Hania on the verge of a record
Yuzuru Hanyu won the Grand Prix finals from 2013 to 2016 and managed to repeat the record of Evgeni Plushenko from four tournaments won. Since then, the Japanese due to injuries could not surpass the result of the Russian. In Turin, the two-time Olympic champion will finally have such a chance - for the first time in three years, he will not only perform in the final, but will also be the main favorite.
Chania managed to push Nathan Chen into the background this season, who won the final competitions in the past and the year before last. The Japanese do not just continue to amaze spectators and judges with amazing productions and unearthly choreography. This season, he re-opened as a master of complex jumps. At the Grand Prix stage in Canada, Hanyu performed six quadruple jumps, as well as two stages with triple axels in the second half of the free program. Rentals in Japan were easier, but still with an incredibly high base price.
And for the finale, Hania may have something new in store - he practices the quadruple lutz and is likely to include it in his program. This jump was obtained from the two-time Olympic champion only once, except for successful attempts in training and in the show. If Yuzuru really performs the Lutz in four turns, then even Chen will not be able to control him.
The American skater this season is the strongest number two in men's skating. He is still technically strong and ready to perform the same six quadruples, but sometimes allows blots that Hanya will not forgive. If at ordinary tournaments Chen could still simplify the program so as not to tempt fate once again, then in Turin he will try to demonstrate his entire arsenal of jumps, because otherwise he will not see victory.
The main contender for bronze has the right to be considered Alexander Samarin. You should not even be surprised if he suddenly leads after a short program - in it he surpasses even the two aforementioned skaters. Only Samarin combined the cascade of the quadruple Lutz - a triple toe loop with a quadruple flip in one program. So far, there have been no clean rentals performed by Samarin - even when he landed the toothed jumps, then the triple axel suffered. But once the Russian skater should be rewarded for his perseverance and attempt to stand out from the crowd.
If Samarin fails to reveal his potential, then the other three participants will fight for bronze. Jin Boyang is entitled to claim the status of a dark horse. The Chinese skater, who fell out of the world elite due to injuries, has almost reached its former level this season and continues to move on. If two quadruple Lutz obey him, then Boyan will become a contender for a medal, although it will be more difficult to regain the lost components.
Again this season, Dmitry Aliev also pleases the fans, recalling the young skater who was afraid of the Olympic season. He no longer pours during rentals, but also does not please with a complete set of completed elements, which includes the quadruple Lutz. One of Aliyev’s main problems is the inability to rebuild during the program if some force majeure occurred. Because of this, twice already this season he lost points on unrecorded jumps.
The last, sixth participant in the finals will be the Frenchman Kevin Aymoz. For him, getting to this tournament was always sky-high, but he was more stable than the rest of the skaters who did not rely on quadruple jumps.
Confrontation between Russia and China in pairs
World champions from China, Sui Wenjing and Han Tsunu this season, have challenged Russians Alexander Boykov and Dmitry Kozlovsky. As soon as a couple from the Celestial Empire won the home stage of the Grand Prix with the best mark for the season, the wards of Tamara Moskvina blocked it in Moscow, and then the Chinese could not perform as well in Japan. For a long time in pair skating there was no such intense competition.
So far, it’s too early for Boykov and Kozlovsky to write down as candidates for victory - after all, they lack the authority and depth of the choreography, and they are not superior to the Chinese in all technical aspects. But it is worth Sui Wenjing and Han Tsun to give slack that the young Russian duet will be the first in the line to overthrow them. If Boykova and Kozlovsky are left with silver or even bronze, then it will still be considered a success for them and will be the highest achievement of their career.
The chances of medals for three more couples are not lost, two of which represent Russia. Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov perform only one season at the adult level, but managed to qualify for the finals. In technology, they stand out from the background of many experienced couples and so far can only rely on the clean performance of their jumps and emissions. If something does not work for the Russians, then a less skilled craftsman from Canada, Kirsten Moore Towers - Michael Marinaro, can also get around them, as was the last stage in Japan.
The same can be said about Daria Pavlyuchenko and Denis Khodykin. A year ago, they quickly broke into the finals, but remained in last place. This year, they became more coherent, complicated jumping and support, so that they could also fight for bronze in Turin. For more, they lack stability in emissions and components - for one season Pavlyuchenko and Khodykin never made a breakthrough in this direction. For them, the minimum task will be to bypass the Chinese Peng Cheng and Jin Yang in order to take revenge for second place at the stage in the United States. The Russians are quite capable of doing this, since the skaters from China themselves barely gain 200 points in two net rentals.
Silver chance in dancing
In ice dancing, it would be logical to expect continued dominance of the French by Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron. This season is a continuation for them of a successful past, when not a single duet could get close to them according to estimates. Only now, four-time world champions did not miss the Grand Prix series and calmly qualified for the final. Interestingly, of all the annual tournaments, this particular one is the most unfortunate for Papadakis and Sizeron - they have only one victory in their track record in 2017.
Gradually, the second place becomes the same unattainable height for most dance duets. It is already hard to imagine that anyone other than Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov will rise on him. Although the technical panel still has a claim to them, the components they get are very decent, and for dancing it is this assessment that is the main one. The main rivals of the Russians Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donoghue have not performed since October and had to come up with something this month to reduce the gap between the students of Alexander Zhulin.
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin have the opposite story - judges evaluate their technique at the highest level after Papadakis and Sizeron, but their components are at the same level as two or three years ago, when the couple only caught up with the world elite. Russians can’t solve this problem, and without this it would be difficult to claim the Grand Prix finals even with pure skating. It remains only to argue for fourth place with Canadians Piper Gilles - Paul Poirier and Americans Madison Chock - Evan Bates.