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| Qing Pang and Jian Tong
File photo by Paul Harvath |
(10/25/03) — The pairs event at 2003 Smart Ones Skate America was close — coming down to the last skaters in the free skate.
Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China won the competition by a narrow margin of 12/100ths of a point with their program to Variations on a Theme of Paganini. They were in the lead after the short program by a little more than two points.
But uncharacteristic mistakes on two jumps and a bobble on the backward outside death spiral narrowed the lead. The program earned them a total score of 117.96 with a technical score of 56.62 and a factored combined program competition score of 61.44. He fell on the double Axel done in combination after completing a triple toe then later stepped out of landing on another double Axel.
"This is the first time we've skated the program in competition," Tong said. "We'll do it better next time."
Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia started the free skate strong and looked as though they would overtake the leaders. But the end portion of the program slowed and Petrova two-footed the landing of their throw triple Salchow. They won the free skate with a score of 119.98, but it wasn't enough to beat Pang and Tong. Their overall score for the competition was 184.92.
Tikhonov said it helped that they have skated this program in front of an audience at exhibitions in Russia.
"We really like this program," he said. "It's happy and sad."
The Russian pair said the outcome was odd because under the new system the pairs team that won the free skate didn't win the competition.
"It was strange to be in second after winning the free skate," Tikhonov said. "We didn't think it was so fair."
The gold medal pair felt the same. Tong said they were surprised to win the competition after placing second in the free skate.
Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China moved up a spot from the short program to win the bronze medal. Unison problems plagued their double Axel, which was part of their jump sequence, but otherwise the program to Grofin Mariza by Kalman was solid. The program earned them a total score of 115.12 for a total competition score of 171.26.
That score moved them ahead of Utako Wakamatsu and Jean-Sebastien Fecteau of Canada, who were in third after the short program. Wakamatsu and Fecteau dropped to fourth after struggling with several elements in their program.
Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn had an exceptional free skate to move into fifth place. She fell on their side-by-side double Axels but they completed all of their other elements, including ones they've struggled on in the past. The program earned a total score of 108.16, putting them fourth in the free skate.
"I'm so proud of her," Dulebohn said after the free skate. "That was an awesome triple toe-double toe."
That is an element Scott has struggled with during competition but said she lands it consistently in practice.
"I do it in every practice," she said. "But in competitions I tighten up too much. Tonight I felt no pressure and was really loose. That helped."
Scott and Dulebohn are using their Les Miserables free skate from last year but made some adjustments for the new judging system. Their coach Isabelle Brasseur said they may reevaluate parts of the program after seeing the detailed judges marks from Skate America.
Both Scott and Dulebohn said they feel good about the coaching change they made over the summer, moving from Karl Kurtz to Brasseur, Rocky Marval and Lloyd Eisler.
"Our coaching is really refreshing," Dulebohn said. "Karl was a great coach and he was exactly what we needed at the time. But it's great to have a fresh perspective. It feels really good."
Brasseur said she feels the combination of coaches is working well, especially with Brasseur and Eisler's competitive history together.
"Having three is ideal," she said. "We're a well-balanced team. It's especially great when Lloyd's around because we can show them how to do something by doing it. Sometimes breaking it down makes it easier. There's no way I could do it by myself."
Larisa Spielberg and Craig Joeright placed seventh in their first ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event. She fell landing the throw triple loop and put her hand down on her throw triple Salchow. The program earned a total score of 85.72 for a total score for the event of 136.54. They said their practices have been going well, and they've been skating clean long programs in practice.
"We've been doing this program well, so it's frustrating when it goes wrong," Spielberg said. "We just need to get out there in front of bigger crowds and get more experience."
The third U.S. pair competing, Katie Orscher and Garrett Lucash, finished in eighth place. They struggled on their elements with falls on the side-by-side triple toes and during the step sequence. Orscher also turned out of the landing on the throw triple flip and Lucash singled their side-by-side double Axel. The program earned a total score of 79.10 giving them an overall competition score of 130.10.
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