In what was an exciting competition, Andrei Griazev of Russia took the lead in the Men's Short Program ahead of Evan Lysacek (USA) and Frenchman Alban Preaubert. Griazev looked pale when he started his Tango routine, but he nailed a huge triple Axel that was so high that he had almost trouble to land it and he only added a double toeloop for his combination.

The Junior Grand Prix silver medalist went on to complete the required triple flip out of footwork, a double Axel and strong spins and footwork. He pulled into the lead with marks from 5.0 to 5.8 for required elements and from 5.2 to 5.9 for presentation.

“I felt much better than yesterday in qualifying”, Griazev commented. “I skated well throughout the whole program, not like yesterday. I wasn't nervous, but I wanted to do everything carefully. I had planned a triple-triple combination, but I changed it because of the situation. I didn't land the Axel very well, I almost overrotated it and I didn't risk the triple toe.”

Lysacek
Lysacek seemed very nervous and he had to fight for the landing of his triple Axel, adding a double toeloop. But he came back strongly with a triple flip, double Axel and he really got into his Paso Doble (Espana Cani) in his straight line footwork.

The Junior Grand Prix Champion earned marks from 5.2 to 5.7 (A) and from 5.4 to 5.8 (B) for this performance. “I had some boot problems again”, Lysacek explained. “One of my hooks came out and then my hole (for the lace) ripped on the other boot. It happened after the warm up, before my program. I was a bit jittery then. I didn't feel great, not to make excuses, I tried to do my best. It's very uncharacteristic for me to skate like that. I'm disappointed that this happened now.” The skater added that his boots will be taken to a shoemaker tomorrow to get them fixed.

Preaubert
Preaubert opened his program with a triple Axel-double toeloop combination, but the first jump had lean in the air. The 2003 World junior bronze medalist hit a triple flip and a nice double Axel, but his straight line footwork could have been more difficult. With marks up to 5.6 for required elements and up to 5.7 for presentation, the Frenchman placed 5 th in the Short Program but held on to third place overall.

“I could have done a bit better, with a triple Axel-triple toeloop combination”, Preaubert commented. “I did just a triple-double combination, because the Axel was a bit shaky. I think I could have been in the top three for the Short Program, but I stayed in contention and I'm in the last warm up group which is important for the long program. It was a bit hard, I skated last and I heard the audience cheering for the other skaters. Obviously, everybody was skating quite well and I had to stay focused.”

Jordan Brauniger
Jordan Brauniger (USA) was ranked third in the Short Program. The American produced a solid performance that included a triple Axel-triple toeloop combination (but the toeloop appeared underrotated).

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