Pairs short program articles

Inoue-Baldwin not perfect, but lead pairs competition
"No, it wasn't better than the Olympics,'' Baldwin said. "I think we were rewarded a little more on the second mark because of last year. It's nice. I think Rena and I both have put our time in in skating. Our careers span three decades - since the Reagan era.''

Wow. For a skater to actually admit that...no wonder no one takes this sport seriously.

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New York times article over the short program:

Pair Pleases the Crowd, but Not the Judges

By LYNN ZINSER

Published: January 25, 2007

SPOKANE, Wash., Jan. 24 — After the last turn in their short program at the United States Figure Skating Championships Wednesday night, Naomi Nari Nam jumped into the arms of her pairs partner, Themi Leftheris, celebrating their program. The cheers raining down on them turned to boos when their score was finally announced.

Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris were placed second Wednesday night behind Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, the two-time defending champions.

The crowd at Spokane Arena objected loudly when Nam and Leftheris were placed second behind Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, the two-time defending champions who had skated earlier in a program marred by major wobbles.

The booing, Nam and Leftheris said, made second place feel a little better.

“It’s always awesome for us,” said Leftheris. “I think this is the third time our marks have gotten booed. I mean, we’re always shooting for our personal best and we’re happy with how we skate no matter how the marks end up. But to have that kind of affirmation is good for us.”

They are only in their second full year as a pair and they are suffering through the traditional hazards of starting out in an event. One of the unwritten rules of the sport is that the established pair gets the benefit of the doubt in scoring.

Inoue and Baldwin felt the sting of that for years as they were trying to break through. Now that they have won two national titles and landed the first-ever throw triple Axel on their way to finishing seventh in their first Olympics last year, they are happy to be on the other end.

“Absolutely,” Baldwin said. “It’s nice. I think Rena and I have both put our time in with figure skating. Our careers span from the Reagan era. We started skating in the 80s.”

Inoue and Baldwin have worked their way through the pecking order since they first competed as a pair in 2001, and have the most difficult elements of any pair in the championships. But they downgraded their side-by-side triple toes to double axels, Inoue stepped out of the landing of the throw triple Axel and Baldwin struggled to keep Inoue in the air on a lift, wobbling so badly that it appeared he might drop her.

“I think it went really well,” Inoue said. “I skated the way I wanted to skate. There was a little shaky part here or there, but it was pretty satisfactory.”

A capacity crowd did not seem to agree. They treated Inoue and Baldwin warmly, but when Nam and Leftheris skated a cleaner program, a spunky tango, they became the fan favorites.

The judges, however, slotted them second with 62.29 points to Inoue and Baldwin’s 62.73. Astonishingly, Inoue and Baldwin’s score was higher than their score at the Olympics, where they did a clean program that included a spotless throw triple Axel.

“No, it wasn’t better than the Olympics because we had a step out on the triple axel and the lift was a little shaky,” Baldwin said, “but I think we were rewarded more on our second mark here because it’s a year later and we’re just that much further along in our careers.”

Baldwin is bouncing back from injuries he said he sustained when he was mugged after a competition in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December.

Nam, though, has her own bouncing back story. She rose as high as No. 2 in the ladies singles ranks when she was 13, finishing behind Michelle Kwan in the 1999 nationals. But a serious hip injury ended her singles career in 2001 and she took a shot at a comeback in pairs in 2005 when she tried out with Leftheris.

Now Nam, 21, and Leftheris, 24, are a couple on and off the ice. They laugh when asked about Leftheris’ memories of Nam as a singles skater.

“I had such a big crush on her,” Leftheris said. “She had the perfect triple flip and I used to watch her technique and think, ‘that’s how I have to do it.’ I totally remember her when she was skating.”

Their rise in pairs will mean having to overcome Inoue and Baldwin. The two teams train together under Peter Oppegard in Artesia, Calif., and say they all benefit from the experience.

If they finish 1-2 after Friday’s long program, they will earn the two American spots in the world championships in Tokyo in March.

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Another video interview at USFS - I am so happy for them. Naomi was on the verge of tears - its amazing how far she's come. To be at the top, have an injury and then to be able to come back is so wonderful.

Naomi and Themi are a couple off the ice too? Aww. I had no idea.

On the actual topic, of course they wuzrobbed. Inoue and Baldwin stumbled on their hardest element, that's excusable since no one in the world is even attempting the 3 axel, but they had wonky side-by-size 2 axels and John nearly dropped Rena on a lift. Like the article says, veterans always get higher marks. Judges feel like they have to reward skaters for their past accomplishments, not their current performance.

I hope they do awesome in the free.