WFSC 2012 in Lishui (China) – Day 2

Second day of competition at the 2012 WFSC World Freestyle Skating Championship in Lishui (China). This second day was dedicated to Women and Men Classic, Pair Classic, Battle first rounds...

Par alfathor
Publié le 28 août 2012 - Mis à jour le 2 novembre 2020 - 7201 Lectures - 0 commentaire(s)

DAY 2 – Women and Men Classic, Pair Classic, Battle first rounds

Women’s Classic

Rain. The second day of the WFSC was regulated by the good will of rain. As soon as 6AM, we could see it drizzling through the bay window of the breakfast room… and yet, it was only a foretaste of what was to come. The bets were taken to go to the outdoors rink as planned. The first competition of the day was Women’s Classic. Hardly 8 participants have passed before the first downpour. The rink is soaking wet. We take a little break for the ground to dry before resuming the category… Which we will have just the time to finish before the clouds fall on our heads.

The Senior Women’s Classic started at 8AM and gathered great challengers such as Chinese Chen Chen (#5) (unbeaten since 2008) and Su Fei Qian (#3) (current Battle champion), Russian Polina Semenova (#2) and Dasha Kuznetsova (#1) (current European champion in Classic and Battle), Polish Klaudia Hartmanis (#4) and Ukrainian Marina Boyko (#6), as well as Chinese Meng Yun (#8): The Top-8 is there! No.7 is missing, but she competed with success in the Junior category: Feng Hui – see previous article.

The ranking shows a clear cut between the first 7 and the last 8 women. Two inner competitions are actually taking place: the members of the Top-10 club play together, leaving the other 8 – the four Italians, two Taipeian women, another from Hong Kong and a Czech! – far behind. The results were quite predictable. Chen Chen, the title holder since the very first WSSA World Championships ends up at the foot of the podium: her skating is heavier than what it used to be and her combos are messy with a lot of tapping, she obviously did not have the time she usually has to prepare her performance. Her team-mate Meng Yun in on her heels. Marina Boyko and Polina Semenova respectively get the 6^th and 7^th places, with slower runs than their opponents’. Marina’s stress can be felt, however she manages a very honest performance with enjoyable footwork on the 50s and Sevens matching the music. Polina shows the same types of tricks but one step under and with more misplays. The circumstances leave the whole podium free for the new generation: Su Fei Qian, Dasha Kuznetsova and Klaudia Hartmanis get hold of the podium. The Polish does a great start, powerful, fast and technique with a back toe wheeling to shift and a toe footgun on the 80s. But a couple of misplays by the end of her performance deprive her of the title and she takes the Bronze medal. Judges are divided as for the two first places, between the Chinese and the Russian. Finally, Su Fei Qian is the new Senior World Champion with her James Bond girl performance. She may still lack implication and amplitude in her skating (she tends to looks as if she does not feel concerned) and her performance may not have been super fast, but it is no breaking news: her technical level is close to insane… back to front wheeling to heel seven, combos with shifts, footgun wheeling, and her famous 6-turn chicken leg. The Vice-Champion title goes then to Dasha Kuznetsova with her remixed theme of the Pink Panther. Just as Su Fei Qian, she shows a very clean run, and she also has solid combos: back heel wheeling to shift, shift to butterfly, toe footgun too, and sevens matching the music.

Senior Women Classic Best 5 by ReKiL.ru: https://vimeo.com/48259725

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WFSC 2012 Freestyle Slalom Senior Women Best 4 by REKIL.RU from ReKiL on Vimeo.

Women’s Classic results

Su Fei Qian (CHN)
Dasha Kuznetsova (RUS)
Klaudia Hartmanis (POL)
Chen Chen (CHN)
Meng Yun (CHN)
Marina Boyko (UKR)
Polina Semenova (RUS)
Barbara Bossi (ITA)
Chiara Lualdi (ITA)
Hsu Chia-Miao (TPE)
Cristina Rotunno (ITA)
Sara Barlocco (ITA)
Lin Chien Yu (TPE)
Chiu Pui Ki (HKG)
Szabova Eliska (CZE)

Men’s Classic

The heavy rain has interrupted the championships, which is resumed in the indoor hall – Because of the polish, the wooden floor is grippier than the painted concrete of the rink. As the hall is a bit small for speed slalom and slides, the schedule has to be modified: the Men’s Classic (which should have finished the day) is brought forward at 2PM. And the weather showing no improvement, we will finally make the most of the indoor place in starting the first rounds of the Battle competition immediately after.

There are 34 men competing for the Classic competition. The levels are very unequal, from real beginner (India) to the world’s best freestylers. Out of the current Top-20, 15 skaters areregistered. Let’s note the absence of Spanish Jon Larrucea (#6) and Adrian Almazan (#15), Russian Viktor Meleshkevich (#10) and Andrey Shitov (#16), and Chinese prodigy Pu Hao Yang (#3) who is busy studying this year. As often in this discipline, the Koreans take the advantage: Kim Sung Jin (#2) and Lee Choong Goon (#7) (pair partners, see below) are respectively the new World champion and vice-champion – let’s call it an update rather than a breaking news. Chinese Guo Fang (#5) completes the podium. The first Europeans, ranked 4^th and 5^th, are French Alexandre Claris (#4) and Polish Michal Sulinowski (#11), rewarded for their big technical combos. With French Romain Lebois (#1, current Classic European Champion) who ends up 13^th, they were aiming at higher rankings and their three runs had the potential to win the competition. Unfortunately, their performances were not clean enough or had too many misplays to reach the podium. Chinese Liao Jie (#19) does a noteworthy performance, embodying a soldier and dressed up in a camouflage outfit, with a mix of oppressing musics including the soundtrack of “Requiem for a Dream”: his style and footwork were created as such as they fitted the theme to perfection. An efficient piece of entertainment. And it pays off as it propels him to the 6^th place despite quite a poor technical content (as for pure tricks). Chinese Li Jin Xi (#78) and Singaporean Clarence Cheung (#68) passed in the first third but managed to stay in the top of the competition ranking, ending up in the Top-10 (7^th and 10^th), probably thanks to their creative footwork topped with tricks which were technical enough to keep their heads out of the water.

Senior Men Classic Best 5 by ReKiL.ru

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WFSC 2012 Freestyle Slalom Senior Men best 5 by REKIL.RU from ReKiL on Vimeo.

Men’s Classic results

Kim Sung Jin (KOR)
Lee Choong Goon (KOR)
Guo Fang (CHN)
Alexandre Claris (FRA)
Michal Sulinowski (POL)
Liao Jie (CHN)
Li Jin Xi (CHN)
Li Yu Chen (CHN)
Yu Jin Seong (KOR)
Clarence Cheung (SIN)
Roman Gordin (RUS)
Lan Wang Heng (CHN)
Romain Lebois (FRA)
Kim Tae Bin (KOR)
Martin Sloboda (GER)
Toh You wang (SIN)
Igor Cheremetieff (FRA)
Alexandre Shulhan (BRS)
Carlos Nelson (SPA)
Luo Jia Cheng (CHN)
Tiziano Ferrari (ITA)
Wang Shen Wen (TPE)
Tran Quang Linh (VIE)
Dao Dinh Huan (VIE)
Rodrigo Morgado (BRA)
Wong Tak Wa (HKG)
Alansari Abdulaziz (KSA)
Ricardo Lopez (MEX)
Kato Katsuaki (JPN)
Wong Pan Chung Gerry (HKG)
Moritoki Yukio (JPN)
Nugraha Mustari Satria (INA)
Sunjaya Angga (INA)
Parth Mehta (IND)

Pair Classic

While we were at it, we went on with the Pair Classic – There were 12 pairs to go, only Asians (from Korea, China, Taipei and Hong Kong). They were marked and ranked like normal classic: Out of 60 points for technique including variety, continuity, speed and rhythm criteria, and out of 40 points for artistic including body performance, music expression and trick management to the music and to the line – the artistic mark is dependent from the attributed technique level of the skater… To those 100 points were added 20 points for synchronization.

Most of the pairs are made of a boy and a (little) girl and convey a happy flower-candy-carebear atmosphere, with the adequate music. Cute. The epitome of this picture is the Chinese pair made of Wang Ding Yu Xin and Liao Jie, the creative choreographer (soldier), who proves once more with this performance that his imagination is limitless. Sometimes, pairs are little boy / little girl. Cute too. Like Thai Kanchanok Sawangsri and Chanya Mongkolchareonchok who finish their run joining their arms to make a heart <3. Sometimes it’s a man thing (no understatement) Like Chinese Zhu Tian Le and Zhan Hao (new Junior Champ’ in Classic – see previous article ). But as young as they they may be, they are not cute, rather frightening. Technically frightening… Mirror toe footgun on 5 cones, 4-cone toe seven to the music, synchronized shift combos… But here, cuteness wins over technique, as Liao Jie’s pair ends up just in front of them, at the 4^th place! Their team-mates Guo Fang and Su Fei Qian make the good mix and combine cuteness and technique: they reach the 2^nd place! And in the midst of this escalation of sweetness, burst in two great skaters with an equally great sense of self-mockery and entertainment, who choose to defend the cause of partying and burn the hall down with their performance. Koreans Kim Sung Jin and Lee Choong Goon add to their brand-new world champion and vice champion titles in Classic, that of co-world champions in pair! Great harvest tonight!

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Pair World Champions KSJ & LCG (KOR)

Pair Classic Best 5 by ReKiL.ru

Pair Classic results

Kim Sung Jin/Lee Choong Goon (KOR)
Guo Fang/Su Fei Qian (CHN)
Yu Jin Seong/Kim Tae Bin (KOR)
Liao Jie/Wang Ding Yu Xin (CHN)
Zhang Hao/Zhu Tian Le (CHN)
Clarence Cheung/Toh You Wang (SIN)
Kanchanok Sawangsri/Chanya Mongkolchareonchok (THA)
Huang Yu-Ping/Kao Lin-Ta (TPE)
Wang Shen-Wen/Huang Yu-Hsuan (TPE)
Ma Pa Hong/Chan Man Fung Anson (HKG)
Leung Shun Yan/Wong Tak Wa (HKG)
Ng Wing Hang/Lee Chak Him (HKG)

Battle Qualifiers

Now that everybody has warmed up, we are ready for the Battle qualifiers! In the Men’s category, 14 skaters divided into 4 groups tried their luck: Only the No.1 of each group had the opportunity to take part in the real thing. In the Women’s category, only 1 place was left for 4 pretenders. Once the pre-qualifications done, the evening went on with the first round of the Men’s battle (Eighth Finals).

As you may guess, as soon as that first round, some of the fights are close and valuable skaters do not go through. Thus, in Group 2, Singaporean Clarence Cheung is knocked out by Polish Michal Sulinowski, saved for having been slightly more varied. Young Thai Kanchanok Sawangsri finds himself in a bad group and is one step under the real fight: French Alexandre Claris and Chinese Li Yu Chen aim at the first place. Once again, variety pays off: with the same crazy technical level, Alexandre proves to be more varied in showing both heel and toe wheeling tricks, unlike his opponent who restricts himself to toe.

One hour and a half later, the quarter final groups are ready for tomorrow. Breakage is coming!

According to the weather tomorrow, we will alternate if needed between the outdoor and indoor venues. Speed slalom and slides, given the space needed, should imperatively take place at the speed skating rink. At the first ray of sunshine, the competition will head to there in priority, as battle fits perfectly in the indoor place. This will be the last day and we are running late on the schedule (the slides should have taken place today). Let’s hope everything will go for the best!