Today was the ending day for the Nebelhorn Trophy 2013, ultimate Olympic qualifier among the ISU events.
Not only was the Oberstdorf's competition such a key for so many athletes and their Olympic ambitions, but it also featured some very interesting elite skaters.
Volosozhar/Trankov were the stars of the pairs event and they skated as flawlessly as the olympic gold was already theirs. They were almost perfect in both short and free program and scored two world records (81.65 and150.31) sending a clear message to everyone they will compete against in Sochi.
Olympic qualified nations were: Great Britain, Ukraine, Estonia and Israel. Japan, represented by Takahashi/Kihara, didn't qualify.
The Dance event was won by Hubbel/Donohue followed by Monko/Khaliavin and Paul/Islam whose nations didn't need a qualification that was achieved instead by China, Turkey, Australia, Japan and Spain.
In the ladies competition, 14 years old Elena Radionova and Miki Ando were the highlights. Radionova won with over 25 points of gap dividing her from the Japanese two times World Champion and showcasing all of her technical prowess. Miki Ando had a quite positive performance considering her long absence from the competitive stage, but low grades of execution and levels on spins and footwork didn't allow her to reach the top of the podium.
The qualified nations were: Austalia, Georgia (with a conving yet not perfect performance by Gedevanishvili), Norway, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and Brazil.
As far as the men are concerned, Nobunari Oda mesmerized with a brilliant skate filled in with a spectacular quad, two triple axels, amazing edge work and knee bend. He won the competition followed by a very interesting Jason Brown who got the crowd on his side in his beautifully choreographed Riverdance.
The qualified nations are: Israel, Roumany, Philippines, Australia, Ukraine and Italy.
