World Figure Skating Championships 2008

Awww, Daisuke looked soooo incredibly nervous right before the FS. Poor guy. Thanks so much for the valueable link, glorydave!

Even though Daisuke earned no medal this time, here is something else to feel proud about I think. This is from a very nice post by mycelticblessing on Goldenskate's Forum (I go there often). It's about how Daisuke has handled himself graciously since not winning.

Quote :

It is terrible how ugly things can become when these athletes start playing the blame game.. I am so glad that Takahashi has been so diplomatic about this. He must be the most frustrated, since his performance yesterday was way below his calibre, and he probably had the most pressure to win. His response really reminds me of Michelle Kwan, in the way that she always accepted defeat with grace. He has the heart of a champion!

Hi UMgal,

I often go Goldenskate's forum too. I am under impression that they love Daisuke, and I'm glad they write good things about him.

Hi Miyu,

miyu wrote:

Roko, will you go to JO?? I hope your favorite Evan will be able to come to JO.

haha... Yes, I will go to JO and the Gala of JO. My Evan (lol) may not come due to injury, so I may come with... face paint of Swiss flag... b,but after all, I will cheer for Daisuke. I love him anyways!

Daisuke's exhibition was great!!! He fell on the triple axel though! But the crowd loved him and he was smiling so i'm happy !

Glad to hear that Dai's doing ok. I was really worried about him. I expected him to be gracious about not winning because that is just how he is. He never blames anyone but himself when things don't go his way. Instead, he tries to find out what may have went wrong and then he does everything he can to fix it. Still he had a great season overall with some really great moments and that is something to celebrate.

I've just seen exhibition on tv...
I always love Bachelorette, but Daisuke was so funny in the first part with red ribbon!
I'm so happy to see him skating again, but especially smiling again!

UMgal wrote:

Even though Daisuke earned no medal this time, here is something else to feel proud about I think.

YES! I think Daisuke showed to everybody he is a champion... respect for the judges and the other skaters, and consciousness of his mistakes...
This is Daisuke! It's the same attitude showed after GPF, but this time it was more hard...

I listened an other interview of a top skater , and I think that someone has to look at Daisuke and learn...

Hi, DTFF members!
Now I'm back from the Gala which was great show!!

As you know, even though Daisuke fall 3A at end of the program, this is special one for me. His expression was extremely nice and it pulled me into the music exclusively.
I don't know how to say that, however, his emotion under this circumstances made him fit to this tune.

UMgal, how nice comment you picked up from GS forum.
Yes, he is a heart of champion, I always admire his personality!
glorydave, yes, this is DAISUKE!

Thank you for your warm comments for Daisuke, DTFF members!
If he look into you guys' comments, he glad to read them definitely.

Hi, again everyone. I'm glad that you all enjoyed the very uplifting quote from mycelticblessing. I also really appreciated reading your nice comments along these same lines (about his attitude, his personality).

Here is the link to the exhibition (I didn't have time to watch it all but the sound quality seems a bit off). Thanks so much to our ever reliable video provider, yusei0316!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiWrzWKRrtQ

Here are the official 2007-2008 World Rankings (I didn't post the whole list for some of the fields to save space)-

For the men, Daisuke is amazingly still on the top after the end of the season. He is the only person who is not the World Champion or even a Worlds medalist this year to retain a number one World ranking. This is some kind of consolation for him and us all perhaps.

END OF SEASON ISU RANKING LIST 2007-2008 – MEN

1 TAKAHASHI Daisuke JPN
2 JOUBERT Brian FRA
3 LAMBIEL Stephane SUI
4 VERNER Tomas CZE
5 BUTTLE Jeffrey CAN
6 LYSACEK Evan USA
7 WEIR Johnny USA
8 VAN DER PERREN Kevin BEL
9 ODA Nobunari JPN
10 CARRIERE Stephen USA
11 CHAN Patrick CAN
12 MROZ Brandon USA
13 PREAUBERT Alban FRA
14 KOZUKA Takahiko JPN
15 DAVYDOV Sergei BLR
16 SANDHU Emanuel CAN
17 VORONOV Sergei RUS
18 GUAN Jinlin CHN
19 BORODULIN Artem RUS
20 ABBOTT Jeremy USA
21 REYNOLDS Kevin CAN
22 PONSERO Yannick FRA
23 MABEE Christopher CAN
24 MURA Takahito JPN
25 RIPPON Adam USA
26 BERNTSSON Kristoffer SWE
27 LUTAI Andrei RUS
28 SCHULTHEISS Adrian SWE
29 BREZINA Michal CZE
30 USPENSKI Alexander RUS


ISU RANKING LIST 2007-2008 – LADIES

1 ASADA Mao JPN
2 KIM Yu-Na KOR
3 KOSTNER Carolina ITA
4 ANDO Miki JPN
5 NAKANO Yukari JPN
6 MEIER Sarah SUI
7 MEISSNER Kimmie USA
8 ZHANG Caroline USA
9 SEBESTYEN Julia HUN
10 ROCHETTE Joannie CAN
11 KORPI Kiira FIN
12 SUGURI Fumie JPN
13 SOKOLOVA Elena RUS
14 HUGHES Emily USA
15 WAGNER Ashley USA
16 POYKIO Susanna SWE
17 LIANG Beatrisa USA
18 LEPISTO Laura FIN
19 VAHAMAA Jenni FIN
20 CZISNY Alissa USA
21 NAGASU Mirai CAN
22 GEDEVANISHVILI Elene GEO
23 SAWADA Aki JPN
24 TAKEDA Nana JPN
25 LEUNG Mira CAN
26 GLEBOVA Elena EST
27 MARCHEI Valentina ITA
28 XU Binshu CHN
29 SUIZU Rumi JPN
30 FLATT Rachael USA


ISU RANKING LIST 2007-2008 – PAIRS

1 SAVCHENKO / SZOLKOWY GER
2 ZHANG / ZHANG CHN
3 PANG / TONG CHN
4 PETROVA / TIKHONOV RUS
5 DUBE / DAVISON CAN
6 KRASILNIKOVA / BEZMATERNIKH RUS
7 INOUE / BALDWIN USA
8 KAWAGUCHI / SMIRNOV RUS
9 McLAUGHLIN / BRUBAKER USA
10 MUKHORTOVA / TRANKOV RUS

ISU RANKING LIST 2007-2008 – ICE DANCE

1 DELOBEL / SCHOENFELDER FRA
2 DOMNINA / SHABALIN RUS
3 BELBIN / AGOSTO USA
4 DUBREUIL / LAUZON CAN
5 VIRTUE / MOIR CAN
6 DENKOVA / STAVIISKI BUL
7 KHOKHLOVA / NOVITSKI RUS
8 DAVIS / WHITE USA
9 FAIELLA / SCALI ITA
10 GORSHKOVA / BUTIKOV RUS
11 NAVARRO / BOMMENTRE USA
12 SAMUELSON / BATES USA
13 KERR / KERR GBR
14 PECHALAT / BOURZAT FRA
15 BOBROVA / SOLOVIEV RUS
16 FRASER / LUKANIN AZE
17 CAPPELLINI / LANOTTE ITA
18 GREGORY / PETUKHOV USA
19 ZARETSKI / ZARETSKI ISR
20 CRONE / POIRIER CAN
21 WEAVER / POJE CAN

Thank you for the lists!!
Dai-Chan is again No. 1 in the world

At the Gala, Daisuke looked like he is over it. And i think he can be very proud, because if he look back, yesterday was the first time since Torino Olympics that he missed a Podeum, isnt it? I´n my opinion a very great Balance

You're welcome, Sabse!

Quote :

And i think he can be very proud, because if he look back, yesterday was the first time since Torino Olympics that he missed a Podeum, isnt it?

Yes, this is quite an achievement!

Thanks UMgal! I was wondering if Dai would still be ranked first. This shows that he had the best season overall despite not winning a world medal this year. Some bonus prize money coming his way! Also, Tomas still managed to come out ahead of Jeff despite finishing 15th at worlds. Despite worlds being the most important competition of the year, it is still only one competition out of many in one season. That said, I think Dai's season should be considered a very good one because even though he didn't win the title he wanted most this season, he won almost all others.

It's interesting to note that Nobu is still ranked in the top 10 even though he did not compete at all this season!

Nobunari is still in the Top 10, because this list is for more years, i think. From 2006 til now maybe?
Sorry, i dont know the rules of that

Wow!! UMgal, thank you so much for the great news!!
Daisuke is on the TOP at the ISU rank!

After the Gala, as suddenly the weather changed a little snow, I was surprised.
At the morning, it was a sunny day in the Sweden.

Hi, Sabse, Nobunari got more points during 2006-2007 season. That's why he is still in the Top 10.

After the free skating, I was very sad about Daisuke's result, however, I was really glad to see Daisuke and other competitors' performances at live and enjoyed the Worlds 2008 a lot during my short stay in Sweden. Swedish audience was very warm and cheered to every performance. I must to say thank you, DTFF members who are always supporting Daisuke, Swedish people, all competitors and DAISUKE.
Daisuke, don' t blame yourself, we always love you in a good time and a bad times!!

Good bye to Sweden and hello to L.A.

Yay! Congrats to Daisuke! Still number one in the world and in our hearts!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, UMgal!!
Thank you so much for your kindness and generous comments to Daisuke and DTFF members as always.
I wish you have a wonderful day today!!

Daisuke SO deserves to be at the top of the world rankings, and I know that he'll be back at the top of the medals podium (to stay) very soon as well. They are just about to show his exhibition on Japanese TV - I am very, very excited, I love his Bachelorette program so much. I can't wait to see what he'll come up with this season!!! We love and support you, Dai-chan, always, no matter what!!!

That was GORGEOUS

Happy Birthday to you, UMgal!! Are you enjoying a wonderful birthday today? I really hope so!!

And Leode.. Are you alright?? Thank you so much for letting us know Dai-chan was fine at Gala. I'm looking forward to reading your report later.



Now you can see a few Dai-chan's pics here. It's good to see him having a fun!!

http://iceblue.cocolog-nifty.com/figure/2008/03/2008_bf93.html
The upper one: Dai-chan imitating Berntsson's famous(?) pose with Yukari, Takahiko Kozuka, Kristoffer Berntsson and Yasuharu Nanri.
The lower one: Dai-chan and Yukari after they were interviewd together by a Japanese magazine. Weren't they bit close each other???

UMgal wrote:

For the men, Daisuke is amazingly still on the top after the end of the season.

Thanks! It proves his achievements of this season are turely great!!!

glorydave wrote:

It's about Daisuke's warm up and interview after FP... I don't understand if it's the same interview miyu translated...

Yes. That's it.

Roko wrote:

so I may come with... face paint of Swiss flag... b,but after all, I will cheer for Daisuke. I love him anyways!

Bad girl!! Hahahaha. We know how much you love Dai-chan so don't worry!! Enjoy JO a lot!

Love those pictures!! Daisuke and Yukari look so cute together lol They all seem to get on so well.

Thanks for the pics, miyu! It's nice to see Dai smiling and having fun.

miyu wrote:

The lower one: Dai-chan and Yukari after they were interviewd together by a Japanese magazine. Weren't they bit close each other???

Maybe Dai's into older women! j/k. They look cute! I find it funny that Yukari's head is leaning into Dai's shoulder.

And also Happy Birthday, UMgal!!! Enjoy your day!

Hi, all DTFF members. Thanks so much for your warm wishes and congratulations for my birthday. I love you guys/our forum. I hope this doesn't scare you all. Ha ha ha.

Thanks very much miyu, for the very lovely and entertaining pics.

Kristoffer Berntsson is quite cute. So I see he really likes to hang out with the Japanese team. He he he. Didn't he use some famous Japanese music in his free skate too?

Quote :

Maybe Dai's into older women! j/k.

Maybe, swandie. Ha ha ha. Or perhaps they are both relying on each other to get over their disappointing but so close chances to almost medal.

Hi everybody! Thank you all for your comments!
Happy birthday UMgal! I hope you enjoy today!

After FP I watched different times on isu site to see the new world ranking, but the site wasn't updated yet... Now I'm so happy and proud to see Daisuke is still on the top! This is the proof that Daisuke really had a good season and that he's the strongest skaters now.
GO DAISUKE!!! GREAT JOB!

Thank you for pictures, miyu!
I really love them. Daisuke seems to enjoy! This makes me more serene and quiet! Thank you again for posting them!!!!

Thank you, glorydave.

Hi again everyone. I agree with you all, Daisuke has had a very strong and accomplished season overall. He won two Grand Prix events, his Nationals, and he was short of winning the Grand Prix Final by only 0.16 of a point!

Have you guys seen the British Eurosport version of the men's LP? I really like what the two British commentators said about Daisuke's program. Even though Daisuke did not have a perfect program, they said some very nice things about him. For example, they said that he has "speed and power second to none" and they complimented his performance ability/use of the music, difficult spins, use of his entire body to do footwork, and his ability to do jumps "out of nowhere." One commentator even said, "I just love Daisuke."

Please watch here if you haven't already-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GydUEdlyNok

And for the American broadcast of Daisuke's LP, Dick Button (the two times men's Olympic Gold Medalist) said that Daisuke was "a wonderful skater and a phenomenal jumper."

Even with the mistakes in his program, Daisuke's many superb qualities still shine through to commentators and the audience alike. How wonderful.

That makes me so happy, that so many are feeling the Daisuke love. I'm sure it will spur him on in the coming season.

More videos from Chris and Simon of British Eurosport. I just love all of their commentary.

SP ("unbelievable...he's the skating Justin Timberlake...even more than Michael Jackson")- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yO-MTJVEmw

Exhibition ("exciting talent...fantastic with a different style...energy...does as much as he can on every movement")- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnv6koSwoDM

Thank you UMgal!
I love British guys commentary too. Their commentaries are always very kind and synpathetic with Dai-chan. Have you ever seen British Eurosports' vids like 06 Olympics FP or 07 Worlds SP/FP? They were so nice! I tried to find them on youtube but I couldn't. I think they used to be there before.....


BTW I saw Worlds EX on Japanese TV today which was on air yesterday. Dai-chan's Bachelorette was superb!!! There was a short interview after his performance. He looked very very fine with refreshing smiles!!!!! I was relieved to see it.

Here is the interview. (It seems it hasn't been posted on youtube yet. But I think it will be added soon.)

Q: How was your exhibition including the audience response?
D: Well, today I could move my body better than I expected. But I fell on 3A again...... I really suffered from 3A this time.

Q: You look refreshed today. How do you feel now?
D:It's no good thinking bad about the thing which was over. I face forward already.

Q( from Takeshi Honda): At first happy birthday a week late. (D: Thank you very much.) How did you come into Worlds just after you have become 22 yo?
D: It was bad as the start of 22. But I will make up for this and I'd like to have a good start when I become 23. And happy birthday to you too! (Takeshi: Thank you. (He became 27 yo on 23th.))

Q: We'd like to have a word from you for the next season including the problems you found here.
D: Well, this time I was defeated by nervousness. The conditioning toward the game didn't work well either. Next time I want to do better how I adjust myself toward the game and get more strong heart which won't be defeated by nervousness by practicing more and gaining a lot of experiences . I want to become tougher.