Nebelhorn Pairs FS
Aussie (+Russian): not quite as strong here as at their JGP, but off to a really promising start.
Ukrainians: Not in danger of being poached by another fed.
Partner du jour + Kras: imagine what he could have accomplished if he was willing to let one of these partnerships last; the talent squandered is kind of infuriating.
German #2s: real shame there's not two spots, but I'm rooting for the other guys, sorry. So are the judges, based on the scoring here.
Chinese: This is the sort of result that can kill careers when you skate for a dictatorship.
Spaniards:
When you consider this is Barquero's third partnership in four years, she's an incredible natural talent, honestly maybe on the same level as Javier Fernandez. He's also pretty good.
German #1s: really doubling down on that program niche, but when you find one, make it work for you. The main thing holding this team back is that he always looks like he's on the verge of aborting their lifts. Gotta pump some iron.
Team Georgia, Russians in Disguise: Also rougher than at their JGP (and, let's be honest, a bit lucky), but another impressive partnership put together only recently.
Nebelhorn RD
Finns: great that the injuries mid-quad didn't derail them. So close now, guys!
Junior Fear & Senior Waddell: The Fear Sisters Olympic Team dream will have to wait another four years, though it's maybe not a good sign that George's younger brother scored several points higher than this in the RD on the same day.
Italian NextGen: These two made no impression on me during their JGP appearances, but they seem to have become the Italian #2s now; sadly, being the Italian #2 no longer means a guaranteed Olympic qualification.
Aussie (+Canadian): Holly is a total star. The pandemic probably especially hinders teams like this that could have used more uninterrupted training time, but keep on trucking to 2026.
AmeriKoreans: Sadly looking like they're going to be the ones on the outside looking in. That they didn't beat K/R even with the latter's errors shows the judges aren't with them.
CanArmenians: Just keep complaining until your dreams come true!
Team Georgia, Russians in Disguise: Great to have them back, but this was rough. Program looks to be cool when skated well, though.
Sharpay & Ryan: now here's a team that really came from nowhere. We're not too far away from there being two Czech sibling dance teams at Euros.
Nebelhorn Men
Zandron: calls to mind that
Simpsons bit about the "no Homers" club; the Olympics have a sign that says "no Zandrons", they're allowed to have one.
Fentz: his program choices are so counterintuitive to his apparent personality.
Romsky: this is why the fed doesn't want to give you things, Roman.
Lee: Wuzrobbed on PCS.
Litvintsev: the first time I saw this program (at Lombardia) I actually didn't make the connection that it was supposed to be a Joker program, so the music selection was very confusing.
Unknown Jesus: unique program choice, and considering this was his first real international assignment of note, he held up well.
Italian #3: feels more and more like a real threat to the top two guys.
Kerry: strange costuming choice and messy performance, but who cares, he's heading to his third Olympics.
Siao Him Fa: Richaud is spread so thin these days that very little of his work really stands out to me in a good way, but this is one of his more compelling recent programs.
UR King: Won the gold and wasn't completely eviscerated by Amano, the wins just keep piling up.
www.youtube.com
It was much better here at NHT, he seems to enjoy playing it all out, and it works ok, but his big strength is classic, so.... oh well.... Maybe he wanted something different. The outfit is actually quite stylish, though I need the tights back.
