What a day, what a day. I'll start in order. Shizuka Arakawa became the first Japanese ladies' World Champion since 1994, when Yuka Sato won (I remember watching that!). Congratulations Shizuka, and yay Japan! :D But what a crazy turn of events...I have to say I was crushed when Sasha didn't nail her program, but I am thrilled for Shizuka. I'm just a little shocked about what's happened.
Shizuka was the first skater of the final flight. She skated Turandot the best I've ever seen her skate it. She's learning how to actually present a program and not just go through the motions mechanically. Her performance was dramatic and she nailed triples left and right, and even did a triple-triple-double combo. Technically she was amazing, and she did it all with an injured thigh. I was thrilled at her high marks but I didn't think that they would hold up till the end. Amazing!
Julia Sebestyen skated well, although she missed some jumps. She finished 6th. The next up was Sasha, wearing a stunning new all-white dress for Swan Lake (compare it to Shizuka's hideous Swan Lake SP dress!). Unfortunately, Sasha didn't come out with her usual attack and drive in the LP, unlike the SP. I think she was tentative and nervous, and I've seen her like that a few times skating Swan Lake this year. Maybe she just was never completely comfortable with the program? It's tough to say, she was brilliant at Skate Canada, so...anyway, she wobbled on her triple Lutz and opened up on her triple Salchow. The presentation, although lacking some of her usual magic, was still beautiful, and she ended up with the silver. Congratulations on your first medal at Worlds, Sasha!
Next up was Michelle Kwan...right after the moron in the tutu! I can't believe no one stopped that clown...anyway, Michelle, wearing a beautiful Vera Wang (with new sparkly embellishments since Nats!) went out and skated a passionate program to Tosca (LOVE that music). Her only miss was doubling a Lutz. It was a great performance, and she got six 6.0s for presentation. I did think that her skate at Nationals was better though. And like Cohen, she didn't have a triple-triple, which was part of her undoing. But still, she won the bronze, her ninth World medal in a row.
Miki Ando skated after Michelle, and she did a pretty good job. She didn't land that quad, but every other jump was great. She does need to work on her presentation though, her performance lacks the sparkle of some more senior skaters. That should come with experience though. Also I think her spins could be faster/nicer. Anyway, a great Worlds debut for Miki, and she finished 4th!
Carolina Kostner from Italy skated last, and it was kind of a disaster. But she's still young. She finished 5th. Fumie had a gutsy free skate and finished 7th. She was very emotional when she finished skating, she obviously had a lot of pressure on her. I feel really bad, and I still don't know what happened to her in qualifying! She is such an elegant skater, and she's my favourite Japanese skater. I'm glad she had a good LP.
Canadian content! The top Canadian was Joannie Rochette, who finished 8th (another Canadian 8th!). It was great for Joannie to get into the top 10 after a 17th place debut last year. Her expresssion improves every time I watch her, it's great to see. She fell on her first jump, a triple loop, but didn't let her program fall apart and was clean the rest of the way. The thing I like about her most is that she is obviously ambitious and wants to be at the top. She looks around and sees the American and Japanese girls on top of the world and wants to get there too. She said after that she wants to have a triple-triple next year, like the top girls did, and that's exactly the kind of committment we need to see in Canadian women skaters. I'm becoming an unabashed Joannie fan!
Finally, I have to say a few words about Jennier Robinson. She may have finished 14th, but make no mistake, this week has been the absolute best skating of her career. She was consistent, clean, and confident. I was so happy to see her skate so well. Her costume was gorgeous, as usual. Jen may not be the fastest or technically stongest skater out there, but she is elegant and graceful. She's held up Canadian womens' skating on her own now for years, and I commend her perseverance and constant desire to improve. She officially announced her retirement after her skate. It's a sad day, but it signals the beginning of a new era, with young skaters like Joannie and Cynthia Phaneuf ready to carry Canadian womens' skating after Jen did it so gracefully for so many years. Thank you, Jennifer!
As thrilled as I am about Shizuka winning, I'm still a bit jarred by what happened yesterday. I find it a little disconcerting when they say that both Sasha and Michelle DO NOT have the technical content, nor the ability (and I'm assuming that they don't have the content because they can't do it) to win a World Championship. To hear Paul Martini (not that he's the definitive word on all things skating, but still) say that Sasha NEEDS a triple-triple, needs a QUAD is amazing. We are witnessing a new era in womens' skating, for sure. The Japanese girls are pushing the envelope, and I think the world just realized that Michelle Kwan is not the be-all and and-all of ladies' skating. The fact that both Sasha and Michelle can be beaten on a lack of technical content shows just how far womens' skating has come. It's scary but also very exciting! Once these technically proficient skaters can also put together an exciting presentation, look out! And you know Sasha and Michelle (well, Sasha for sure anyway) will be back, bigger and better next year. So congrats to Shizuka for raising the bar!
Tonight's the gala, that should be good...and Alias tonight, woo-hoo!
On to the most thrilling part of the day, the Nucks beating Dallas 3-2 in OT!!!!! That breaks Dallas' 69-game unbeaten streak after leading after the 2nd. Amazing. The Nucks dominated in the 3rd. Danny Cloutier made a great save off Modano on a 3-on-1 and a few shifts later, Soaps bombed one up to Sanderson who just flew up the left wing and put it top shelf over Tugnutt! Gotta love Sandy. Then Mo capped off the comeback with the OT winner five-hole. Great game by Matt Cooke too, he was everywhere, especially in the third. (The only bad part of the game was that both Bryan Allen and Brad May got injured :( ) Ahh what madness. And Colorado lost AGAIN, hahaha, to Detroit again, and now the Nucks are only 1 point back of them! It's strange that they're 1 point out of 3rd but 2 points out of 4th. Anyway...Daniel Sedin scored the other Canucks goal. Yeah! And also, the Giants won game 5 vs the Blazers 5-4 in OT, after being down 4-1 going in the 3rd! Darren Lynch scored the winner to give the Giants their first-ever playoff series win! Such excitement. And I've got tix to game 1 vs Everett! ^^ The Nucks' next game is Monday vs Phoenix, and I've got tix to that one too...Go Canucks Go!
Updated: Sunday, 28 March 2004 11:23 AM PST
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