The men aren't menning like they used to: France and China GP Review

The last two grand prix (GP) weekends have had one major thing in common: the men, somehow, not menning? It seems that the long term trend in skating is for men's rankings to flunctuate wildly across a weekend as they sling themselves across the ice. However, it's become very clear over the last few weeks that the men's competitive space this year is intense, to the point that competition to competition I truly do not who will win, only that the performances will be brillliant.

At the 2023 French GP, Adam Siao Him Fa and Ilia Malinin finished within 3 points of each other, with short program scores within 1 point of each other (both scoring over 100). Ilia's mastery of clean quads and improved artistry are definitely making a statement this season, but Adam, winning here at his home GP, is sending quite a shock through the skating world this year. This free skate was incredible and uniquely artistic (in his benoit-choreographed way). Could Adam be in contention for the world title this year? It certainly seems so at this stage of the season!

~My~ winner of GP France had to be Yuma Kagiyama, who came in 3rd. Even though he has had to water down his technical content coming back from a major injury last season, his speed and flow and movement are divine. I was in awe after his free skate. And to see him skate like that, and then sit in the kiss and cry next to Carolina Kostner...it paints a very pretty picture!

Adam Siao Him Fa won yet again this past weekend at the 2023 Cup of China, finishing ahead of Shoma Uno, the defending world champion. Adam had a few more mistakes than in France, which was expected simply due to exhaustion, but Shoma is clearly struggling a bit with getting his jumping passes back to competition readiness following his ankle injury last March. However, Shoma's short program might be my favorite of the season and his skating skills are markedly better than Adam's, even if Adam has the edge technically. The 3rd place finisher in China, Mikhail Shaidorov, has been making his way up the rankings since last year. Technically, he's incredible, landing quad after quad, but perhaps lacking ~feeling~ in his programs..nevertheless, happy that he was rewarded for his cleanliness at this GP.

These two podiums of brilliance were also followed, in both France and China, by impressive performances from the other finishers. In France, Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland, who won a surprise European medal last season, had two excellent technical performances (and a viral gala skate to go with it). Camden Pulkinen had a more positive outing than perhaps he is known for and Luc Economides, an up-and-coming French skater, was quite impressive on the artistic front, coming in 6th in the final rankings. In China, Kazuki Tomono finished just off the podium, performing a free skate that even had men in the gym I go to staring at the TV- this long program he and Misha Ge have created this year is quite a masterpiece. And Gabriele Frangipani of Italy, who every season seems to have a few good competitions followed by a lot of meh skates, gave a solid technical performance in both programs, and was overjoyed with the result.

Men's skating is definitely ~the place to be~ this year- looking foward to an exciting GP Final and an exciting World Championship battle!

Honorable Mention: Wakaba Higuchi

Although this post is dedicated to the spectacular Men's programs of the last two weeks, it would be a crime not to welcome Wakaba back to competition. Although she only finished 5th in France, I think the programs were a positive step forward- she had some mistakes, but the energy, skating skills, and overall cleanliness were intact. This gives me hope for her future! (And if nothing else, watching her skate brings me enough joy to fill a house)