who didn’t have the highest tariff themselves and showed a little fatigue near the end.  But in the free, Sinitsina went wrong in the twizzles, and that wasn’t their only weak element. Once again they got the lowest tariff. Meanwhile, Hawayek & Baker matched the Canadians’ and Italians’ tariff. Furthermore, they performed their masterpiece of a free dance with grace and emotion and technical precision. It was enough to squeak ahead for fourth by .13 of a point.

Grand Prix Finale Lineup

1. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (CAN)
2. Maia & Alex Shibutani (USA)
3. Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume (FRA)
4. Ekaterina Bobrova & Dmitir Soloviev (RUS)
5. Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA)
6. Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue (USA)

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View full results here. View full series standings here. The junior and senior Grand Prix Finales will be held together in two weeks time, in Marsaille.