Chapter 109 is the most difficult chapter in history in all aspects.
As it turned out, history doesn't repeat itself, and Claire wouldn't make the same mistake again when facing Yang Yiyan. But to everyone's surprise, Yumikawa Ria didn't stand on the podium.
When she appeared, Polina was still ranked first, but the other two did not score lower than 216 points.
If she skates according to the configuration she submitted, and without making any mistakes, her technical score should rank third or fourth overall, and her free skate score should also reach a similar ranking. Considering her short program score, she should be able to stand on the podium no matter what.
However, for some reason, Yumikawa Ria used her highest difficulty level. She fell on her first 3A, but she didn't give up and did another 3A, which resulted in her having to catch her weight. This led to her running out of stamina for her subsequent triple jumps.
When Aya Yumikawa made her first jump mistake, many figure skating fans were on tenterhooks, and as the story unfolded, they started pinching each other's philtrum.
Not only will two jump mistakes result in a deduction of GOE, but the fact that the same configuration occurred will also reduce the base score for the second jump. Even skating fans who are good at math don't need to do any further calculations; these two mistakes will send her straight away from the podium.
Xia Yuezi stood behind the barrier, looking at Coach Qiandao with a displeased expression, and recalled what she had seen backstage before.
Coach Chishima was talking to a somewhat familiar Asian man. They were quite far apart, so Xia Yuezi couldn't see the expressions on their faces. But after that, Coach Chishima's expression remained grim, and even Mengchuan's expression before going on the field became serious.
To her left was the judges' table. Looking at the skating union officials in their suits, Xia Yuezi remembered where she had seen that Asian man before.
Before the start of last season's World Championships, the Japan Skating Federation organized a large mobilization. In addition to the athletes, important officials from the Japan Skating Union were also present, and a group photo was posted on their official Twitter account, in which that man stood out.
Meng Xin frowned and said, "This isn't a competition that you absolutely have to win, so why is Meng Chuan suddenly so stubborn?"
Xia Yuezi shrugged, her smile tinged with helplessness.
Why? It's because the higher-ups are putting pressure on us again.
No one has emerged in the Japanese women's singles senior group yet. There are a few promising players in the junior group, but it will be the earliest they can be promoted to the senior group, which means that Yumikawa Ria is the only one being targeted.
Looking at the men's singles, she had just gone backstage to check on Feng Simai's warm-up and happened to run into Fujiwara Yoshino wearing a hold. The young man's ankle was covered in bruises and his bones were completely deformed, but he still reported four quadruple jumps in his setup.
As soon as the organizers released the news, ice skating fans were quite shocked. Regardless of whether it works out in the competition or not, he will be the first skater in the world to attempt a 4-4 configuration.
When Yumekawa Ria skated off the ice, Xia Yuezi noticed that her right foot was only on the ice and she wasn't really putting any force on it. Her entire body weight was on her other leg, and she only managed to get to the waiting area with the help of Coach Chishima.
Xia Yuezi was all too familiar with this situation. Now, standing from a different perspective, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Until the men's singles match began, she felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe.
Meng Xin, standing to the side, noticed Xia Yuezi's expression and assumed she was too worried about the upcoming competition. She asked Xia Yuezi if she wanted to go backstage to rest, but Xia Yuezi forced a smile and said she was fine and would stay there.
Whether among Chinese ice hockey fans or those in other countries, the focus of this men's singles match was on Yoshino Fujiwara from the very beginning. Even Anthony and Wayne came to watch the match from the corridor. As for Lin Ye, who was next to take the ice, he was sent by the coach to the stairwell to warm up.
Feng Simai's performance was impeccable. He sat in first place, holding a box of tissues, overlooking the entire ice rink.
Fujiwara Yoshino's setup was 4T, 4T+2T, 4S, 4F, but he only added 3A+3T later. You can tell from the setup he submitted that one of his goals for this competition was to complete the four-four combo.
His first jump in the free skate was the 4F, which has the lowest success rate. From the moment he started his turn with both feet, all the cameras in the arena were focused on him.
The moment Xia Yuezi placed her hands on the ice board, Fujiwara Yoshino quickly took off, clasping her hands together in front of her chest, her bangs swaying as she did so.
Judging from the axis and the number of rotations, there was nothing wrong with the jump, and the blade was also fine. However, the impact when landing on the ice was probably too great, causing him to bend over.
Using her core strength, Fujiwara Yoshino managed to turn around without touching the ice with her other leg, squatting on one leg, her face instantly turning red.
This jump definitely shouldn't be judged as a fall; the goe doesn't meet the standard for a full dunk, but it's not exactly aesthetically pleasing either.
Not only Fujiwara's coach Yamada, but everyone present was very nervous and dared not breathe.
Starting from the youth group, Fujiwara Yoshino's performance throughout the competition was determined by his very first jump.
As long as you land on the first jump, you won't crash too badly later. However, if there is a significant mistake on the first jump, the number of green and red lights on the real-time scoreboard will likely be about equal.
By this standard, Fujiwara Yoshino's 4F was a major mistake, and it's questionable whether his legs have recovered from the impact and whether he can complete the remaining four quads.
Xia Yuezi felt that he must not have recovered yet, otherwise he would not have changed the second jump to 3lo at the last minute.
It has to be said that his decision was correct, leaving ample buffer time for the later setup. If there was any reason why this program ultimately failed, it was probably the physical exertion in the second half.
Moving the 3LO to the front inevitably results in a quadruple jump in the second half. Fujiwara Yoshino is not a speed-based player; he needs to jump high enough to complete the quadruple jump, which leads to mistakes in the final jump and grade.
Judging from Coach Yamada's expression, he was satisfied with Fujiwara Yoshino's overall performance, and hugged his student tightly as soon as he left the court.
Xia Yuezi stood next to Feng Simai and patted him on the shoulder, intending to comfort him, but he clearly misunderstood and started packing his things.
Meng Xin went backstage to get the prepared lunchboxes. The group would go to prepare for the drug test after watching Lin Ye's match.
Even though Fujiwara Yoshino made a mistake, her total score was still 276 points. The reason she couldn't get a higher score was simply because her performance was too poor.
Anthony clicked his tongue twice: "Kids these days are terrifying. One or two of them don't even care about gold medals anymore, they're aiming straight for world records."
Upon hearing this, Wayne, the current world record holder, became even more serious.
Fujiwara Yoshino's total score was close to the world record, but his actual technical score was about five points lower than the real-time score. He most likely scored a few points on the quadruple jumps. It was obvious to everyone that the referee was holding him back.
Seeing that he didn't reply, Anthony didn't want to make a fool of himself and turned to look at the other jumper in the game.
The Chinese flag was already raised high in the stands. Feng Simai's adrenaline was still pumping, and he was the one jumping the highest in the entire stands. He only sat down quietly to rest after Meng Xin returned with the lunchbox.
Xia Yuezi sat on the far side, carefully observing Lin Ye's movements. She had heard from Song Qiao that the Heilongjiang provincial team had recently contacted a foreign coach and signed a one-year contract with him, all in an effort to improve Lin Ye's consistency.
She listened for a long time but didn't hear about the grading system, so she asked indirectly. Song Qiao replied with a bitter expression that it wasn't that they had given up on grading, but that Lin Ye's heart wasn't in it at all, so they could only put it in the last level of training for the time being.
Xia Yuezi rested her chin on her hand and watched the first half of the film. Like other ice hockey fans, she felt completely relieved.
Lin Ye not only landed all three quadruple jumps at the beginning, but also did not make any mistakes on the two subsequent triple A jumps, and did not fall flat on his face due to overconfidence.
If it weren't for the fact that the students in the group don't currently have issues with mentality or stability, Xia Yuezi would definitely need to have a discussion with the foreign teacher that Song Qiao invited. It would be even better if they could bring the teacher over after the contract expires.
However, if she dares to do that, Song Qiao will really fly over to argue with her, and even Li Tan probably won't be able to stop him.
At 10 p.m., the Grand Prix Finals of the new season came to a complete end. Chinese athletes in the youth and adult groups participated in six events and brought back two gold and four bronze medals, setting a new record in all aspects.
Before the athletes even returned, the coaches' phones were practically being smashed by the leaders. Xia Yuezi even heard from Li Tan that the Skating Association had prepared bonuses for all the athletes and coaches, and that their salaries and benefits would be increased after they returned to China.
After consulting with Alisa, Coach Xia waved his hand and took Meng Xin and the other children in the group to a local restaurant where the food source and quality were guaranteed.
After all, they were eating with the coach. The players had a deep impression of how strictly the coach controlled their diet in the cafeteria.
This resulted in the three contestants only ordering what they could eat, even though tonight's dinner was supposed to be a celebration banquet. Yan Rui, in particular, didn't dare to eat too much because she's been growing rapidly lately and was afraid of gaining weight as well.
The two coaches couldn't help but chuckle, unsure of what to say.
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Author's Note: Just came up here to say hello
Two gold medals: Junior and Senior pairs figure skating
Four bronze medals: Men's singles (Youth Group & Senior Group), Women's singles (Youth Group & Senior Group)
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