European Championships

Men result after the Short program. Or rather, top 20, which will be in the final tomorrow:

1 Evgeni PLUSHENKO RUS 91.30 51.10 40.20 8.10 7.55 8.15 8.05 8.35 0.00 #21
2 Brian JOUBERT FRA 88.55 47.80 40.75 8.25 7.85 8.30 8.05 8.30 0.00 #38
3 Yannick PONSERO FRA 82.40 46.00 36.40 7.50 6.90 7.45 7.25 7.30 0.00 #31
4 Michal BREZINA CZE 79.60 45.40 34.20 6.95 6.60 6.90 6.80 6.95 0.00 #30
5 Stephane LAMBIEL SUI 77.75 37.00 40.75 8.20 7.85 8.15 8.15 8.40 0.00 #34
6 Alban PREAUBERT FRA 76.37 41.12 35.25 6.90 6.70 7.00 7.25 7.40 0.00 #37
7 Samuel CONTESTI ITA 75.90 41.30 34.60 6.90 6.55 7.00 7.00 7.15 0.00 #35
8 Tomas VERNER CZE 72.75 35.60 37.15 7.50 7.20 7.45 7.40 7.60 0.00 #36
9 Stefan LINDEMANN GER 70.19 39.24 30.95 6.55 5.75 6.30 6.05 6.30 0.00 #18
10 Kristoffer BERNTSSON SWE 69.20 38.20 31.00 6.30 5.95 6.20 6.15 6.40 0.00 #24
11 Kevin VAN DER PERREN BEL 67.72 34.82 32.90 6.65 6.35 6.70 6.55 6.65 0.00 #32
12 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE 66.55 34.00 32.55 6.70 6.15 6.50 6.55 6.65 0.00 #33
13 Javier FERNANDEZ ESP 66.50 36.30 30.20 6.10 5.90 6.15 5.95 6.10 0.00 #22
14 Anton KOVALEVSKI UKR 65.20 35.50 29.70 5.95 5.65 6.05 5.95 6.10 0.00 #20
15 Viktor PFEIFER AUT 63.42 33.22 30.20 6.15 5.75 6.10 5.95 6.25 0.00 #23
16 Paolo BACCHINI ITA 60.90 32.30 29.60 6.00 5.70 6.00 5.80 6.10 1.00 #27
17 Sergei VORONOV RUS 60.27 27.52 32.75 6.80 6.35 6.40 6.50 6.70 0.00 #29
18 Zoltan KELEMEN ROU 59.40 36.50 22.90 4.70 4.40 4.60 4.60 4.60 0.00 #12
19 Jorik HENDRICKX BEL 58.70 34.00 24.70 5.00 4.70 5.10 4.90 5.00 0.00 #16
20 Gregor URBAS SLO 56.90 29.00 27.90 5.80 5.40 5.50 5.55 5.65 0.00 #28


Comments: Evgeni is annoyingly good.... Brian rocked. He was HOT today. Not sure what to say about Stéphane. His jumps were not there at all. But the rest of his program was so wonderful. Highest PCS of the evening, alongside Brian. Great show from Brezina. Yannick and Alban were awesome as well. Hope they keep it up tomorrow. All my love to the Swedish skaters. Great job! Adrian is going for the quad tomorrow!

Hi Alekzu:

Thank you for the result.

I just saw Evgeni, Braian and Stephen's short on youtube, then compared to it with Dai's National's SP, right after.

I admit that Evgeni's quad and triple combination is soooo good that I believe him to be an alien from a far planet.

However in terms of basic skating and dancing, Dai is an alien level too. He is the only one who makes me forget that he is on ice. He is the only one who brings me tears of joy.

I know that his quads are nowhere near stable compared with Evgeni or Brian, but can he deserve to beat them, if he he skates from his heart and soul?'
I encourage everyone to compare these guys performances with Dai's one after another.

You will see Dai's skating is completely on the different plane.

Thank you for the information, alekzu!

Yay to Brian and Yannick!!
So far it's an exciting competition. Most of all the competitor did quite well but Tomas and Voronov... (Tomas was better than GPF, though.)
I'm really looking forward to seeing the final result. Can Brian beat Evgeni? Will Evgeni get another highest score? And Stephane!!

alekzu wrote:

All my love to the Swedish skaters. Great job! Adrian is going for the quad tomorrow!

Oh really?
BTW, will Swedish federation decide which skater they will send to Vancouver after this competition?


And
Congratulations to pairs' medalists!!
WOW! Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV won!!!

miyu wrote:

BTW, will Swedish federation decide which skater they will send to Vancouver after this competition?

Yes they will. Probably we will know by the end of the week. I'm biting my nails off for this one....

miyu wrote:

Congratulations to pairs' medalists!!
WOW! Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV won!!!

They did? Awesome! They're my favourite European skating pair, so this is terrific news. Well deserved. Congratulations Yuko and Alexander!

I'm so incredibly happy for Yuko & Sasha

It's their first big victory, I believe, and hopefully not the last!

No one wants to comment on the men's LP?

So Plushenko won, as expected... As much as I dislike his programs though, you have to hand it to him for being able to do the jumps and just lay it down. At 27, and after all the injuries he's had, that can't be easy. So kudos to him.

That said, I really want someone to beat him at the Olympics! His score here wasn't outrageous; if someone else steps up to the plate they can beat him. But it's going to be all up to them to deliver.

I really enjoyed Lambiel's program! I'm glad he changed it, I disliked the LP he originally had this season. And I'm surprised he managed to put together a decent performance technically. If he hadn't fall on the steps and had landed maybe one more jump more cleanly, he probably could've beaten Plushenko in the LP. Hopefully he can continue to improve towards Vancouver, though.

Don't know what to say about Joubert -- he looked so confident during the SP, but all that disappeared during the LP. It's been a long time since he's skated a really good LP though, so I guess it's not too surprising.

Thank you for the information, alekzu!
Here is the result for Men.

Result
http://www.isuresults.com/results/ec2010/

FPl. Name Nation Points SP FS
1 Evgeni PLUSHENKO RUS 255.39 1 1
2 Stephane LAMBIEL SUI 238.54 5 2
3 Brian JOUBERT FRA 236.45 2 3
4 Michal BREZINA CZE 224.74 4 5
5 Samuel CONTESTI ITA 221.33 7 4
6 Yannick PONSERO FRA 219.52 3 7
7 Alban PREAUBERT FRA 207.61 6 9
8 Javier FERNANDEZ ESP 204.83 13 6
9 Stefan LINDEMANN GER 203.95 9 8
10 Tomas VERNER CZE 203.18 8 10

Congratulations for all medalists!!
Well, well, well, it's very familiar Men's medalists on the podium to me.

I'm very impressed Evgeni still jumped 4T-3T(13.80 points) completely at his age. I don't like his programs of this season either, but it's amazing that he's challenging himself!!
I love Stephane's programs. It's good for him that he changed his long program. His spins are awesome!!

Calliope wrote:

Don't know what to say about Joubert -- he looked so confident during the SP, but all that disappeared during the LP. It's been a long time since he's skated a really good LP though, so I guess it's not too surprising.

I agree, Calliope. I feel sorry for him. It's been a long time ago since he's performed his long program completely, but he's just back from his injury.
Oh, Tomas, what's happened to him??

I think it's going to be really hard competition at Olympic Games. Daisuke definitely needs to jump the quad, if he wants to be on the podium. But he's doing the right thing and he never give up the quad.
Ganbare! Daisuke!!

Finally finished the mens finals. Here are some comments.

Evgeni Plushenko - Dammit.... Why does he have to be this good? And the worst part of it all.... I actually liked his program this time.... *ashamed* Dai s really up for a challenge in the Olympics.

Stéphane Lambiel - What a beautiful program! I liked his previous one as well, but this was gorgeous. I love it!

And you know what? Both of the above will be coming to Stockholm for a show in april!

Brian Joubert - Oh dear.... What am I to say? He is going to get it really rough in the Olympics.

Michal Brezina- Love this kid. Tomas better watch out! (Tomas makes me feel so sad....)

Why is it that Alban and Yannick never make it all the way?

Javier Frenandez - Okay, this guy blew me away. What a show! Fantasitc! I've been keeping my eyes on this oneaa while, and I'm not gonna stop now.

The Swedish guys: They just make me sad.... They wanted so much. And look wwat they got.... I'm pretty sure Adrian is the one who gets Olympics. I'll let you know when the decision comes.

EDIT: I forgot to write this.
Congratulations to all the medalists!!!
And Faiella/Scalli won the silver!

OK, these are just my opinions…. I guess I'm a minority.

Stephane: I was somehow a bit disappointed… Maybe it's because I had expected too much from him. Expected something special. The La traviata program was nicely choreographed but just nice. Probably he needs more time to pour his soul into it.

Brian: The program that I was impressed most was Brian's. Yes, he made some mistakes and looked he skated very cautiously. But look at his arm and hand movements!! Didn't you see his great effort on those? And he captured the notes of the music very well, same as Dai-chan. So I think, his PCS was a bit mean…. Perhaps the skating order influenced on it. Plus, I always admire his skating skill.
Oh, should I officially announce I'm a big fan of Brian????

Evegeni: The king got his job done. I don't have any words except it.
In today's TV news, Shizuka commented on his performance. She said "An alien. He is very good at making himself look great."

alekzu wrote:

Why is it that Alban and Yannick never make it all the way?

Anyway Yannick's 4T and 3A were super.

alekzu wrote:

Javier Frenandez - Okay, this guy blew me away. What a show! Fantasitc! I've been keeping my eyes on this oneaa while, and I'm not gonna stop now.

Me too!! He IS a performer!! And a quad jumper from Spain, it 's amazing!!

Leode wrote:

I think it's going to be really hard competition at Olympic Games. Daisuke definitely needs to jump the quad, if he wants to be on the podium. But he's doing the right thing and he never give up the quad.
Ganbare! Daisuke!!

It's true, Leode. He needs at least a quad to win. I hope his practice is going well.

The Swedish commentators revealed during the EX-gala who of the guys get to go to Olympics. As expected, the ticket went to Adrian. Good luck to Adrian there, and I hope to see Kristoffer preform in Worlds.

alekzu wrote:

The Swedish commentators revealed during the EX-gala who of the guys
get to go to Olympics. As expected, the ticket went to Adrian. Good
luck to Adrian there, and I hope to see Kristoffer preform in Worlds.

Thank you alekzu.
It's sad Sweden has only one spot.... Good luck to both of them!!
And now Yannick Ponsero places 4th in ISU World Standings. But he can't go to Vancouver.

BTW, Stephane's EX was superb. I think it's special, this is Stephane!!