Chapter 88 Catching Up with Asian Athletes: Gradually Taking Steps to Catch Up with European and American Athletes...
The men's singles final was mostly filled with familiar faces. With Dawer and Albert out of the lineup, Wayne made his first comeback and won first place in the short program.
Of these skaters, only Wayne and Anthony have more seniority, but they are only 21 or 22 years old. They have excellent results in the junior division and were promoted by their respective national skating associations at a very young age. They have been competing in the senior division for a long time, and are sometimes mistaken for veterans by skating fans who do not often watch men's singles.
The tournament was being held in the United States, and Albert, who had already retired, flew in specifically to watch it. Although no American men's singles players were participating in this year's finals, it was still a good opportunity to catch up with old friends.
Xia Yuezi met the former American number one backstage. He was chatting enthusiastically with Wayne and Anthony. He looked a little fatter than when he was playing, but his blue eyes were still bright.
However, she didn't pay much attention to that group of people and continued to focus her attention on her own children.
Feng Simai attempted three 4S jumps in the pre-free skate music competition, but only succeeded once.
In previous Grand Prix events, Feng Simai also attempted this jump in his free skate. His landing was not good; he relied entirely on his knees and core strength to stabilize it, which affected his subsequent rating. In the end, he received a lower score than his completely clean program from last season.
Before the finals began, Xia Yuezi had discussed with him that if the success rate of the pre-match music ensemble was not high, they would stick to the previous method.
The new cycle has just begun, and the four figure skating disciplines are already in full swing.
In the pairs figure skating competition that concluded yesterday, Cao Jinhui and Lu Sheng made a mistake on the twist, but they managed to close the gap with the second-place team in the short program and win the gold medal without any major setbacks.
In the recently concluded women's singles event, the last-place finisher also scored over 190, meaning that none of the six skaters made any major mistakes, which is rare in figure skating competitions.
As for the men's singles, it was clear from the short program that every skater was giving it their all. The difference between the first and last place was less than seven points. In addition, each skater had at least one quadruple jump in their repertoire, so you can imagine how fierce the battle in the free skate would be.
However, the higher the difficulty, the greater the probability of making a mistake.
The first competitor made a mistake on his first quadruple jump, probably because he was completely stunned by the fall. The score increase on the real-time scoreboard in the upper right corner was pitifully small, and Xia Yuezi could predict how many symbols would appear on his score sheet.
After leaving the stage, the contestant didn't immediately go to wait for his assigned area. Instead, he found a secluded corner and cried. Only after calming himself down did he manage to force a smile for the camera.
Lin Ye, the second contestant to take the stage, started with 4LZ. As soon as he took to the air, Xia Yuezi's eyelids twitched.
From the moment he took off, he was off-balance. For those two seconds in the air when his face was obscured, many people thought Davil had made a comeback. His entire axis shifted, and he finally crashed heavily onto the ice.
Although the score will be significantly reduced due to the foot injury, many coaches standing in the corridor breathed a sigh of relief.
After standing up, Lin Ye rallied and showed his true jumping prowess. He landed two solid 4T and 4S single jumps, but his 4T+3T combo ended up as a double double jump in the first half. He managed to catch the 3T with great distance and ultimately scored a relatively good score with these two quadruple jumps.
A look of amazement flashed in Albert's eyes in the stands. After his performance, he threw a doll into the stands to express his admiration for the Chinese contestant, which was captured on camera.
At the Sochi Winter Olympics, the men's singles free skate had a maximum of three quadruple jumps. In such a short time, not only have some people mastered the high-difficulty jump of the quadruple jump, but they can also perform four quadruple jumps in the free skate.
After the camera panned away, Albert's smile faded, and he couldn't help but worry about the European and American athletes.
Asian athletes are constantly pushing themselves to improve, while there aren't many European and American athletes who can do quadruple jumps. If this continues, they will eventually be overtaken by Asian athletes.
Xia Yuezi also shared the same concerns.
Logically speaking, when a match goes wrong, it's usually one after another. Although Feng Simai's performance has always been very stable, she is also worried about whether he can withstand the pressure today.
Feng Simai's two programs this season are both classic selections, with the free skate featuring "The Phantom of the Opera".
He didn't stand in the middle of the ice rink, but rather near the photographer, with one hand on the barrier and the other hand used as a mask to cover half of his face.
As the music began, Feng Simai slowly moved his hand away, his face revealing his overflowing emotions.
He was no longer in his usual gentle and humble state; instead, he had become somewhat gloomy.
He turned around, glided out quickly, his skates leaving two arcs before disappearing back into the ice, barely kicking up any ice shards.
Feng Simai's first jump was 4T+3T, and he encountered the same situation as Lin Ye, or even more serious.
He hesitated for a moment when he jumped, which caused his first jump to become a full-length jump. However, unlike Lin Ye, he did not choose to catch it backwards. Instead, he performed a four-three combination jump afterwards.
After each Winter Olympics, the International Skating Union (ISU) conducts sweeping reforms before the start of the new season to address the issues that arose during the previous cycle.
This season is no exception.
According to the new rules, jumps below double jumps are not recognized in the adult category, meaning that single jumps do not receive any points.
If it's a single jump, it becomes an invalid jump, and both the technical score and the goe (GOE) are zero. If it's a series of jumps, only the score of the valid jumps is recognized, and the goe is awarded based on the valid jumps, which greatly reduces the margin for error for the players.
However, this rule only applies to the short program. The free skate will still award points for a single jump, but the points will be pitifully small. Even with the GOE, it might not be as high as the points for a single spin by von Simai.
Feng Simai was not deterred by the mistake; instead, he learned from it and successfully landed a combination jump on his second jump.
Xia Yuezi couldn't accurately judge Feng Simai's current condition, but she saw that the athlete's face had turned an abnormal red, probably because after enduring the impact of the ice landing, she still had to complete another set of spins.
His skating speed was not affected, and with the music and hand movements, he gradually revealed the possessiveness hidden in the Phantom's heart.
Physical strength was never Feng Simai's strength. Including the quadruple jump that went wrong, it was as if he used the strength of three quadruple jumps in the first half, which led to his mistake in the second half.
Feng Simai's first jump in the second half was a set of 3lz+1lo+3s, but there was a visible lack of rotation on the 3s, so he will probably be demoted.
In the subsequent combined spins, the upright spin that evolved from the side swallow was like a spinning top on ice. Then, the upper body was lowered to become an A spin, and then the feet were quickly switched to enter a crouch spin in time with the music. After the end, it turned into an inverted upright spin again.
He couldn't stay still completely while spinning, and the ice marks he left weren't tight; instead, they looked like coils of telephone wire. His axis was running wildly. Fortunately, Xia Yuezi had learned from her previous mistakes when choreographing, and each movement had more than ten rotations, so it wouldn't affect his rating. He only lost a few points on the GTO.
Surprisingly, despite technical difficulties, Feng Simai became increasingly engrossed in his performance.
Choosing classic pieces is less likely to go wrong, but it has a fatal flaw: judges have seen many similar programs, and there are many outstanding predecessors who have set a high bar, making it difficult for newcomers to surpass them.
Feng Simai had no mask on his face, so his expression was completely exposed, revealing the madness and struggle in Phantom's heart after meeting Christine.
Perhaps this doesn't fit the musical version of the Phantom, but in the short four and a half minutes of his free skate, this was the only way he could convey his emotions to the audience.
The Phantom harbors an unhealable wound in his heart, and he himself is shrouded in shadow, struggling to explore it alone.
His possessiveness and obsession with Christine stemmed largely from this wound. Every time he looked at her, besides longing, he also felt fear and anxiety that he couldn't control.
But the moment Christine kissed him, the Phantom withdrew his hands from his embrace and chose to give in.
Based on the ending of the performance, where people only found the Phantom's mask, Xia Yuezi designed a closing action for Feng Simai.
He stood on the ice rink, covering his face as he did at the beginning of the show, but slowly moved his hand away, revealing his entire face. He looked up at the audience, his eyes filled with deep longing and blessings, and a hint of reluctance, as if he were standing still, watching Christine and the Viscount leave, leaving all the loneliness to himself.
The crowd fell silent for a few seconds, then stood up and applauded, throwing toys at the ice rink. When Feng Simai approached the barrier, he was almost hit by a small bear.
He picked up the doll at his feet, waved to the audience, and smiled brightly. He had already detached himself from the role, and the blush on his face had not yet faded. He had returned to the feeling of the boy next door.
Xia Yuezi handed him her coat and knife sheath, smiling in front of the camera: "Well done. You adjusted your mindset in time after the mistake. I thought I would have to watch the second half with my eyes closed, like Eric's coach."
Eric was the first men's singles player to take the court. Xia Yuezi was standing next to his coach and witnessed the entire process of his face turning from white to black.
Feng Simai sat waiting for his turn, his coat not fully pulled up, his breathing still a little rapid. He pulled out a few sheets of paper, folded them together, and wiped his sweat. He sounded quite relaxed, after all, he had relieved all the pressure on him.
"I knew I needed to readjust my setup when I missed the jump, but this time I was essentially one jump less than the other players, so my score probably won't be good either. It's hard to say whether I can beat Lin Ye."
Xia Yuezi patted his shoulder: "It's okay. The first few contestants didn't perform well this time. Just staying steady is a victory."
That being said, Feng Simai still froze when the scores came out.
With a technical score of 72.34, a program component score of 80.32, a free skate score of 152.71, and a total score of 242.66, he is currently in first place.
While this P score doesn't fully showcase Feng Simai's sliding ability, the technical skill is there, and considering the mistakes made, the score is still quite good.
Xia Yuezi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her child: "Let's go, it's time to go down and apply ice. You can rest for a while after this game."
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