Lots on the line at the Trophee Eric Bompard
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 | 04:12 PM ET
The Trophee Eric Bompard event is the fourth in a series of six ISU Grand Prix events leading up to the Grand Prix final in Turin, Italy in December.
The goal is to earn as many placement points as possible in order to become one of the top six contenders in each discipline. Many of the top skaters have completed the maximum two events in which they are allowed to compete, while many more are looking to skate their best at their second event.
What does this mean? For example, Canada’s Patrick Chan currently has 11 points as a result of his bronze-medal finish at Skate America. If he were to win in Paris, he would receive 15 points and move into a tie with Evan Lysacek of the U.S., who has finished both of his events and has 26 points. Lysacek now has to sit and wait over the next three weeks to see if his 26 points will be enough for a trip to Turin.
For reigning world champion, Brian Joubert of France, this will be his second GP event. Being in France, he will definitely have the hometown advantage.
Along with Chan, Canada is also sending Christopher Mabee, who was dazzling in his free program at Skate Canada and will be looking to try and hit the podium here.
On the women's side, Canada's Mira Leung faces an uphill battle as 2006 world champion Kimmie Meissner of the U.S. and 2007 world silver medallist Mao Asada of Japan will be in the field. Both these women won their respective firstst Grand Prix events and have 15 points each. Also competing in her second Grand Prix is Ashley Wagner from the U.S., a very feisty and promising competitor who was this year’s world junior bronze medalist.
The picture is a bit more clear in the pairs competition. There will be a spot in the GP final for both Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison of Canada and Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China. They have finished their two events and have 28 points each.
China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhan, the Olympic silver medalists, will start their GP series at this event. The team has great athletic prowess, but their performances all last season were inconsistent to say the least. Canada’s Jessica Miller and Ian Moram will also be here and are looking to build on the success of last week’s bronze medal at the Cup of China.
For ice dance fans, Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto won both their events, and with 30 points will definitely be invited to the GP final. This will still be a good event, though. Many of the competitors are at the same level, so the podium will come down to who can skate three solid segments in this competition.
Heavily favoured are French dance champions Isabel Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, ranked fourth at this year’s world championships. Some wonderful performances can also be expected from the French team of Pernelle Caron and Mathieu Jost, and Italians Anna Cappelini and Luca Lanotte. These teams were very well prepared and their programs cleverly conceived and choreographed when we last saw them at Skate Canada.
Pj’s picks:
- Men: Brian Joubert (France)
- Ladies: Mao Asada (Japan)
- Pairs: Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang (China)
- Dance: Isabel Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (France)
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About the Author
Pj Kwong is CBC Country Canada's figure skating expert. A television commentator since 2001, the veteran figure skating coach has covered five of the last seven ISU World Figure Skating Championships, two ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships, several Four Continents and Grand Prix Finals for CBC, CTV, TSN and TBS, to name a few.
Fluent in English, French, German and Spanish, Pj has travelled the world as public address announcer, working at three Olympic Games, two world figure skating championsips and several Skate Canada and Canadian national championships.
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- Canada's Chan leads surprises at Paris Grand Prix
- Sunday, November 18, 2007
- Lots on the line at the Trophee Eric Bompard
- Wednesday, November 14, 2007
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- Looking ahead to Cup of China
- Thursday, November 8, 2007
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Comments
Lochka
PA
Pssst. It's "Hao Zhang."
:)
Posted November 14, 2007 05:50 PM