1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,600 This episode of the Rocker Skating Podcast is brought to 2 00:00:02,600 --> 00:00:05,480 you by MK Blades, the choice of champions. 3 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:09,400 For nearly a century, MK has crafted world class figure 4 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,320 skating blades, trusted by Olympians and beginners alike. 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:16,600 Whether you're perfecting your first jumps or chasing gold, MK 6 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,800 gives you the edge you need. Visit mkblades.com and find your 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:29,360 perfect pair. Welcome to the Rocker Skating 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:34,080 Podcast. Junior World is over, and that 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:39,480 means we're talking about one last competition to go in this 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:47,960 marathon, marathon of a season. And we just had a marathon, 11 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:52,120 marathon of a Junior World. Hi, Michelle. 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:52,400 How are? You. 13 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:54,720 Hi, Jackie. I'm I've been watching a lot 14 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:57,880 more skating than I expected to be at this point in the season, 15 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:02,720 but here we are. Same, same. 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,080 We had what was billed to be 51 women's short programs, which 17 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,000 ended up being 50 because we had one withdrawal. 18 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:15,000 Not that that really changed much in terms of the amount of 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,960 time we were spending watching the Olympics or, sorry, watching 20 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:20,840 watching the Junior World Championships. 21 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:26,040 Incidentally, I was also watching Olympic replays in 22 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:31,520 between all these Junior world's programs because I just can't 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,480 get enough apparently. We had 50 women's short 24 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,800 programs, we had 43 men's short programs, we had 30 rhythm 25 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,960 dances and we had 18 pairs short programs. 26 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,440 There was a lot of Ricky Martin and it was a lot of Backstreet 27 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:46,760 Boys. Backstreet. 28 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,880 Boys, you know the Backstreet's back all right. 29 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,120 All right. And the, the, the, the thing 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,560 about the Ricky Martins and the Backstreet Boys is not just that 31 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,240 there were many of them. It was that they just 32 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,040 coincidentally happened to have gone back-to-back multiple 33 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:08,080 times. So many times, even in the last 34 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:13,560 group, like second and third last skaters, like both skated 35 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,360 to Baxter's back. Everybody. 36 00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:25,000 I just, I, you know, next year when they have the waltz, 37 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:26,280 hopefully they'll have the waltz. 38 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:32,080 Although weird little little rumor that came out of Junior 39 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:37,000 World is one of the ice dancers. I think it is Amber Perrier. 40 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,240 Gianissini was talking about how the Golden Waltz is not going to 41 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,880 have key points next year, it's just going to be GOE only. 42 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,040 I saw that. That'd be interesting. 43 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:52,000 The thing about key points though, is we'll, we'll have 44 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,720 more discussion about this if we're if and when we don't 45 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,920 actually have key points. But the thing, thing about key 46 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:02,280 points for me is that you end up really focusing on 4 very 47 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,440 specific things. And therefore to get those 48 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:12,000 levels called you are really as ice dancers, you know, you're 49 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:14,560 always optimizing for levels, you're always optimizing for 50 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,840 points. You have to focus on those 51 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:22,280 specific 4 things before you focus on the entire pattern, 52 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,200 which in some ways it's a little bit of a detriment, right? 53 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,480 Because you get, you get the GOES from the actual pattern 54 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:32,160 itself, but you get the levels called for these four particular 55 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,720 steps or turns. Yeah, I mean, I'd like for them 56 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,120 to focus more on the pattern and connecting to the music than the 57 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:40,680 key points. However, I am afraid that 58 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,240 they're going to do something like put the key points in the 59 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,080 criteria for the element and we're going to get a ton of 60 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,760 golden walls. Exclamation point. 61 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:49,800 Like everyone can have an exclamation point. 62 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:56,400 Well, GWBS, there's going to be a lot of GWBS. 63 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,600 George Washington's Golden Waltz. 64 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,520 Golden Waltz. Well, should we start with the 65 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,360 the dance since we are talking about dance? 66 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,560 It's a great dance event. It was, but you know what was 67 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,320 interesting? And I want to hear your, your 68 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:19,800 perspective on this because when I saw a boy in Resolukin's Vogue 69 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,640 at the Junior Grand Prix Final, I was so enamoured by it. 70 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,680 And then when I saw it here at Junior World, I was like, this 71 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:29,880 is not the same program. Like it felt like it was 72 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,040 different energy, different, whatever. 73 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,760 Definitely like I. Yeah, I definitely think they 74 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,440 didn't perform it to their maximum ability. 75 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:39,440 It was there was a little scratchiness. 76 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:42,680 There wasn't like I think the freedom and their movement, I 77 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,200 felt like they were almost off time a little bit in their 78 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:47,120 rotational lift at the end. I feel like she didn't get her 79 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,680 leg all the way around him, so she was like just hanging on. 80 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,320 Yeah, it was not their best performance of it. 81 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,560 I also think that they are very, I feel like Hannah Boyen is this 82 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:03,840 like baby diva Glamazon. She is just so she has so much 83 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,520 performance energy. And the Grand Prix Final had 84 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,480 this huge arena of people just eating it up. 85 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,800 And Junior World was a little different, was a smaller venue, 86 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,120 less people in the audience. And I think that might have also 87 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:16,920 impacted their performance a little bit. 88 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,480 Their freelance though, I think was really strong. 89 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:22,240 I. Agreed. 90 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:28,360 Yeah, I, I, I did think Vogue for me was, was a little 91 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,480 frenetic, like it was a little Gumby in some ways. 92 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,280 And like the the the the the positions and the structure of 93 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,640 their shapes were not as. Defined. 94 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:43,720 Precise, yeah, defined as it, as it has been in other 95 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:45,960 competitions. And I, I frankly, I thought they 96 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,200 should have been like second or third in the in the rhythm 97 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:49,760 dance. It definitely. 98 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:51,000 I would know. I don't know if I would go that 99 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,560 far, but I maybe second. I love that French team's 100 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,320 backstreet voice rhythm dance. It definitely, yeah. 101 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,320 It's like, I think it was a timing issue, and that's so 102 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,480 their positions are getting rushed because the timing was 103 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,160 off in a weird way. I stand by their performance of 104 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,000 that program at the Junior Grand Prix Final is the definitive 105 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,360 vogue rhythm dance of the season, period. 106 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:16,080 You know, I don't disagree with you. 107 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:23,800 The I I did I I also liked Periagenosini and Blank Blank 108 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:30,000 Clopperman's rhythm dance. The one that I loved was very 109 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,200 own and brand new. I thought they were totally. 110 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:37,400 Underscored and it was like that was so it was like Daft Punk, 111 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,160 like around the world and another piece and there oh, they 112 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,600 were just so in the rhythm of it and just their choreography was 113 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,840 so good. Mark was saying on the broadcast 114 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:48,840 that Mark Henry that it should have been like a 10 for 115 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:50,840 composition or like the best score of the event for 116 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,120 composition, maybe not a 10, but I absolutely agree with that. 117 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,480 I think the program construction and the way that it was like 118 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,280 choreographed to the music, it was really, really satisfying. 119 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:07,000 And they, they skate, they really like, they remind me a 120 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:13,280 bit of Hubble Donahue at their best in terms of like, how like 121 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:19,920 they have such a, a lot of times the ice makes skaters look small 122 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:24,040 because it's such a huge rink. And I feel like they actually 123 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:28,680 fill out the ice really well. And, and their aggressiveness 124 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:33,680 and, and the, the way that they step into things is just so, so 125 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,880 good. That was my. 126 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,320 Thought it's it's like there's kind of an efficiency to their 127 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:41,760 movements that allow them to put more energy into sort of the 128 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,640 dance movement and just the the musicality. 129 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,080 They don't need to do too much work because they just kind of 130 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,600 fly around. I, I feel terrible saying this, 131 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:53,840 but I kind of think they should have been third here. 132 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,960 No offense to the Ukrainian team who are seem lovely and I'm just 133 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,320 not crazy about that Moulin Rouge free dance. 134 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:08,400 I think they, the top four were, were the top 4, right? 135 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,480 Like I, I think those were the four that should have been in 136 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:15,120 the top 4. I, This is why I was saying I 137 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:19,880 think I, I, I would have had a boy in Veseluc in second or 138 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,440 third in the sense that I would have had the French and the 139 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,240 Canadians above them in the rhythm dance. 140 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:30,880 I think overall, if you took their free dance into account, 141 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,120 they absolutely won this one. The the free dance was 142 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,840 definitely the class of the field. 143 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:44,280 Yeah, some of those that, that, that, that that lift is just so 144 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:45,720 oh. At the end when she has her leg 145 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,800 up behind her and she's just like, yes, oh, that was that was 146 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,000 great. The the big musical accents in 147 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:52,600 that program and the way she hit them. 148 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:54,960 Hannah Maria hit them with such definition in her body. 149 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,000 It was like, really, really exciting and yeah. 150 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,040 It was the opposite of what we saw in rhythm dance where I was 151 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,520 talking about kind of Gumby, right? 152 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,120 Like I the, the, the, the precisioning was very, very 153 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,600 good, very strong. And, and it, it was like we were 154 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,480 seeing two different teams from the rhythm dance to the free 155 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:18,960 dance. I love her skating. 156 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:21,320 I think she is the she is the star of that. 157 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,440 Team very, very grish. I'm I'm so excited that they're 158 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,360 American and they're, we have them in the US and they're so 159 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,480 good. I'm so excited to see where they 160 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,840 go. They are. 161 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:38,920 She's only 15, right. So they have another year, let's 162 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:41,120 say birthdays in May. So they have another year of 163 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:42,920 junior. I think these other three teams 164 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,840 are eligible to move up. I don't know if they're all 165 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,600 going to, but they're eligible, yeah. 166 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:57,560 Yeah, I think Begin and Koval, the Ukrainians that they, they 167 00:09:57,560 --> 00:10:02,920 get their points and their excitement from the crazy lifts 168 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:07,960 that they do and and the the craziness of also their 169 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:09,680 twizzles, right. I think those two are the 170 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:14,600 standouts for them. I also tend to agree with you on 171 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:19,280 the the Moulin Rouge. Was it like, I think it's for me 172 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:22,200 that the fact that they're they're using Moulin Rouge the 173 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:28,040 Musical and Moulin Rouge the Musical is such a hodgepodge of 174 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:33,320 random songs, like even more so than the movie, even some more 175 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:35,320 so than the movie that like you're like, what? 176 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,240 What's going on? What is the story that we're 177 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,160 telling right now? Yeah, Tarzan, the Tarzan was. 178 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,880 God, I love the Tarzan program. It was a cool idea and they just 179 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:48,120 executed so well. I am such a big fan. 180 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,400 I mean, go on and on about this, about the Lyon school and the 181 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,040 work they're doing there. I mean, every team that comes 182 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:55,520 out of there, I love their material. 183 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,480 I love their style. I'm a big, I'm a big fan. 184 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,120 And I think they're doing, yeah, amazing things. 185 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,280 I do. I do think that as overall 186 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:12,800 basics, Perrier Giannacini and Blanc Cobberman, I feel like 187 00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:19,680 sometimes out skate a boy and vessel Lucan the the I think 188 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:26,400 their edge quality is superior. I think a boy and vessel Lucan 189 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:30,360 skate bigger. So it's it's a it's evenly 190 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,800 matched in some ways. They both have their strengths 191 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,360 and but, but I don't think there's one who is absolutely 192 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,080 stronger than the other right now. 193 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:43,240 That's it was a fun little rivalry this season. 194 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,080 I the Perry Giannasini and Blank Clapperman. 195 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:49,000 I think they said that they haven't decided yet if they're 196 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,720 moving up, but if they do, please invite them to Skate 197 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,520 America. Just putting my request out 198 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:01,200 there. I mean that the French ice dance 199 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,040 we. Had three French teams. 200 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,440 That's Gate America this past year. 201 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:12,480 I was very a very happy girl. So that was ice dance. 202 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,600 It was a, it was a, it was a fun event. 203 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,160 I I really liked, I really liked a lot of those different. 204 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:28,000 Oh, and also some of the creativity of the earlier teams 205 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,880 I loved like was. It a Spanish team you posted 206 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:32,760 with that leg accent. That was so cool. 207 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:37,880 It was, it was, it was. It was Laura Sundberg. 208 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,480 Hester. Gonzalez, Sundberg, Sundberg and 209 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,960 Gonzalez that the their choreo lifts or their choreo hydro 210 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:53,080 blade was so fun and such such a a departure. 211 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,960 And you saw that with some of the earlier ice dance teams 212 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:02,120 where it wasn't just that they were trying to find different 213 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,320 creative ways to do things. It was also that they were doing 214 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:09,760 things in different orders than you'd expect them to. 215 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:14,040 Like I remember there was like, you know, somebody started with 216 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:18,040 a choreo step sequence or character step sequence. 217 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,600 Like usually you see, like with the senior teams, there's a lot 218 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:24,800 of, oh, we're going to do all the big elements and then we're 219 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,640 going to do the last three and it's the three corner graph 220 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,560 things. Not that that's always the case, 221 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:32,520 but you see that. A lot. 222 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,400 Right. And, and I thought the the 223 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,520 earlier teams, because they're trying to at least 224 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:41,840 differentiate, differentiate themselves a little bit, they 225 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:44,120 were trying some different things. 226 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,160 And I, I love that for for for ice dance. 227 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,000 I also love the Spanish team doing a big bad Voodoo daddy 228 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,320 free dance, especially in the year of the 90s music. 229 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:57,400 So they have two 90s programs. That's fun. 230 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:05,120 I did find that these teenagers doing 90s programs were even 231 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:09,360 more out of place than the the 20 somethings doing 90s 232 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:09,960 programs. It's. 233 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:14,360 So weird. I'm like, you have no idea what 234 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,440 we were doing in the 90s as teenagers, but I guess that's 235 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,640 also what happens, you know, like, you know. 236 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:24,720 Lost the history only we remember. 237 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,440 The history of Figures Gang has been people skating to music 238 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,040 that was not of their generation. 239 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:38,120 So it just so happens that the 90s were our generation when we 240 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,280 were we were teenagers. So I think that's why I have 241 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,720 such a visceral reaction sometimes. 242 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:56,520 OK, Pears. Pears was a mixed bag and it was 243 00:14:56,520 --> 00:15:00,120 a general sort of mess, especially in the freaks gate. 244 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:07,040 And I don't know, I have a, I'm of two minds about the pair, the 245 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:12,840 junior pairs of on one hand, it's like, yes, they are juniors 246 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,360 and it's great that they are putting, they're, they're trying 247 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:19,360 new things. They're putting difficulty out 248 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:21,920 there that they want to be putting out before they become 249 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:28,040 seniors, all this and all that. On the other hand, like with 250 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:31,640 like Herrera and Kupta, for example, they were doing throw 251 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,280 double s because they, they're not ready for throw triples. 252 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,160 And we were seeing some throw triples that were like, no, no, 253 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:38,960 no, no, no, we're you're not ready for those yet. 254 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:47,240 So, you know, it's, it, it, it's that question of like, do you do 255 00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:51,320 really nice throw double s or do you go and, and, and try a messy 256 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:56,480 triple? And for a long time in senior 257 00:15:56,480 --> 00:16:01,960 skating, when the, the, the, the, the Ijs first started, we 258 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,400 were seeing a lot more clean double twists because there was 259 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:14,160 a long sort of regrouping period for pairs to basically relearn 260 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,240 the twist and do them differently than they used to do 261 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,120 them. So I don't know, I'm of two 262 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,400 minds, but it was a, it was a, it was a, it was a mess. 263 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,000 That's unfortunate. It was a mess. 264 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:32,920 Rojang their free skate like, but I will say quad twist to 265 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,640 open Level 3. That's a that's a positive. 266 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,920 I love seeing this brand new Ukrainian team. 267 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,280 I think he's only the guy is Ukrainian, but I love seeing 268 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,040 them. We're getting on the podium with 269 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:49,200 relatively clean skates and then Kieran Thrasher is an incredible 270 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:51,880 name. He's been on the junior circuit 271 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:53,880 for a long time. Every CM I'm like yes. 272 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,280 That's great. Kieran Thrasher. 273 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:02,160 Yeah, at the, I mean they the, the what was interesting was 274 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:08,880 capitalizer of Deroche and Thrasher, Herrera, Hapta, Flores 275 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:14,560 and Wang, they all have something of a like an early 276 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:19,040 senior look to all of them. They skate bigger. 277 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:25,040 They they are a little bit older than than some of the others, 278 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,160 right. And so, you know, Cap and 279 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:31,720 Elizaroff and Flores and Wang were both on the senior circuit 280 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,240 this year and and skated there. So you saw, you saw the 281 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,200 difference in power and maturity with those with some of those 282 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,000 teams. It's the first time in history 283 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,480 there have been 2 Canadian pairs on the junior world's podium. 284 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,040 That's yeah. I can't believe that Skate 285 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,360 Canada isn't blowing up all of my social media. 286 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,840 I just looked at that now. That's crazy. 287 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:54,080 Well, it was always like Soviet teams. 288 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:56,160 It's like they could never get more than one medalist. 289 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,880 And the first the first Junior World title for a Canadian pair 290 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:05,000 since 1978 and it was Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini. 291 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:09,320 Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Yeah, talk about, you know, 292 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,000 Canadian legends, Underhill Martini for sure. 293 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,320 All I can remember is Speaking of teenager in the 90s. 294 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,520 All I can remember is them being like, here's the leap of faith. 295 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:22,480 And I'm like, Oh my God, what is the leap of faith? 296 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,120 And it's her basically like diving into his arms. 297 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,600 If you don't know what the leap of faith is, go go watch Barbara 298 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,400 Hill, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini do that in in a 299 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,200 professional competition. It's it's pretty cool. 300 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:44,920 Also a little scary. But Herrera Copta, I, I love 301 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,320 them. I think they they are, they have 302 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:53,600 such a a, a a strong future ahead for them. 303 00:18:53,600 --> 00:19:01,120 Hannah Herrera, by the way, was US women's junior singles for a 304 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,880 few years. And so they've teamed up and now 305 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,120 they're they're representing Ukraine. 306 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:08,400 She looks like a natural she's. From Salt Lake City. 307 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:11,880 Yeah, she might have a hometown Olympics in a few years. 308 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Time for citizenship talk 309 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:18,760 already Four years. Four years before. 310 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,080 Ukraine to get Ukrainian citizenship, it's only gets too 311 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:22,840 bad a. Little bit different, really 312 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:30,080 different, but yes, capitalizer of when they were Shea and 313 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:34,560 Thrasher second, Harira Kupta third in the pairs, these kids. 314 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,960 Have had a lot. Of man, no. 315 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,520 Oh God, yes. I mean, you know, we talk about 316 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:48,640 our very first podcast episodes felt like five years ago and it 317 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:53,840 was like what, August, September of 2025? 318 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:57,160 They were already competing. They were already like at their 319 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:03,480 peak and they have to like peak again now, which, yeah, it's 320 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:07,560 it's been a long season. And also we talked about this in 321 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:13,280 the preview the. These junior skaters a lot of 322 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:18,520 the times really develop during the season and you see them 323 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:24,440 change right before your eyes. And it's, it's, it's very 324 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,640 interesting and it, it goes to show right, the the actual 325 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,720 amount of improvements you can make during six months, whether 326 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:38,240 you're a junior or a senior. But you see it more with these 327 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:41,600 junior skaters because they really are just maturing as, as, 328 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,520 as we're seeing them. OK, men. 329 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,600 Men. What a battle. 330 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,240 Yeah. What a battle it it didn't 331 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,520 disappoint. You know the the Rio Minku 332 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,080 showdown was exactly how it was. Well, not. 333 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,040 Quite. I feel like I cursed Minky a 334 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:04,360 little bit by saying in our preview episode that he has 335 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:07,160 seamlessly integrated the quad Saucow and hit it every time 336 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:10,600 when he fell. It's like, no, no. 337 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,920 He was just paying homage to Chin Wancha and. 338 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:18,480 Smacking the boards. All, all the Koreans, yeah, 339 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,200 skaters who jump a little too close to the boards and hit him. 340 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:28,000 Pose on the boards. I mean, he was great. 341 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,360 I thought, I thought his his components were a little 342 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:38,400 underscored in both programs. But you know, I think a a good 343 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:43,640 season for Minku, even though he didn't end up being as 344 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,880 competitive as he thought he was going to be for the title. 345 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,360 It was also that Rio skated lights out in both programs. 346 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,520 Rio was a beast at this competition. 347 00:21:55,800 --> 00:22:00,960 He was indomitable that opening quad Sao in his free skate. 348 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,080 I mean that like covered like zip code to zip code. 349 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:08,120 It was huge. It's a Yuma Kagiyama quad Sao. 350 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:13,040 I mean, I think it's almost that's like Samoilov distance. 351 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,520 It's huge. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 352 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:22,440 Such a such a great a couple of programs for him. 353 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,480 And early in the season we were talking about how he's he just 354 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:31,360 has had this swagger going on because he was so confident. 355 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,400 He was so well trained, even though he was injured early in 356 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:38,400 the season. And then it sort of took a dip. 357 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,800 You know, Junior Grand Prix final was like a little bit off 358 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,680 Japan Nationals was not exactly what he wanted. 359 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:51,080 And you wondered coming in if this is going to be early season 360 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:52,880 Rio, it was going to be mid season Rio. 361 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,240 And it was neither of those. It was a, it was a I'm ready for 362 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,320 seniors Rio. He was building and I, you know, 363 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,600 I think his team handled his injury correctly. 364 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,160 And yeah, he he looks great. And I'm, I'm really still a 365 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,280 little bit salty we didn't get him at the Olympics. 366 00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:13,320 I'm just, I'm still not a big, the biggest fan of the age 367 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:18,000 change, age rule change, but you know, it's over. 368 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,120 So guess we'll see him next next fall on senior. 369 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:27,320 I I mean without the, without the age eligibility stuff, we 370 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:32,440 would not have seen these rivalries go on even well. 371 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,160 We might have seen them without the other skaters, I mean. 372 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:39,960 But the way, but the way that like, Rio and Minku have been 373 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,840 1-2 three seasons, right? And the way that Mao Shimada and 374 00:23:44,840 --> 00:23:49,560 Jia Shin was three seasons and. Poor. 375 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:54,000 Oh my gosh, Mao Shimada. Anyway, we'll get into that. 376 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:56,120 We'll get into that. We'll get in. 377 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,480 We'll we'll get into poor Mao Shimada. 378 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:01,000 Yeah, we. Will that was a lot. 379 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:06,200 That was a lot to watch. But yes, Rionicada wins his 380 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:10,640 second consecutive worlds. Junior Worlds in Couseau get 381 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,440 second for the second time, and the two of them have been top 2 382 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,760 for the last three years. It's been a dynasty in a lot of 383 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,320 ways. Jacob Sanchez once again the 384 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:26,320 pewter medalist #4. Yeah, I mean, he he skated 385 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,160 pretty well, OK, his free skate was not what he's fully capable 386 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,560 of, but I think that yeah, it was it was a good effort from 387 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:34,960 him. Yeah. 388 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:40,160 Yeah. As I as I understand it, his 389 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:45,480 quad sows in practice at Junior World were better than his quad 390 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,960 sows at senior nationals at US nationals. 391 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,520 So that's it's a good sign that they're improving because he's 392 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:58,800 going to need them next year. But you know, yeah, great that 393 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:04,400 he he was able to end his season on a few good notes with US 394 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,320 nationals with four continents with here skating really well. 395 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:13,280 And, you know, he just, he needs to start next season the way he 396 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,000 ended the season, which is you got to do all your triples. 397 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:17,680 Yeah. Yeah. 398 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:23,680 And and go, go, go work on that triple sow cow that you messed. 399 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:25,880 Up Yeah, do a clean free skate if you're only doing triples. 400 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,560 Yeah, do some, do some clean free skates, Jacob. 401 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:34,240 But he, he and Lucius Gasanecki gets the three spots back for 402 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,240 the US, for the junior men, which is a, you know, it's, it's 403 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,960 a, it's a good thing for, for the, for the, for the US 404 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,600 juniors. Taiga Nishino though. 405 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:50,360 Yeah, he was great. We knew that coming in that he 406 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:54,200 was going to be a contender, one, because he's, he's a, he's 407 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:59,760 a like a generally very assertive, like in your face 408 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,200 kind of skater. And he, he, he showed that. 409 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:08,120 But two, he has two quads and he landed them, Yeah, even though 410 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,320 they were a little like everything was a little scratchy 411 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,920 in the free skate. But yeah, he did it. 412 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,080 Got it done. He got it done. 413 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:20,040 He got the base value for it. Like he was very close to to 414 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:27,320 upsetting Minkyu for the silver. Yeah, he was. 415 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,800 He was very close. Uncomfortably close. close. 416 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,840 Yeah, I know. But that I that that's also my, 417 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:40,000 that was my thing around him about Minkyu being maybe a 418 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,520 little bit underscored on the components. 419 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:48,840 I thought Tyga versus Jacob, Tyga versus make you the PCs 420 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,280 should have been a little bit larger in terms of the gap. 421 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:59,840 Same thing with hop in Choi. Like we're seeing the two guys 422 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:04,480 who have all the big quads getting components that maybe 423 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:09,040 we're just a little bit too high here relative to everybody else, 424 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:13,040 right? And they were generally fairly 425 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:17,280 stingy with components at Junior Worlds, with the exception of 426 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:18,480 Rio. If you're lucky, you get a 427 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,120 seven. Yeah. 428 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:24,680 I want to talk about Haben Choi. So there's a Meatloaf album, 429 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,880 it's called Bat Out of Hell 2 Back Into Hell. 430 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,480 And I don't, I don't know if I've ever heard the album all 431 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,600 the way through, but that title, that is how Haben Choi skates 432 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,440 his jumps. He attacked so hard and he's 433 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,320 just like, I'm out of here. I'm out here jumping like crazy. 434 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:45,920 I mean, and like Mark said, it was like he's you can tell how 435 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,840 much he enjoys jumping. I mean, it was like almost truce 436 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,200 of absolutely get to my next jump, but it's going to be huge. 437 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,440 It was very and it was very I think you mentioned this. 438 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,160 It was interesting for a Korean skater because they usually have 439 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:03,520 a lot more detail and focus on components, the presentation 440 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:04,680 and, you know, the skating skills. 441 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:06,520 And he was like, no, I'm jumping. 442 00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:09,280 Just hold, hold that thought. I'm going to jump. 443 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,400 Yeah, What's interesting about it is that because he he grew up 444 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:18,040 in the Korean system, that his basics are still pretty good. 445 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:24,360 I just, I just don't think he, in his mind as he's doing these 446 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,120 programs, that's what he's necessarily being like. 447 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:31,080 I'm going to really get my, my, you know, whatever. 448 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:36,640 But he has enough of a solid foundation that he can, he can 449 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:40,360 go through with it. But agreed, like I, I don't, you 450 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,800 know, as great of a jumper as he is, he's not there yet with 451 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:45,800 choreography. He's not there yet with 452 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,960 presentation. I don't think he wants to be 453 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,320 bothered. He has jumps to do. 454 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:57,200 I do, I, I do wonder how he develops over the next couple of 455 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:01,320 seasons as well, because, you know, you bring jumps like that 456 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:03,560 and you're, you're in the conversation. 457 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:06,360 Yeah. There are some really good 458 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,640 programs also just like if you look down the list of like some 459 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:17,040 really great skaters that some of whom were I think low balled 460 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:22,520 on on components. You know, people like Luka 461 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,520 Emedashvili, I don't know if you saw him in the short program. 462 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:31,520 He was he had this just incredibly charming short 463 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,120 program that he was totally low balled on for the for 464 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,080 components. And he should have made the free 465 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:37,000 skate. Lithuania. 466 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:39,200 Yeah. Oh, wow. 467 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:41,200 In this paragraph. By KIRO Khaliabin. 468 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:45,000 I don't watch that. Oh wow, yeah. 469 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,920 There you go. But, you know, Ian Wheeler was, 470 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:50,560 oh, he's. A beautiful senior. 471 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,240 Lynn 4 was great. Yeah, some of these like some of 472 00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,080 these junior guys who are are artists at heart and performers 473 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:04,840 at heart, loved seeing those in in the junior ranks. 474 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:12,640 So yeah, I think those men, it was a, it was a generally pretty 475 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,800 good cop to show you. Need to talk about yon How Lee 476 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:16,960 of New Zealand? Well, we should. 477 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,360 We should. This kid can jump. 478 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,960 He is a beautiful skater. He has such good technique. 479 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,160 And I'm completely confused because he has like lives and 480 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,880 trains in New Zealand, New Zealand coach that I haven't 481 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:31,480 heard of. I'm like, where did you learn 482 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,440 this? I mean, I guess you can learn 483 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,600 good technique and all kinds of places, but he's amazing. 484 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,000 I want to say something about Kangaroos, but that's Australia. 485 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:47,080 Yeah, yeah, New Zealand has. I don't know, what do they have? 486 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:48,120 It's like they have some kind of. 487 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:54,880 They have clockas. Yeah, yeah, let's see. 488 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:56,520 They have the Kiwi. That's what I'm thinking of. 489 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:57,960 The Kiwi is their bird. Yeah. 490 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,520 Ah, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, yeah, he was awesome. 491 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:07,000 I was. And I was very like, interested 492 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:11,120 in hearing him skating to the male version of AI Dreamed a 493 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,520 Dream from Les Mis. I was like, I don't know if I've 494 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,280 heard this before. Figure skating brings out some 495 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,160 of the strangest musical options out there. 496 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,640 Oh, I totally thought it was Josh Groban, but it's not. 497 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:24,840 It's some guy. It's it's a someone named Carl 498 00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,000 Locksley. Who would have thought I'm. 499 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,440 Sure, Josh Groban has a cover out there somewhere as well. 500 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,960 Oh, I am sure Josh Groban has a cover of everything. 501 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:39,200 No, he's, he's I, I've, I've really liked the skating for a 502 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:43,040 while. He, he had the breakthrough. 503 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,840 Was it two seasons ago? One, was it two seasons ago? 504 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,320 He was third at the Youth Olympics. 505 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,920 Last year he was fifth at the Junior Grand Prix Final. 506 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:58,800 This year was a little bit different for him, 507 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:04,680 unfortunately, and it was good to see him do a good short just 508 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:07,200 the the free skate just didn't really materialize for him. 509 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:12,880 But but hey, New Zealand getting getting a really good men's 510 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,080 skater. We love it. 511 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:24,440 All right, let's go to the women and let's pick up the thread of 512 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:29,040 poor Mao Shimada. So poor Mao Shimada in her 4th 513 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,680 Junior worlds because of the age rule. 514 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:37,600 She had a great short program and then I guess she was really 515 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:40,680 sick at this competition and had just an abysmal practice the 516 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,800 morning of the free skate to the point where some people thought 517 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,880 she was going to withdraw but pulled it together. 518 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,760 Came out and did a really strong free skate. 519 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,600 No quad attempt but she did a nice triple Axel to open. 520 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,840 Had a little issue with one of her spins but very respectable. 521 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,640 She is a little warrior and blocked down her 4th world 522 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:10,720 junior title, which is crazy. Yeah, that's an unbelievable 523 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,080 period of dominance. She has never finished lower 524 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:16,360 than first at an international competition. 525 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,120 She has more gold medals I think than anyone. 526 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,720 That's just out of this world. It was, it was like, it was like 527 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,160 me back in the days of intercollegiate collegiate 528 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,280 skating where I never finished lower than. 1st. 529 00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:38,040 At a, I don't know what it was intermediate program in men's 530 00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,080 programs because I was the only one competing. 531 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:43,480 That's why I never finished lower than. 532 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:49,560 First medal, Jackie. But, you know, we're talking 533 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:56,440 about Mao Shimada having been dominant over the past Four 534 00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:04,720 Seasons, having really like, strong skaters in the junior 535 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:08,760 ranks who were never able to beat. 536 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:15,960 Her yeah, yeah, yeah, it's. Including including our current 537 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,960 Olympic bronze medalist. Yeah, I mean. 538 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:25,159 Yeah, I mean, AMI couldn't beat Gia, so it's Yeah, it's really 539 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:28,320 interesting. I'm really interested too, to 540 00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:29,960 see where Mao's career goes from here. 541 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:32,000 I mean, I'm she's definitely moving up next year. 542 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,960 She said this was her last senior, her last junior 543 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:37,960 competition, so we'll see how she transitions to senior. 544 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,920 I'm guessing it will be quite well, but I'm happy for her. 545 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:48,360 That had to be just mentally so challenging to be so good and so 546 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:52,880 dominant and unable to progress into another level for so long. 547 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,760 And to have gotten through it without getting burned out. 548 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:03,480 Yeah, it's impressive. Well, she has four more years 549 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:06,960 until the Olympics on. Like, that's the crazy thing, 550 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,080 right? Four years of dominance on the 551 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:13,080 junior ranks and now she has to wait four years for the 552 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:14,680 Olympics. She can win the next three world 553 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,520 titles and then Olympic gold. So she doesn't win other color 554 00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:19,960 medals. So I mean. 555 00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,520 Apparently not. Apparently not. 556 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:24,920 But you know, you know who was the highlight for me? 557 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:29,600 Hannah Bath. My goodness. 558 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:32,600 That triple Axel, triple toe, it's like she doesn't even set 559 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:34,400 it up. She just steps up into it and it 560 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,840 is like a tornado. I mean, it is so powerful just 561 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,360 out of this world. I mean, the attack is just 562 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:44,880 incredible. She was great. 563 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,880 I, I, I I don't like. Jackie's shaking his head in 564 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:54,040 disbelief. She was, she was saying 565 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,560 something about she's basically been working on the triple Axel 566 00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:02,960 since she was 10. And so part of why she's so 567 00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:07,240 comfortable with it, right is, is that this is somewhat become 568 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:12,840 second nature for her. And the move to Japan to train 569 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:17,680 has just helped her become a much more all around skater over 570 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:25,760 the past two seasons. And gosh, the first Junior World 571 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:33,120 medal for Australia in any singles events or either of the 572 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:39,040 single events, and I think the first Junior World or world 573 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:44,480 medal for Australia. They won the bronze in 1976 in. 574 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:48,280 Pairs, Elizabeth. Kane and Peter Kane. 575 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:50,120 Oh, yeah, They've won plenty in pairs. 576 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:51,920 Sorry. They've Yeah, we know our our 577 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:53,720 teams are, yeah. Yeah, yeah. 578 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,800 Katian Harvey and Nasia Hector. Yeah, of course, Of course. 579 00:36:58,160 --> 00:36:59,440 And women's, I don't think they've. 580 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:03,600 Yeah, it's their first ever. First ever for junior worlds, I 581 00:37:03,600 --> 00:37:06,800 think also first ever for worlds that like any world, any kind of 582 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:12,240 worlds, junior or senior worlds. So history maker Hannah Bath. 583 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:18,520 Yeah, she made a good decision, moving to Japan to train with 584 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:23,040 Rio and his dad. Talk about a a power 1/2 with 585 00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:29,000 with Rio and Hannah and she's what, she's 16, right? 586 00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,400 Yeah, I think she's old enough to move up, though. 587 00:37:32,480 --> 00:37:35,760 I think her birthday is. March 6th. 588 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,640 So she just turned. 16 No, she's another year. 589 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:43,560 Another year. See Jackie, it's OK. 590 00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:44,720 It's. Not it's not the most 591 00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:50,480 delightful. You know what I'm here for World 592 00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:53,280 Junior champion Hannibal in 2027. 593 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,760 I mean, you know, she has nowhere to go but up so. 594 00:37:59,200 --> 00:38:01,000 Yeah, excited to see where she goes. 595 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,920 She's she's got so, so much potential. 596 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:08,480 And she's she's she's already proving to be a history maker. 597 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:14,880 And then my Yukaoka, who we, who we were expecting to be the one 598 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:19,640 who could challenge for gold, didn't quite have it. 599 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,680 That triple Axel in the free skate was not there. 600 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:27,760 But that short program? The Peacock theme, I'm going to 601 00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:29,960 miss it. I wouldn't mind if she kept it 602 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,760 another year. I know I love it. 603 00:38:33,240 --> 00:38:35,640 Props to Caitlin Weaver for being just amazing. 604 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:38,640 So wasn't Caitlin Weaver, apparently. 605 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:41,120 It was apparently kind of muromoto. 606 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:43,360 Caitlin Weaver did her free skate. 607 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:47,040 This is This is the at least what was. 608 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:49,520 A bone to pick with the ISU then because they have them listed in 609 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:54,160 the wrong order on her ISU bio. That's why we've been having all 610 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:59,040 these issues, apparently. Well, well done, Kana. 611 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,800 She was always an extraordinary ice dancer, so I'm I'm happy to 612 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,440 see that her skill is translating to choreography as 613 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:10,520 well. Either way, either way, Kana and 614 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:15,480 Caitlin are are they? They have this this gem and I 615 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,160 it's not even it's not even like a hidden gem anymore. 616 00:39:18,160 --> 00:39:23,280 This is the gem that is there in the world stage, on the world 617 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,320 stage. And they have been doing wonders 618 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:29,320 with choreography with her. And she seems, she just seems 619 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:35,440 like such a malleable skater in terms of choreography and that's 620 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:39,400 going to serve her really well as she progresses over the next 621 00:39:39,400 --> 00:39:42,560 four years. And you know, her jumps are 622 00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,000 strong. She has some very good 623 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,960 foundations in, in all the stuff. 624 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:48,800 Her, her jumps are big, too, right? 625 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:51,320 She's not one of those junior skaters who you're like. 626 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:53,680 No rotation issues. Yeah. 627 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,240 Are we going to lose rotation going forward? 628 00:39:56,640 --> 00:39:59,800 So hopefully she will. She will continue and I think 629 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,000 she's got another year in juniors. 630 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:10,320 But you know, there there was. What was interesting about this 631 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:17,200 junior slate was that. You didn't see as big of scores 632 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:21,440 as we've seen in the last couple of seasons, partly because I 633 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:27,760 think that that we had a Shinomano technical panel, so a 634 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,800 lot of strict calls, but partially because I the the, 635 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:36,200 the, the judging panel just felt a little bit stingy with their, 636 00:40:36,240 --> 00:40:41,320 with their scoring here too. So I don't know if it was 637 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:48,480 necessarily, you know, lower depth of of the field, but it 638 00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,680 was certainly there was certainly a little bit of both. 639 00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:54,600 I think some great skating though. 640 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:57,400 I think especially I think the short programs had some really 641 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:02,200 good stuff and the free skates were a little bit more up and 642 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:07,280 down. Yeah, but it was, you know, 643 00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:11,520 portends the future. I think that the the the the way 644 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:16,120 that these junior women have been able to progress in the 645 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:19,080 junior level on the junior level has been really good. 646 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,800 Yeah, I was really surprised by some of the mistakes we saw 647 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:25,480 from, I think metal favourites in the short program with May 648 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:27,640 Okada messing up her combination. 649 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,680 And then you saw Kim falling on her triple loop. 650 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:34,520 It was like, no. So yeah, it it, yeah. 651 00:41:36,080 --> 00:41:37,760 Those were two of the ones you expected to. 652 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:40,440 Be up there. I mean, yeah. 653 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:43,400 I mean, if I'm being honest, Mayor O'Connor shouldn't have 654 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,080 made the free skate. Yeah, probably not. 655 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:49,480 That was a big error. Single Lutz, triple toe under 656 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:51,080 rotated fall. Yeah. 657 00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:52,400 And a fall. Yeah. 658 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,560 It was just it was one of those huge errors where she was lucky 659 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:02,480 to have gotten the component scores that she got because she 660 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:06,080 didn't skate that program the way that she would normally 661 00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,560 skate it. And so, you know, she made it 662 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:14,680 barely into the free skate and then had a jump from 24th to 663 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:21,840 10th as we expected from her. But still, you know, you, this 664 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:26,280 was one of those competitions where you really saw the 665 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:31,840 discrepancy of going early in a lineup when you're going, you 666 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:36,440 know, first out of 12 on a Grand Prix is a different kind of 667 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:41,240 thing than when you're going in the first group out of 51 668 00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:44,840 skaters. And the judges are like, well, 669 00:42:44,880 --> 00:42:50,000 you know, I give you some fours because you're you're early on. 670 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:53,840 And, and it just, it translates into this, this sort of like 671 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:58,280 pattern of, OK, well, the last person got a 4.5 S, the next 672 00:42:58,280 --> 00:43:02,200 person is going to get a 5.25 or, you know, whatever it was. 673 00:43:02,240 --> 00:43:04,440 Yeah, there were a bunch of triple axels. 674 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:09,640 Yeah, that was fun. Certainly Sophie, Jolene, Usong 675 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:16,480 Kim, Anger Gerganitze, Hannah Bath, Mao Shimada, Maiuka Oka 676 00:43:16,480 --> 00:43:23,120 tried one and the Okada was trying one, but then she popped 677 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:27,920 it into a single. But a lot of attempts and a lot 678 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:30,320 of pretty good ones that were landed, so. 679 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:34,040 Sophia Schifrin did a really strong free skate. 680 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:37,840 She was just really solid, big clean jumps. 681 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:39,960 Yeah. And I it's, I think any other 682 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:42,800 year that would have been enough probably to get on the podium. 683 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:46,040 But there was just a lot of a lot of depth here. 684 00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:49,040 And she doesn't have any. She doesn't have a triple Axel, 685 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:55,680 Yeah. She I thought her short program 686 00:43:55,680 --> 00:44:03,480 was, was especially sort of musically well skated and and 687 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:07,800 like I think along with the men where we were talking about 688 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:16,160 skaters who are have been able to progress as juniors and also 689 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:21,200 find their presentation skills. We got a lot of that here. 2 690 00:44:21,200 --> 00:44:23,520 with the with with with a junior women. 691 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:32,080 I mean, you look at like AGU Ha and Angela Shao, you know, some 692 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:35,080 of these skaters who Amanda Getzo was an interesting one 693 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:38,600 too, because she she was not ranked terribly high up, but I 694 00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:43,720 thought her short program was like, you know, very, very well 695 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:45,240 choreographed and very well skated. 696 00:44:45,240 --> 00:44:49,640 Like there was, there's some, there's very interesting variety 697 00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:52,240 in the talent that we're seeing with the junior women. 698 00:44:52,240 --> 00:44:53,960 Yeah. Oh, boy. 699 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:59,160 Junior world's a whirlwind. That was Junior World that took 700 00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:02,840 sound, felt like it felt like it took three weeks, but it was 701 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:06,520 only four days. Yeah, it's fun though. 702 00:45:06,520 --> 00:45:09,920 It's fun kind of seeing some of these younger skaters and their 703 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:15,600 creative programs and after the the stress and the rigors of 704 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:20,320 Milan so. Well, we're, we're about to head 705 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:24,720 into the stress and the rigor that is Prague and the World 706 00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:29,880 Championships in two weeks, excited to start previewing, but 707 00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:32,560 we'll, we'll, we'll take a little bit of a break. 708 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:34,520 Until we know who's actually going to be there. 709 00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:37,360 I know. Exactly, exactly. 710 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:41,520 We'll take a little bit of a break, but we in the meantime, 711 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,920 there's some fun interviews lined up. 712 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:50,640 Olivia Smart, Tim Deek I just talked to for a good amount of 713 00:45:50,640 --> 00:45:53,640 time. And so we'll have we'll have 714 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,080 that coming out. We're getting a Rocker rewatch 715 00:45:56,080 --> 00:46:00,120 for both June 1 and June 2. Cool. 716 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,280 So we get to hear their commentary for both of those 717 00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:08,160 programs, which is fascinating. So we'll get that. 718 00:46:08,440 --> 00:46:13,840 I got a couple more lined up and hopefully we'll get those before 719 00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:15,920 we get to the World Championships in Prague. 720 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:20,200 Michelle, anything, anything that's top of mind for you. 721 00:46:22,720 --> 00:46:26,120 I didn't mention this, but I love the two Italian junior 722 00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:28,320 dance teams that went back-to-back. 723 00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:30,960 Barbara Foussar. Polly had one and Valtorizo had 724 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:32,720 another one. They were very different in 725 00:46:32,720 --> 00:46:34,880 their styles and they were both great. 726 00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:38,560 And I was thinking like, well, you know, Italy sort of not had 727 00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:40,480 a lot of depth in their dance program. 728 00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,400 And I was excited to see those two junior teams. 729 00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:45,440 And they have the recent last year's world junior champions 730 00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:47,800 who are missed most of the season because of injury. 731 00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:50,400 But we're there watching and will hopefully be back next 732 00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:53,920 year, so. Yeah, Talia, not for now are are 733 00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:55,600 they? They should be back next year 734 00:46:55,600 --> 00:47:00,040 and as seniors, so. I also have a heads up for any 735 00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:04,600 Canadian Team Canada fans who are in the US Lululemon has a 736 00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:07,800 ton of Team Canada stuff available for order in the US, 737 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:11,440 but they have the mitten pins. So if you saw the skaters with 738 00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:15,640 the mitten pins that they were trading that that you can get 739 00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:18,560 them on the Lululemon website, I may have ordered them. 740 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:22,280 I mean the Olympics are over but I was like, I need these just 741 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:26,120 for reasons. I'm curious to see what the trip 742 00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:30,120 the pin trading is going to be like in Prague because I 743 00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:37,280 remember even in Montpellier when we were there for post 744 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:42,200 Beijing worlds there was still a good amount of pin trading going 745 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:45,960 on. Not quite to that level of 746 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:51,080 craves, but maybe it's it was also because it was COVID 747 00:47:51,080 --> 00:47:53,320 Olympics and people are like, oh, we can talk to each other 748 00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:55,160 again. Junior worlds might have had 749 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:57,160 some good pin trading going on because there were a lot of 750 00:47:57,160 --> 00:47:58,960 unique countries represented here. 751 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:02,160 I kind of want to stand in the mix zone for that fifty woman 752 00:48:02,160 --> 00:48:04,880 short program and trade pins with each one that goes by and. 753 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:09,680 You're like, what, Kyrgyzstan? Yeah, I mean, that's in New 754 00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,640 Zealand. It's like incredible Denmark I. 755 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:17,280 Know I don't know. One thing that will be very 756 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:28,880 interesting to watch in addition to who will remain in the on on 757 00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:34,440 the entries list for world is who will be making retirement 758 00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:36,560 announcements. We've already had a couple that 759 00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:41,560 we know of. My Mihara has officially made 760 00:48:41,680 --> 00:48:47,720 her retirement announcement, which is very sad and I'm sure 761 00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:50,840 we'll get more. But skating fans, just get 762 00:48:50,840 --> 00:48:52,760 ready. I think we'll also get the the 763 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:55,560 soft retirements, as in they don't retire, but they don't 764 00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:57,040 show up in the Grand Prix entries. 765 00:48:57,080 --> 00:49:02,160 So then it's kind of like, oh, taking a season away, you know? 766 00:49:02,160 --> 00:49:04,120 Yeah, right. Some people never retire because 767 00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:06,080 it's like they just don't want to. 768 00:49:07,320 --> 00:49:09,560 I mean, the ship Retali is never actually really retired. 769 00:49:09,560 --> 00:49:10,720 And then they actually did come back. 770 00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:12,480 I mean. Famously, Ashley Wagner has 771 00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:15,320 never retired, so she could always come back. 772 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:20,880 Ashley Wagner, we're Ready for You and Moulin Rouge version. 773 00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:24,880 Five, I mean, she hasn't done Moulin Rouge the musical yet, so 774 00:49:25,320 --> 00:49:28,080 I think, you know, there's a lot of material there. 775 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:29,640 There's a lot of different songs there. 776 00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:31,560 She could do a few programs. Nicole Kidman. 777 00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:33,200 Yeah. Nicole Kidman all the way, 778 00:49:33,200 --> 00:49:34,480 though. Yeah. 779 00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,160 All right. Well, we're going to take a 780 00:49:38,160 --> 00:49:42,080 break. We're going to get some rest and 781 00:49:42,080 --> 00:49:44,400 we'll be back soon. We'll be back next weekend for 782 00:49:44,400 --> 00:49:45,840 something. We'll figure it out what we're 783 00:49:45,840 --> 00:49:52,520 going to do next weekend. But in the meantime, any sort of 784 00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:57,640 updates we will have for you for the World Championships coming 785 00:49:57,640 --> 00:49:59,640 up. So for Michelle Ellis, it's 786 00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:03,160 Jackie Wong, chief skate nerd of rockerskating.com. 787 00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:08,240 Thanks, as always, to John Wilson Blaze for getting us 788 00:50:08,240 --> 00:50:13,000 through this marathon of a season. 789 00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:16,240 And also getting us through this marathon of the season is Terra 790 00:50:16,240 --> 00:50:21,040 Nichols, who have been editing and producing us all season 791 00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:24,200 long. We'll talk to you again next 792 00:50:24,200 --> 00:50:24,960 week. Bye.