Worlds 2015 Recap

This year's competition was super-satisfying to me. No one was screwed, there were some exciting skates and history was made.

Here are a few thoughts:

I am beyond ecstatic that Javier Fernandez finally won! Not just because it's a first for his home country, where skating is unfortunately not that popular, but because he's an amazing skater. I think he has been shafted in the results of the last few years, and it is good to see him finally get what he deserves.

I am super excited about Elizaveta Tuktamysheva winning as well. She's the womanly skater I've been hoping for to bring the sport back from the twiggy little girl thing that has been going on in the last few years. Yeah, she's only 18, but her body is a woman's, and she can do a 3axel. Considering the proportionately (pun intended) high amount of female skaters who have been felled by puberty, this is an encouraging development (again, pun intended!).

None of the ladies were without flaws though, Tuktamysheva included. Their freeskates looked a little tired and floppy, though it was nice to see the American women rally somewhat. Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner could legitimately have gotten on that podium, had their short programs been better. Perhaps it's a sign that there are promising placements to come for the Americans.

The pairs event was pretty exciting this time around too. I'm noticing that pairs teams are starting to really up their difficulty, with throw quad salchows becoming the norm among top teams. A few teams are also going for quad twists. The Canadian pair of Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, though not flawless, were so impressive. They have an unparalleled on-ice rapport, and deserved the win. Although I couldn't help but wonder how the heck Meagan skates with her hair in her face like that. Looked like she couldn't see!

The Chinese pair who took the silver, Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, are going to be the team to beat next year though. They're fantastic, technically, though they lack the fluidity that Duhamel and Radford have from being a little more mature. Something to work on for the future, for them!

Didn't have time to watch any of the dance, unfortunately, but it's nice to see that Americans are still on the podium in that event.