Frank Caroll's interview: There were no clashes
- Frank, let's start by clarifying, when did this take place and what kind of training was it?
- It was March 29th, the day before the main event and they were practicing with music.
- So, it was not the day of the event and not at the TD Garden Arena?
- No-no. It wasn't at the main arena, but at the Steriti Memorial Rink.
- What was the overall situation on the ice?
- There were 6 people on the ice, but the practice was wrapping up and most skaters moved toward the barriers.
- What was Denis doing at the moment when Hanyu started preparing for his jump?
- Denis was in the center of the ice and he was practicing a combined spin which he does at the end of his short program.
- The main question on everyone's mind is: was there really a collision?
- No, there wasn't. Hanyu was going for his jump in the center of the rink, straight at Denis while he was doing his spin. There was no collision.
- Again, what was Hanyu doing at that moment?
- He was practicing his triple axel. He moved to the center while Denis was spinning in one spot.
- And what happened then?
- Well, he still went at Denis, then yelled something angrily and passed him by, but he still continued with his movement, jumped the triple axel and then he fell.
- Do you remember what exactly did Hanyu say?
- I don't know, he yelled in Japanese.
- What is your take on the situation?
- Nobody is at fault. Neither Denis nor Hanyu are guilty. Things like these happen quite often. First of all, Denis was performing his spin and thus he wasn't aware of what exactly was happening on the ice when Hanyu's music started playing. Second, Hanyu is an experienced athlete and an Olympic champion. He could have gone two feet on one side of Denis or two feet on the other side of Denis. There was enough space between Denis and the barrier, since there was nobody else on the ice by that time. It was possible to change the direction a little bit before making the triple axel. It doesn't take much skill, but, for some reason, Hanyu still didn't do it. Hanyu once collided with Han Yan in China, where both boys were badly injured. He also had a collision with Murakami at the Japanese Nationals, where no-one was injured. And now here he has this incident with Denis Ten. It seems to me like a pattern of collisions and it's strange that it happened three times.
- Can you tell me more about the axel jump? Particularly, how is it different from other jumps?
- This jump is the only one that is conducted face-forward, whereas in other jumps you move backwards, because that way it is easier to vault using the toe-pick. The triple axel is an extremely difficult jump and you have start prepping for it at the far end of the ice rink.
- Does this mean that, in order to perform the triple axel, the skater should be able to see everything that's in front of him?
- Yes, and since it is a long way from the end of the rink to its center, I think that Hanyu had enough time to get ready and adapt his pattern.
http://vesti.kz/figure_skating/218402/