Welcome back
So that's the situation after the short program
Hanyu the leader by 7 points, or virtually 7 points
And he'll be last to go, Machida will go in front of him, Kovtun in front of him
It's a great format isn't it?
Great for TV, great for the spectators here
This is "sudden death" (innappropriate, usually describes a competition that ends as soon as one competitor scores)
Yeah it really is, it's super
Although not always fair because it's not easy always, to skate at the end
Kovtun said yesterday, first time he's ever skated last in the Grand Prix finals
And the nerves "got to him" (affected him badly)
The tension got to him
So, it's not always favourable
But Hanyu is an experienced "campaigner" (soldier who has fought many battles)
And... uh...
...I think it's perfect for the TV perfect for the audience as you rightly said
What must be going through this guy's mind
Yes, he let his crowd down yesterday
Not sure, that looks like dad doesn't it, I think that's the family
There's his coach Brian Orser, also the coach of Hanyu
Good thing for Brian is that they're not skating "back to back" (one right after the other) which would have happened.
That would have been tough
Yeah
The time to focus on Javier, and then turn his attention to Yuzuru
This going last, obviously as you say, you have time to build up, time to think, perhaps too much time...
...what about the quality of the ice, does that diminish a little bit?
It's not too bad, with 6 six skaters it won't feel too bad
It won't be the ice that's the problem, it's losing the "feel" and all the things
..and all the things, all the "gremlins" (worries) that are going through your mind
...while you're sat there, and all that's going on in the arena
You try to get yourself away from it
They'll go... most of the guys go backstage while the skating's gping on...
But you can't help feel the atmosphere, and sense when somebody puts a great performance in
And that does have an impact
Machida there
He was... he's been struggling in practice
He said it's been difficult because his last Grand Prix was in Europe
So he's gone back to Japan, had a little bit of practice, come back again here
And he doesn't feel "in a great place" (not comfortable/confident)
So we'll see if he can settle down and put in a goof Free performance here
Hundreds upon hundreds have made the trip from Japan to watch this event
So there's 3 Japanese guys in the final
Baseball's very big in Japan, so is football naturally...
...but individually there's not a bigger star in the massive country than Yuzuru Hanyu
Dressed for the occasion
You thought of wearing that, didn't you?
Yeah, I wondered where I'd put it actually
I'll go and have a chat with her later, see if I can get it back
Nerves must be jangling now
Voronov's been pretty consistent though hasn't he, this year
Yeah, he's skated well
Just a little nervy in places, but yeah he's had a good season so far
And he'd be thrilled to be in this Grand Prix final, he's "in the shake up" (he has a chance)
He comes into this in 4th place, but he knows he's got Fernandez "hot on his heels" (very close behind him)
And there he is, Javier will come out "with all guns blazing" (will try his hardest)
He's got to put that performance from yesterday right behind him, right in the back of his mind
And focus on the "job in hand" here, real test of character for him
Must be difficult for Orser, he's got to have eyes everywhere
He's been there before though, he knows what it's all about
Just fantastic atmosphere
They really have got into the spirit of the event, haven't they?
They're really getting behind the skaters
You know that can really instill some brilliant performances
We may see something special here
I have the feeling... in fact it was a little disappointing yesterday
Yes
I thought, the short program
It was indeed
Considering the atmosphere, and obviously so much dependent on this guy
...and he didn't "produce", but yeah, I've got a feeling that this could be something out of the ordinary here this evening
Yeah I think Hanyu came out first, didn't he, in the short program, and he "spoilt the party"! (too good, affected the other skaters)
He did
So it'll be Mura first
Then Fernandez, then Voronov...
Kovtun will go 4th
And then finally the two leaders from Japan, Machida and then the Olympic and World champion, Yuzuru Hanyu
So, well, whether you go along with the judges or not, Fernandez was marked very, very high
And now, let's see what Hanyu can do
He's got 15 marks "in hand" over Fernandez
It should be "a walk in the park" (easy) for him, especially if he skates like yesterday
The World and Olympic champion
He's a dream to watch, and I hope we have a dream-like performance here
More music from Phantom for the 20-year-old from Japan, Yuzuru Hanyu
Two quads, here's the first
Perfect! Quad salchow
Now for the second, the toe-loop
Ooh! Majestic! What a start from Hanyu
Now there's a completely different level of skating quality here, right in the early stages
So much speed going into these quads, and there's the flip
Ooh...
Lutz and toe-loop with the arms aloft
It looked like he got off-axis and he got back, straight away
That was the one that went down on the short program, really made sure of it then
Well this is one of his great performances at the moment
Triple axel, triple-toe there
Ooh!
Trile axel, loop, triple salchow
Well he's unstoppable
Ooh, what a shame!
But he's won. Already.
You nearly run out of "superlatives" (words to describe how great he is) for Yuzuru Hanyu
But there's one that comes to mind: "Inspirational"
After what happened to him when he's...
..if you're not aware, he was knocked out cold in Shanghai in the warmup for an event there
Went on and skated, against a lot of people's advice...
...fell a couple of times, and fell all over the place in Osaka the week after...
...and here, he comes to Barcelona and produces one of the performances of his life
Right across the spectrum of sport, there are few performers male or female, who are as special as this young man
I'm absolutely with you, I think you hit the nail right on the head
To come back from where he's been
He said coming into this, he just wanted to improve on the performances that he's given in the Grand Prix series already
And that was a "quantum leap" (huge step up) from anything we've seen this season so far
Inbcredible, what a come-back from this guy
He says he feels like got his feeling back, he feels like his weight's over his skate now
His confidence is there, and you can see it
Unbelievable
He came out with so much speed into this first quadruple salchow
Yup
Amazing stuff
We're not talking here about the best skater of the year
We're not even talking about the best skater of his generation
He may be one of the greatest skaters, if not THE greatest skater, of all time
As long as he doesn't get injured!
yeah, he's a very special guy, there's no doubt about it
He's the "real deal" (truly great)
And maturity that he has now from a year ago, despite that terrible clobbering that he got
Yes, just to, you know, just to mentally come back and do this...
Defies belief really
And one of the great things I love about this guy is, he's showing his versatility
He's got two completely different programs to what he had last year
Remember he had that Gary Moore bluesy number
Yes
And he comes out here, with two much more classical pieces
And he fits right into those as well
He can do anything, this guy
And put the quads in there as well!
Just sensational
Well he'll be around for the next, what, another 3 years to defend his title, "you can bet your bottom dollar" (it's a certainty)
Yes, it's great to hear
And he stays modest, you can se how much it means to him
Not just that he's won this, but the quality of the performance that he produced
Yeah, fantastic
I tell you what, we should give a mention to Brian Orser as well, he's got first and second in the Grand Prix final, so well done to him
He went around the houses to get there (took a difficult route), but he got there in the end
He got there in the end, but there really wasn't a second here (score of 2nd is so far behind)
288, very nearly his personal best 293
He wins the competition by some THIRTY FIVE points
That's a marathon distance
The best figure skater in the world
Well we said, we thought there was going to be something exceptional tonight, and we've seen it from this "fella" (fellow)
Yeah, it's been a really really good competition
Great for Javier to pull himself back, and handle the pressure
But goodness me, what a performance there, from Yuzuru. What a way to end this men's competition
Yuzu: Hello. Hi. My English is not good.
I guess she's going to be asking questiions in English
This may be tougher than the (skating) routine!
Yes (laughs) I think you're right
Can we say that you're fully recovered after your accident in the grand prix?
Um...
I'm not the perfect today...
...not yet
But, um...
But I did it, I did it almost perfect...
So I'm so happy today
That takes a lot of courage, I'm very impressed
Well you can tell that he is a perfectionist
Yes (laughs)
It was very close to perfectuon, wasn't it
Yeah
I tell you what, when he goes home he's going to work hard on those lutzes
It let him down in both the short and the long
So Yuzu, in Japan, figure skating is really famous (popular). What would you say to the Spanish crowd, to the Spanish people to come and join the figure skating world?
Great for the Spanish that they can see Fernandez do himself justice here
...And then see a performance like this
Um... I... Um...
Looks... looks like... looks like more than... more than Japanese people, that's me...
Everyone (is) crazy!
(laughs)
Crazy for Javi and me
So I'm happy (unintelligible)
I think Javi is happy too
Yeah, well he'd know Javier pretty well now, because skates alongside him quite a lot of the time
Imagine what it's like at at training session with those two pushing each other!
Quads coming at every angle (from all directions)
They should have crowds watching those training sessions in Toronto
And "you wouldn't put it past him" (you can expect)...
Sara: Thank you Yuzuru
Yuzu: Thank you very much! "Gracias!" ("thank you" in Spanish)
...to be perfect in the world championships in Shanghai
Yeah, I'll tell you, he's been... in the Summer he was doing a program with a quad loop in it as well
So just wait for that!
Sensational
So there it is. Kovtun unlucky, finishes in 4th place.
Japan a little disappointing I'm afraid, Mura and Machida
But then, not finally with the majestic Yuzuru Hanyu, the winner of the Grand Prix final, here in Barcelona