The women's singles team that was at the bottom of the lake and the small doubles team that seemed to be on the verge of drowning in the lake due to developmental problems were both safe and sound. Nothing could have made the provincial team leaders happier than this. Including the ice fans who grew flowers, after seeing the lineup for the Grand Prix Finals, everyone became more confident about the Milan cycle.
It has been a long time since Rabbit Village has been so active in figure skating.
Except for the ice dance, which still has no name, the national team heading to Lake Placid in early December can already catch up with the lineup of last year's Winter Olympics.
Lin Yinian and Zhao Zixuan currently have similar difficulty reserves. Zhao Yige has four quadruple jumps: 4T, 4S, 4Lo and 4Lz, while Lin Yinian is better at the Philips jump. Because his 4F success rate is less than 30%, this 4F has not yet been truly counted in the child's stable difficulty reserve.
In the women's singles, Jiang Shi, who climbed up from the bottom of the lake, made rapid progress and almost returned to her former peak state - not only did her 3A become stable, but she also picked up the two combo jumps of 3Lz+3T and 3Lz+2T+2Lo.
Although it is still a long way to go to compete for the podium with the Russians who are surrounded by pregnant women, the good thing about the athletes who crawled out from the bottom of the lake is that their mentality is as steady as an old dog, and they basically don't make big mistakes on the field.
The fans of Flower Ice analyzed it over and over again, and finally woke up suddenly.
——Pair skating, which they never had to worry about, turned out to be the event with the most variables this season.
The number one seeded players Jiang Ran and Yu Botao have given up the four-week throw and four-twist this season because they frequently used the throw-four-twist and four-twist, which put too much strain on their bodies. They have entered a buffer period before retirement, while Xiao Qingmei is still catching up in development and is working hard to improve her skills.
In the current situation, everyone can only pray that nothing goes wrong with the Jiang-Yu combination and that they can continue to finish this season safely.
But things did not go as planned. On the eve of the finals, the hidden dangers caused by the frequent use of the four-twist-four throw by this veteran pair last season finally erupted. Jiang Ran, who had all the cartilage in his left foot removed, had to take two injections to seal the cartilage before he could barely step onto the short program.
In the end, the one who got into trouble was the calm Yu Botao.
At the moment of falling after the throw and jump, even Lu You and Xie Yunjun were stunned. Everyone thought that there might be mistakes in this competition, but no one thought that the mistake would happen to Yu Botao who had already thrown his female partner out.
This was a low-level mistake that would never happen during training. Fortunately, both of them had rich competition experience. Although they were panicked inside, they still skated the entire short program intact.
After coming out of Kiss & Cry, Yu Botao seemed to be calm as he pressed the ice pack on Jiang Ran's ankle, but everyone could see that his expression was becoming more and more tense as he remained silent.
Yu Botao and Jiang Ran have been together until now because of their complementary personalities. Yu Botao has grown up with Jiang Ran. As an older brother four years older than him, he is always considerate and careful, and thinks more about things than others. However, it is precisely because he thinks too much that he carries too much psychological burden.
When his female partner was forced to go on the court after taking injections, mistakes also occurred on his side. Yu Botao put all the blame on himself.
"You also made mistakes in last year's World Championships, but you still beat the Russian team and won in the end," Xue Chengze patted Yu Botao on the shoulder, "We can still catch up with the 4.2 points difference if we work hard in the free skating."
——Can I really pursue her?
In this case, Apollova and Biman are likely to press on with their victory and perform a quadruple configuration in the free skating to win the gold medal, while given Jiang Ran's current state, not withdrawing from the competition and striving to stand on the podium would be the best result.
That night, Xue Chengze called Lu You and Xie Yunjun out for a small meeting.
"In tomorrow's free skating, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao will go on stage before you," the head coach came out of Jiang Ran's room with the team doctor, his brows furrowed, "This time, there may be no one who can stand behind you and solve all your worries."
"Youyou, Xiaojun, you have to rely on yourself to move forward on the road ahead."
Lu You held Xie Yunjun's hand tightly.
No one can live under the wings of others forever. As seniors, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao have been leading them for a season. They should have retired this season, but in order to allow Lu You to overcome the hurdle of development with peace of mind, the two still faced the challenge.
They are Olympic gold medalists, the kings of pair skating who have won two consecutive world championships. They should retire gloriously, waving goodbye to the arena amid the cheers and admiration of the crowd, instead of collapsing in the torture of injuries.
Lu You looked towards the direction of Jiang Ran's room. Which contestant did not go through the development stage? Half a year has passed. She can no longer use the development stage as an excuse to relax her requirements on herself.
Xie Yunjun's fingertips silently inserted into her fingers, and the boy lowered his head: "I will accompany you in everything you want to do."
As the male partner, he will be the most stable support axis for every lift, the safest backing for every twist, and provide the most perfect initial speed for every throw jump. This is the responsibility of the male partner in pair skating, but Xie Yunjun can always do it to the best of his ability.
"Youyou, it's time to grow up."
Lu You heard a voice telling him this.
She curled her fingertips and gently shook her partner's hand. She looked at Xue Chengze with a calm and firm look: "We will seize every opportunity we can and bring back at least a silver medal."
Lu You is a calm child. A gold medal is not a promise that an athlete can make lightly. No matter how much blood is boiling in her heart as a member of the flower-planting delegation, the fact that the short program score difference of more than three points cannot be changed. The chance of winning the gold medal is very slim, and Lu You is unwilling to say anything that she is not sure of.
Xue Chengze opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he just patted Lu You on the shoulder and said, "We don't need you to promise anything. There are bound to be people who are happy and sad on the field. In figure skating, your biggest opponent is always yourself."
That night, Lu You fell asleep surprisingly quickly. Even the jet lag that had troubled Asian athletes for several days could not prevent her from stepping onto the ice in a full state.
Jiang Ran and Yu Botao appeared in third place in the free skating.
The effect of the blockade will fade with the passage of time. Jiang Ran got another shot before going on stage. After discovering that they did not use the throw-four-twist-four technique in the show, American Double No. 1 Sally showed an eager expression.
Apollova looked at her old rival with some concern. In fact, she is only 20 years old this year. When she was still in the youth group, the Jiang Yu combination of Planting Flowers was already the brightest new stars in the adult group. In the professional careers of Apollova and Biman, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao were their goals to catch up with, and they were opponents whom they admired but wanted to surpass.
But for some reason, when this opportunity really appeared in front of her, Apolova felt unhappy.
"It's a pity that we were not born a few years earlier and missed the opportunity to compete with Jiang and Yu in their prime." Apolova said to her male partner.
At the 2013 World Championships, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao's stunning 4S throw had flaws in the landing, but until now no one has been able to replicate it. Although they later abandoned this move because it was too difficult, nine years later, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao brought the 4S throw to the 2022 Winter Olympics.
No matter what their achievements are when they retire, their names will be recorded in the history of figure skating with numerous honors.
Before Lu You and Xie Yunjun came on stage, Jiang Ran and Yu Botao did not leave the contestant channel. They walked over to Lu You and Xie Yunjun, took their coats, and pushed the two children on their backs at the same time.
The baton of China's pair skating was passed to the next player at this moment.
Lu You and Xie Yunjun used the force of the ice to slide to the center of the ice rink and saluted toward the audience with grace and grace.
"The juniors of Jiang and Yu are more talented than they were back then," Beaman said. "And the Japanese duo, we had the advantage of youth against Jiang and Yu, but they were younger than us."
Their coach Olaf took a look at the players from the neighboring United States. Sally and Jeffrey were in good enough shape to barely get the scores last year, but this year, no one knew what happened and their shape plummeted. If they hadn't transformed into artistic jellyfish and won a gold medal in the United States, it would be hard to say whether they could enter the finals.
It just so happens that this year's finals will also be held in the United States.
Their biggest competitor is the Flower Planting Team. Currently, both pairs of pair skating in the Flower Planting Team are in poor condition. As long as the referee presses the calculator slightly, it will not be difficult to give the silver medal to their own players.
On the ice surface, the black and white piano keys were gently pressed.
As the first note of "The Train Loaded with Cherry Blossoms Heads to Spring" falls, birds begin to sing.
The ice skates under Lu You and Xie Yunjun's feet lightly slid across the ice.
The first action.
Lu You raised one hand, and the swifts on the hem of her skirt spun in the wind. At the moment of falling, they gently rubbed against the cherry blossom embroidery on the clothes of the boy next to her - spring cherry blossoms bloomed on the branches, and the swallows gently lowered their heads, leaving the first kiss of spring on the delicate stamens.
Tano triple twist, rated level four.
With the gentle sound of harmonica, the twisting dance is like a swallow dancing in a sky full of cherry blossoms. Both the body posture and the artistic conception are so beautiful. This is a textbook-level twist that meets all the grading elements.
In this finals where most of the judges were from the United States and Canada, the total score for this opening twist was still as high as 8 points.
3T+3T, front external spiral, combined rotation...
Lu You and Xie Yunjun took one step at a time and completed each movement almost perfectly. The grading factors were clear and explicit. As long as they did not make any mistakes, the referee would have no way to stop them even if he had nationality prejudices.
But that’s not enough.
None of these are enough to allow them to stand firmly on the runner-up or even champion podium.
Will they take the gamble? Will they go all out in the Finals?
Even Xue Chengze was not sure to what extent Lu You and Xie Yunjun would modify this free skating. Three months ago, Lu You had already picked up all the techniques except the twist four, but he had not included them in the program because of the problem of success rate.
Since the end of the Olympics, the composition of their program elements has been independently decided by Lu You and Xie Yunjun. For the coaching team, this free skating is also full of variables.
The crisp sound of ice skates rubbing against the ice surface was heard. Lu You and Xie Yunjun crossed their legs and jumped at the same time amid flying ice flowers.
In a breath, the 1080° turn jump was completed.
3Lo, a pair of triple lutz jumps landed lightly on the ice.
Anjo Haruna on the sidelines smiled and said, "Tori-chan and Kimi-san, who are the best at creating miracles, welcome back."
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