Can Radford & Duhamel close the gap on the top pairs?

[judgejudy27]

You have your opinion, I have mine. We will see in 18 months who was right.

I totally disagree on Sui & Han. First off their scores at Four Continents were a joke, and scoring at Four Continents is often a joke. Secondly I dont see them only getting better, I think once she grows anymore they will be lucky to continue as a pair, never mind doing the quadruple revolution maneuvers they are doing now.

[triple_toe]

Watching the Skate Canada practices and seeing Duhamel/Radford side by side with Savchenko/Szolkowy, it's clear they S/S are miles ahead of them. D/R's skating skills in no way compare to S/S, they seem to work for every jump/throw/crossover and their skills don't have nearly the same amplitude or ease. All of their elements are sloppily done. They have to go for the big tricks IMO because it's the only way to try to close the gap, but I still can't see them overtaking S/S or Volosozhar/Trankov anytime soon even if clean, barring disaster or injury to those pairs.

[julieann]

I totally disagree on Sui & Han. First off their scores at Four Continents were a joke, and scoring at Four Continents is often a joke. Secondly I dont see them only getting better, I think once she grows anymore they will be lucky to continue as a pair, never mind doing the quadruple revolution maneuvers they are doing now.

You're right about the scores at 4CC.

But, even at Worlds had they not biffed that lift they would have been 3rd in the free and 4th overall. But her injuries concern me and I really don't see them as a pair in the future.

[Proustable]

aidan, I think the injuries to Sui/Han are the type that it would be massively difficult to recover from, and they were always an iffy prospect for the future anyway.

[Lil Sarah]

I feel like D & R taking out their hard triples is the equivalent to telling a male skater not to put in the quad because he might mess it up and fall. You can't get any better without taking risks. If that means finishing lower for some competitions in order to get the jumps consistant, then so be it. D & R know their best chance to win a medal in the future is their big skills. Their big skills aren't going to happen if they don't put them in for all of the competitions. Good on them!

[Cherub721]

This article about them was posted in the SC forum. It says they've hired an acting coach. That's awesome.

They are one of those teams that although I don't really like their skating, I like them. They're very scientific in their approach. If something is lacking, they try to fix it instead of whining or giving up.

[aidan]

I totally disagree on Sui & Han. First off their scores at Four Continents were a joke, and scoring at Four Continents is often a joke. Secondly I dont see them only getting better, I think once she grows anymore they will be lucky to continue as a pair, never mind doing the quadruple revolution maneuvers they are doing now.

Good point about the growth and age. That could definitely hurt them in the future. Having said this, even with their 4CC scores, which ITA were inflated, the judges still seem to give them a lot of respect, as shown by Julieann's point below. If S/H can survive puberty, we'll see if they follow suit.

You're right about the scores at 4CC. But, even at Worlds had they not biffed that lift they would have been 3rd in the free and 4th overall.

You have your opinion, I have mine. We will see in 18 months who was right.

Again, I agree with you that S/S and V/T will likely dominate over the next two years, as they are the class of the field.

My initial point was simply that there are other factors to consider that may prevent that from happening, which I outlined in my previous post. With both teams demostrating the ability to fall apart periodically, there may be a few competitions (maybe even some important ones!) where they don't finish top of the podium. There are some lesser teams out there that could sneak ahead of them with an outstanding skate where their technical mark could overcome any PCS deficiences.

I'm also someone who was convinced Jordyn Weiber was a lock to win an individual all-around medal in London (although I thought gold was unlikely), so I guess we will see what happens over the next two years!

[geoskate]

It appears that the answer to the thread title is 'Yes', since D/R established an ISU personal best in the short program at this competition, and S/S didn't.

Also I'll point out that the thread title asks if they can ""close the gap" on S/S and V/T, not if they can surpass them. I don't think anyone expects them to surpass S/S and V/T before Sochi.

[aftershocks]

I enjoy Megan's and Eric's skating very much, and I'd love to see them on the podium at Worlds. However, just because they scored a PB in the sp at SC and S/S didn't really doesn't mean much from competition to competition. S/S don't need to score a PB every time they skate in order to beat D/R.

What difference does it make? D/R are definitely in the running to battle for the podium at every competition they enter. And S/S look very impressive in their sp debut this season.

[julieann]

It appears that the answer to the thread title is 'Yes', since D/R established an ISU personal best in the short program at this competition, and S/S didn't.

It will be very difficult for older teams to beat their old season's best since they got rid of one of the elements. They're already 5+ points in the hole.

[Maofan7]

New article on Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. Reads:-

"The times we wanted to quit and didn't know if we could do it, they were the ones who encouraged us and helped us stick through," Duhamel said about her friends and family, who gathered in large numbers to welcome her home.

Duhamel and Radford will be top medal contenders in the pairs competition at next year's Olympics in Sochi, Russia. To reach the top pedestal, they will need to outperform the world's top-ranked Russian pair of Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov.

"This is a good time for Eric and I to be hitting the peak of our career and to be a the top of our game," Duhamel said as the 2014 Olympics approach. She said she and Radford have been prepared for the Olympics for their entire time together.

[Sylvia]

I also posted a second Duhamel/Radford article published by northernlife.ca (includes video) in the Canadian Pairs thread earlier today:
Excerpt:

[Duhamel:] “And here we are again today – not only to support going to the Olympics, but to win a medal at the Olympics for the Town of Lively, for Walden and for Walden and for Sudbury.”

Since teaming with Radford in 2010, Duhamel has enjoyed success, including winning national championships in 2012 and 2013, winning at the 2013 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and taking home a bronze medal at the 2013 world championships in London, Ont., in March.

Duhamel said their families have always been there when they needed them, offering support when times were difficult.

“They're the ones who put us on ice; they're the ones who kept us in skating in the times when maybe we wanted to quit or didn't think we could do it,” she said. “They encouraged us to stick with it. So it will be their Olympic moment when we get to go to the Olympics.”
...
And Duhamel said the pair is doing everything necessary preparing for Sochi.

“We're exactly on track to where we wanted to be entering the Olympic season – as medal contenders for the Olympics,” she said. “We're entering as the third-ranked team in the world. And we want to push the Russians, who are ranked as the No. 1 team.”

[aftershocks]

... S/S have demonstrated the ability to fall apart on a number of occasions and V/T have underperformed a few times too...

Sure S/S have made mistakes and have not always given strong performances (particularly this past season with Aliona's illness [and/ or some injuries] limiting their training time, and their music and costume choices not panning out). However, I've never witnessed S/S falling apart in the sense of becoming unhinged. They generally always pull themselves together to finish strong whenever they make mistakes. Aliona and Robin under Steuer's tutelage have been the gold standard in pairs skating practically since they first came on the scene. As has been said, S/S and S just don't get enough credit.

You think Tatiana and Max "under-performing" is gonna take many points away, particularly in Sochi? Didn't happen last season, and the odds are that it won't this coming season. In any case, I wouldn't bet on V/T "under-performing" leading up to the Olympics, and particularly not in their home arena. They had a poorly conceived sp in 2011-2012, and performed it sloppily at 2012 Worlds, but did you happen to see how they performed their fp in Nice under tremendous pressure???

...

And while we all want these skaters to stay in good health, injuries could be a factor, particularly for Szolkowy who isn't young either. Look what happened to Zhao in 2006...

Yes, yes let's light candles in hopes every skater stays healthy. Let's pray everyone's strong enough for the battle to be joined on the ice instead of in our or the judges' minds. And well, Robin S ain't that old either! Heh, heh.

Yeah sure Zhao had injuries leading up to 2006 Olympics, but it was more Totmianina/ Marinin skating while Russian, and the Zhangs coming back from a fall to mesmerize perplexed judges that happened to Shen/ Zhao in 2006. And in any case, Shen/ Zhao and Pang/ Tong happened to S/S at 2010 Olympics. I don't feel sorry for Zhao, nor for Robin. Huge talent, admirable tenacity, huge accomplishments from both of them.


BTW, Duhamel/ Radford are the real deal. Their 2012 Canadian Nationals fp sent chills up my spine. That experience and those magical moments they shared with us are pure and joyful evidence of what figure skating is all about at its essence!!!

[screech]

I like them, but am I the only one annoyed with how articles always focus on Meagan? I just want to tell her to let Eric speak or get some spotlight once and a while.

[aftershocks]

Awww ..., they seemed pretty equal and well-balanced as a team during their TSL interview. Mayhap Eric has a less outgoing personality, but no less interesting. They certainly seem to understand themselves and each other very well.

[Sylvia]

I like them, but am I the only one annoyed with how articles always focus on Meagan? I just want to tell her to let Eric speak or get some spotlight once and a while.

Many of the articles are published in Duhamel's hometown paper. There were quite a few articles about Radford composing the music for their 2013-14 short program that were posted in the Canadian Pairs thread (posts #67-70), for example: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=1#post3884433

May 2nd article titled "Pair uses Radford's original score to pay tribute; Skater penned music following death of coach [Paul] Wirtz in 2006" (originally posted in the Program Music/Choreography thread): http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news
Excerpt:

Last summer, Radford approached choreographer Julie Marcotte about the idea of using music he'd composed in 2006 following the death of his then coach, Paul Wirtz.

"I credit Paul to really training me into the skater I am," said Radford, who began taking from Wirtz in Toronto when he was 16. "He gave me all of my technique, my understanding of jumping. He guided me into having this classical style of skating. He gave me confidence to go in that direction.

"When he passed away, it really turned my whole world upside down. He was all I knew at that time when it came to skating. It was a huge thing in my life."

Link to the thread on D/R's joint interview with TSL before Worlds: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...adford+Duhamel

[Andrey aka Pushkin]

No.

[AragornElessar]

Thanks to one and all for the links to the articles. My BiL and Sister were here all weekend and when that happens, Good Luck seeing anything on the news, as he flips between five different broadcasts in the space of a minute and yet seems to think he's well informed. Anyway....Knowing MCTV as I do, it wouldn't shock me if they didn't cover it. That station's gone so downhill, it's sad.

So thanks so much for those links!!!