Chapter 117 Moon River: Reality and Illusion
As the first competitor from the Chinese delegation, Yang Yiyan got off to a good start and unsurprisingly won second place in the short program.
Afterwards, technically-minded figure skating fans compiled statistics and unexpectedly discovered that after the tempering of the previous season, Yang Yiyan's program component scores in the four competitions she has competed in this season have reached the level of top-tier skaters.
Except for the finals where they were slightly outmatched on home soil in Russia, the program content scores were all above 34 in the other three matches.
Many people may not have a concept of this score, but the highest P score in the short program is still 38.19, set by Claire, while other European and American skaters with good timing scores are probably hovering around 36 or 37.
As for the top-tier female singles players who are still active in Asia, there are only Yumikawa Ria and Yang Yiyan, and their program component scores are only between 33 and 35.
This does not mean that Asian skaters are not as good as European and American skaters. In fact, the highest P score for an Asian skater in the short program is still Sung Eun-hee's 35.97 at the 2013 World Championships.
Although times have changed and the rigor of scoring has also changed, making it impossible to compare these scores directly, this data is still sufficient to illustrate some points.
Technically-minded figure skating fans have drawn the final conclusion: unless Asia produces one or more female singles skaters who can dominate everyone else, it will be difficult to surpass Sung Eun-hee's P-score unless the International Skating Union changes its scoring system.
This conclusion undoubtedly caused a frenzy in figure skating forums, but no matter how much the fans argued, it had nothing to do with the athletes who were about to compete.
On the second day of the Grand Prix Final, the junior group competed in pairs short program, men's singles free skate, and women's singles short program, while the senior group competed in men's singles short program and pairs short program.
Since the competition covered most of the Chinese athletes, Yang Yiyan prepared a bag of plush toys early on, found a good spot in the stands, and waited to crawl to the front to throw them after the competition ended.
Xia Yuezi and Meng Xin were backstage with Feng Simai, along with Coach Ma and Lin Ye, who were also on high alert.
"Are you really going to do this? Can't you save it for the World Championships?"
Coach Ma's broken voice echoed in the corridor, and the Chinese people who understood immediately looked in that direction.
Lin Ye took a bite of the banana with a blank expression, but his eyes were fixed on Fujiwara Yoshino, while also glancing around at the other contestants.
The situation in the men's singles of the senior group is similar to that of the women's singles. The veterans did not perform well in the preliminary rounds. However, the men's singles arena has always been known as the "fireworks" because there are many people who give them a hard time.
Any player whose theoretical strength isn't particularly weak should have no problem seizing the opportunity to get on stage, which is why two new players joined this year's finals.
"No, I'm going to prove them wrong!"
After winning the World Championships last season, Lin Ye excitedly opened his social media account, ready to post a commemorative message as usual. He also posted a photo of himself biting the gold medal, as well as group photos with other athletes and coaches.
This attracted a group of unknown fans who said his gold medal was the least valuable one in the history of the World Championships.
The newly crowned world champion was immediately stunned. He knew that his gold medal had an element of luck, but he was number one in both the short program and the free skate in terms of technical score, so he had no qualms about winning the medal.
Even though the coach said not to take the fans' comments to heart and to keep a distance from online messages, Lin Ye still felt down for a while after seeing these comments. After adjusting his state, he turned around and began to tackle the more difficult 4LZ+3T combination jump.
After the success rate improved, he instructed the coach not to launch the satellite, but to let the jump appear in front of the audience for the first time, on the field.
Coach Ma nodded repeatedly, as pleased as an old father, thinking that Lin Ye had finally grown up, knew how to plan for himself, and was no longer like the impetuous boy he used to be, insisting on trying to do a certain jump.
If he had known what Lin Ye was thinking, he would have definitely dragged the kid to get psychological counseling right then and there.
The other three exchanged glances and continued with their own tasks, refusing to get involved in the dispute between the master and apprentice.
The first male singles player to compete was the one who had won a ticket to the finals for the first time, a kid who was blessed by Lady Luck in the preliminary rounds.
However, in the eyes of many figure skating fans, he was not favored by Lady Luck, but by the referees.
The reason is simple: this male singles athlete's quadruple jumps are too weak. Before each jump, his left leg will circle more than half a circle on the ice, turning more than 240 degrees before leaving the ice.
Some figure skating fans also conducted a detailed analysis of his previous jumps and found that not only would he be demoted in quadruple jumps, but even his triple A jumps were in danger.
If any Asian athlete were to learn this jumping technique, they would be so badly beaten that even their own mother wouldn't recognize them, let alone get a positive score.
Not only figure skating fans and Asian skaters, but even some European and American skaters with clean technique and proper attitude have expressed their dissatisfaction with this jump. However, some coaching teams still rely on their nationality advantage to teach their students to practice this jump.
Next up was Feng Simai, whose koussten this season was still the same shirt style, just with a different color.
His music selection for this season was just released on social media, and many figure skating fans were shocked because this kind of music is more often performed by female singles skaters in singles skating.
"Moon River" is a classic soundtrack from the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's," sung by Audrey Hepburn, who played the lead role. The movie is also told from the perspective of the lead actress.
Many people were speculating whether he would cross-dress or play a male role in a movie, but when the show was first performed in the B-level competition, it surprised everyone.
The program's perspective was chosen from one of the lyrics—"Two tramps set off to see the world." After discussing with the choreographer, he decided to use the melancholic mood inherent in the song to interpret the "tramps'" longing for the future.
As soon as the piano music began to flow, Feng Simai opened his hands, which had been behind his back, and slid outwards with a measured step.
The first jump was 4S+3T. Although the base score difference between 4T and 4S is not much, every little bit counts, and Feng Simai still managed to master this combination jump.
His movements were fluid, yet his eyes held a hint of dazedness and loneliness, like a white-collar worker who poured himself a glass of wine at home at midnight, drinking until he felt a sense of unreality before stopping, sitting by the window, and basking in that tipsy feeling until the morning sun rose, urging him to continue on his way.
Xia Yuezi, standing to the side, spoke softly: "His acting is becoming more and more refined."
It's difficult to transform a very specific song into an abstract theme. This is a different approach than Yang Yiyan's method of finding niche topics within mainstream ones. Feng Simai must handle the feeling of being both close and distant well.
On this point, the choreographer and the contestant reached a high degree of agreement. They did not make complicated arrangements for the task, but focused on conveying emotions.
Feng Simai squatted to the side, his hands outstretched to form an acute angle, which, when rotated, resembled an open mouth, as if wanting to say something to others but not knowing how to begin.
"Moon River" is a road leading to distant places, dreams, and a better life. There are many lost wanderers on this road. Of these people, only a few can reach the end. But what is more precious is their determination to embark on this road.
Meng Xin continued, "It's not just his sensitivity; haven't you noticed how much richer his imagination has become since he broke free from those constraints?"
Xia Yuezi smiled and nodded in agreement: "Figure skating, a sport that is both an art and a sport, shouldn't restrict the athletes too much."
As the music entered its second half, Feng Simai cast aside the bewilderment in his eyes and put on an infectious smile. He opened his arms to embrace the sky above, then hugged himself, and began a single-foot twist into a footwork.
Since the theme is to be abstract, what could be more elusive than the intertwining of illusion and reality?
The contestant himself felt no.
Xia Yuezi, however, found this feeling fascinating, as if it blurred the lines between rationality and sensibility to some extent. From another perspective, wasn't this also a reflection of reality and idealism?
"The vagrant" represents reality, while "Moon River" symbolizes all the beautiful ideals.
They are forced to walk on tense roads, occasionally stopping to relax and unwind from their overflowing state, so as not to become a conscious robot.
She thought that if she leaned towards this kind of theme, it would probably be easier to resonate with the audience.
Because most people are like this: starting from an ideal state, they are gradually worn down by the years on the "Moon River," and finally have to bow to reality, completing the process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change.
Watching Feng Simai land his final jump 3lz, followed by a small step and a spin, Lin Ye clicked his tongue and said, "This kid is getting better and better at acting."
Coach Ma, who had just calmed himself down, felt like slapping his son when he heard this. He glared at him and said, "Do you think everyone is like you, only knowing how to rely on brute force?"
Figure skating, as a discipline with diverse categories, is difficult to please everyone, especially for athletes of Asian nationality, who often find themselves being suppressed when facing similar competitors.
However, as a unique figure among men's singles players, Feng Simai is hard to find an athlete who can match his style.
Moreover, he is not bad-looking, and with the reputation of "Art Jellyfish" spreading far and wide, he receives all kinds of commercial performance offers during the off-season, and rarely causes trouble for his country during the season.
In other words, these athletes have already made their faces public enough, and as long as their own skating association doesn't hold them back, their treatment won't be bad.
Thinking of all this, Coach Ma kicked his son again in frustration. If the competition wasn't about to start, he would have liked to pick up the scabbard and hit him a couple of times.
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