The free skate was definitely not great.
The last important event before the Olympics began on the international stage – the Championship of Four Continents. At this time our Olympian Peter Gooseberry I decided to test my readiness at the internal Russian tournament – in memory of Peter Grushman. His short program turned out brilliantly: the athlete scored a record 109.05 points for Russia.
For Peter, this was a useful experience in terms of schedule: he had a day of rest between the short and free programs, which simulates the Olympic situation, where there will be two whole days of rest between the two types of programs. It was especially interesting to see how this break would affect the quality of the free skate. Gooseberryin which he has one of the most difficult jump sets in the world.
The St. Petersburg resident confirmed that he is not going to simplify the content by again including five quadruple jumps in the program. He started the warm-up brightly and confidently, immediately taking up the ultra-c elements. Unfortunately, the filming did not allow us to see all the jumps that were performed at the sides, but already at the beginning of preparation the triple axel and quadruple loop were clearly executed. Subsequently, the audience also saw high-quality flips, salchows and lutz. The only minor glitch was one butterfly on the Salchow.
Peter took to the ice with his usual confidence. He started his run with a superbly priced quadruple flip. However, on the next element – the quadruple lutz – there was already a swing on the way out. Judges at international competitions might have noted the under-rotation (q), but generous points followed (GOE +3.45).
There was an impression that by the middle of the program Peter was tired, which is why the exits from the quadruple loop and Salchow turned out to be uncertain. With a strict approach to these elements, there could be questions about the cleanliness of the landing and the rotation of the jumps. In the final part, instead of the planned 3-3 cascade, a simpler 3-2 version was performed, although outwardly it looked like a conscious decision.
After the performance, Peter said that he considered the possibility of including a quadruple flip in a cascade with a triple axel in the free program, but in the end he decided not to do it. The skating confirmed that this would be an unjustified risk: during the warm-up, the quadruple jumps go smoothly, but during the skating itself, fatigue gradually begins to emerge. It may be worth considering small changes to the program – for example, moving the final stage (triple lutz – triple loop) to distribute the load.
A lot of work is also visible on the step paths: there are more emotions and beautiful handwork in them. There are no long runs before the jumps; there are a large number of choreoelements. True, one of the tracks has so far been completed to the third level, but there is still enough time to complicate it and roll it up to the fourth level. The rotations were performed confidently and consistently rated at level four. I was also pleased with the return of the signature hand movement – the characteristic “shot” after a quadruple Salchow in a cascade.
The amount for both rentals turned out to be prohibitive – 326.49, which was the second result in the world and the best in Russia. Of course, the Federation figured skating St. Petersburg wanted to support Peter before the Olympics, but even the athlete himself seemed to be somewhat surprised by such an assessment.
In general, Peter showed a working performance, although not great. But this is for the better. Still, the maximum will have to be issued in a few more weeks.
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