Old guard out to keep young guns at bay
Battle for gold
LONDON, March 25, (RTRS): Javier Fernandez, Yuzuru Hanyu and Patrick Chan have won the last six men’s titles at the figure skating world championships but the ‘old guard’ will be under pressure in Helsinki to quell the growing threat posed by a gang of high-flying upstarts.
In the final global meet before next February’s Winter Olympics in South Korea’s Pyeongchang, the trio will be eager to show that they are still capable of pulling off more soaring quadruple jumps than their younger rivals. when darkness suspended secondround play on Friday at the Puerto Rico Open.
The three Americans were knotted at 11 under par on the rain-softened Coco Beach course, with Lunde having three holes to complete as one of 45 players returning early on Saturday to finish the round in Rio Grande.
DeChambeau fired a seven-under-par 65, Points a 69, and Lunde was fourunder for the day after an opening 65.
New Zealand left-hander Tim Wilkinson joined a large group one off the lead with a sizzling 63, playing his last eight holes in seven under par.
PGA Tour rookie Trey Mullinax, who grabbed the first round lead at 63 five days after getting married, remained at nine under par after 13 holes when play was halted.
Just seven years ago, American Evan Lysacek captured the 2010 Olympic gold without attempting a single quadruple jump.
That prompted 2006 Olympic gold medallist Yevgeny Plushenko to claim Lysacek was “not a true champion” and that he had won gold by “dancing rather than skating like a man”.
Now it is no longer a question of ‘if’ the top contenders will attempt a skill that requires them to lift off into the air and complete four revolutions before touching down on the ice, but ‘how many’ quads they will pull off.
The battle for the gold medal is likely to be between double world champion Fernandez and Japan’s Hanyu, who won the Olympic and world titles during a magical few weeks in 2014.
The two Brian Orser graduates have been untouchable at the world championships for the last two years, leaving the rest of the field to chase bronze.
However, with 17-year-old American Nathan Chen capturing the top prize at last month’s Four Continents competition, the chasing pack is closing in fast.
Fernandez, 25, still expects to be fighting it out with Hanyu for gold in Helsinki but said emerging talents such as China’s Jin Boyang and Japanese teenager Shoma Uno could not be discounted.
When Chan decided to take a break after his Olympic dreams were dashed, his quad repertoire was limited to quad-toeloops. A year into his comeback, he has added a quad Salchow to his arsenal in an attempt to keep pace with the young tyros.
Fernandez said the younger skaters were developing quickly.
Recent form suggests that the other titles will be more clear cut as defending women’s champion Evgenia Medvedeva has not been beaten this season, while 2010 Olympic ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have enjoyed a comeback to savour.
Following a two-year hiatus, the Canadians have won every meet they have entered and look set to end the two-year reign of their French training partners Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.