When Ilya’s new record was announced, the Russian figure skating commentators nearly went wild.

Oh my God! Their top guy has finally risen!

Since the 1990s, Russian figure skating had dominated the international scene. However, with the rise of Asian figure skating in the Sochi cycle, it had caused them a lot of trouble.

In women’s singles, Keiko was consistently ahead, and in men’s singles, the competition was even fiercer. The other two musketeers, in terms of performance and skating, were both ahead of Ilya.

And the fact that he had never managed to beat these two for the gold became the reason for Russian skating fans to criticize him. He had been through countless rumors and slanders. Sometimes, after a competition, when he went out for a meal with friends, he didn’t dare to tweet, worried that people would criticize him for having the nerve to eat with his competitors after losing to them.

In this situation, he finally had a breakthrough. For Russian figure skating fans, it was like celebrating the New Year.

Not only did Ilya finally perform his program cleanly for the first time this season, but he also broke two world records!

Yes, he not only broke Zhang Jue’s free skate record, but he also surpassed his own previous total score record of 328.82 points, which he had set at the Grand Finals. Now, his new total score was 335.44 points.

That was the Crocodile’s record!

It was the record of the reigning, undefeated champion, and Ilya had taken both records for himself!

The commentators shouted loudly: “This is an unquestionable victory! Brave Ilya put on an extraordinary performance! Look at how spectacular his jumps were! He was completely unaffected by his injury at the French Grand Prix. Truly amazing!”

“This is a hard-earned victory! Although the strongest competitors haven’t appeared yet, and we can’t afford to be complacent, Ilya has at least conquered himself first!”

The camera shifted to Zhang Jue, as the media, always eager to capture the athletes’ expressions when they face victory or defeat, focused on those who might show dissatisfaction in their expressions.

However, when one doesn’t perform well, it’s natural to feel upset. There’s no need to overanalyze it in terms of manners. Zhang Jue, having gone through many ups and downs, never let anyone catch him in such moments.

The little crocodile still sincerely clapped for his victorious friend. He wore a Costen costume in a blend of vermilion and rose red, with a gold leaf garland around his neck. The red didn’t seem vulgar but instead made him even more handsome and elegant.

Whether others thought Zhang Jue’s applause was genuine or insincere, he was genuinely happy for Ilya’s personal breakthrough.

In Zhang Jue’s memory, although he would later win the gold at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Ilya had lost more than he won in previous World Championships. He was often criticized for winning because of his nationality, with many believing that his performance scores didn’t reflect his actual skills.

From Yancheng, Turin, Sochi, to Pyeongchang, Russian men’s singles had won four Winter Olympic gold medals in personal skating, but Ilya was the only one without a signature piece in his career.

Now, you finally have a signature piece, congratulations, Ilya.

Zhang Junbao glanced at him sideways. “Hey, be careful, you might end up with the silver medal today.”

Teraoka Hayato’s score was also not low. If Zhang Jue made a mistake, he might end up with the bronze medal.

Zhang Jue teased: “It’s not like I’ve never lost before.”

Coach Lu pretended to scold him, and Zhang Jue stuck out his tongue before putting on his skates.

There was certainly pressure, but it wasn’t enough to break him. Zhang Jue’s career had had its ups and downs. The worst time was when he almost thought about retiring, but in the end, didn’t he come back?

As long as he could still skate, temporary setbacks or wins didn’t mean much. After all, he didn’t feel like he had reached his peak yet, so there was still room for growth.

The competition arena was a place with limitless possibilities, and Zhang Jue also believed that he still had an unlimited future on the ice.

Zhao Ning: “Now we are seeing our country’s figure skating star Zhang Jue, who won silver at the Sochi Olympics, two-time World Champion, and has broken 15 world records. His 15th world record was set just two days ago in the short program, and today, Russian star Ilya Safoshenko has broken Zhang Jue’s previously held free skate world record by 0.17 points, and has also surpassed his own total score record by 6.62 points.”

Jiang Chaocheng: “Zhang Jue was also ranked first in the short program. In that competition, he was 4.72 points ahead of Ilya. But it’s worth mentioning that Zhang Jue hasn’t been in top form this year. He lost to Carlson at a Grand Prix event and never performed his free skate cleanly at either the Grand Prix or the Final.”

Coach Jiang was giving a precautionary statement: Our top athlete is great, but he only just recovered from a fracture last year and has been struggling with his form this year, so we shouldn’t have overly high expectations. However, he performed decently in the short program, so we don’t need to worry about a collapse today.

Zhao Ning: “Yes, but one of Zhang Jue’s strengths is that he’s always stable in competitions. No matter what, he won’t fall off the podium. He’s a mentally tough athlete. And this year, he’s chosen classical music for his free skate program. He’s starting now.”

Ms. Zhao was agreeing with Jiang Chaocheng, confirming that yes, the top athlete is still strong, and no matter what happens today, he will bring a medal home, so there’s no need to worry!

The fans understood the implied message from the commentary and appreciated it, while the haters were itching to speak, but since the competition hadn’t started yet, they had to hold back.

One fan commented: “After all, it’s our top guy, CCTV is always willing to defend him in their commentary.”

It was now 8:00 PM on a Saturday in China, and many office workers were holding their lunch boxes, staring at their phone screens, while students sat on sofas with drinks and snacks, anxiously watching the TV. Everyone was on edge.

Xu Dela was the most extreme. He opened a live stream, broadcasting the competition for everyone, along with his friends from the Earth Dragon Band.

Zhang Jue’s free skate music this year was “Primavera” by Italian neoclassical pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi.

The music, which was featured in the movie “The Intouchables,” was the piano piece “Una Mattina” and was scheduled for its premiere in September 2017. Though many outside the field may not recognize the name, his music had always deeply moved Zhang Jue.

As a figure skater, isn’t it natural to choose music from a composer you love?

And “Primavera,” meaning spring, was a term Zhang Jue encountered when reading about Greek mythology, inspired by Sandro Botticelli’s legendary painting “Spring” from 1482.
When the opening music started, many figure skating fans gasped: “It’s classical music!”

Zhang Jue had chosen classical music this year!

The young man stood still on the ice, his posture noble and elegant, just like the beginning of the music—quiet yet dynamic, like sunlight gently piercing the cold, wet glacier, softening the swift winter winds.

Zhao Ning watched Zhang Jue’s program record and said: “His first jump is a quadruple loop (4lo).”

With a swoosh, Zhang Jue started the program with a beautiful 4S.

Jiang Chaocheng furrowed his brows. “No, it’s a quadruple toe loop, Zhang Jue changed the configuration last minute.”

This guy changed his configuration again?

Only the coaching staff noticed the clue. Shen Liu shook his head: “He’s been falling during the 4S jump all season. It seems like he’s not confident inside, so he moved the jump to the start of the program when he’s most energetic.”

According to the original plan, Zhang Jue was supposed to complete eight jumps: 4lo, 4lz, 3A, 3lz3T in the first half, and 4S, 3A3T, 4T1lo3S, 3lo in the second half.

Undoubtedly, this was the highest difficulty free skate configuration: four quadruple jumps, two of which were advanced, and the other two placed in the second half of the program could earn a base score multiplied by 1.1. Looking at international competitions, the only ones who could clean such a high-difficulty program, apart from the “three musketeers,” were Carlson.

Zhang Jue had the highest short program score and also the protection of the best performance score in Asian men’s singles. As long as he kept steady, the podium was his for sure.

But it seemed that Zhang Jue didn’t intend to do that.

After finishing the 4S, he skated out in a big figure with inside and outside edges, his posture elegant and noble.

If Zhang Jue’s “April’s Love Story” in his first year of upgrading was called the “April Spring God,” this year’s “Primavera” was like a red young nobleman.

By the second jump, Zhang Jue completed the planned loop-four jump (4lz), which was given the nickname “Four Spicy” by Chinese ice fans due to its sound, and it was also the highest-scoring jump among the completed ones.

It was during this jump that Zhang Jue’s axis tilted. He bent forward and braced himself on the ice before stabilizing, causing gasps from the crowd.

Supporting himself on the ice was sure to reduce the GOE for this jump!

As expected, the judges were quite harsh and gave him a -3.

Zhang Jue’s chips in the second round fell to the ground, and he grabbed his collar, his eyes wide open. Next to him, the red-haired captain muttered: “Lower the difficulty, quickly, lower the difficulty, he’s not in good form today, stabilize first and secure the medal!”

Zhang Jue on the ice, however, remained calm. He lifted his foot and performed a perfect 3A, followed by a high-quality 3lz3T. The brief mistake didn’t affect this outstanding athlete.

The purple-haired Bess murmured: “His composure is incredible, he’s been stable from start to finish.”

The blue-haired guitarist nodded: “And his movements are really elegant, his limbs are long, and when he dances on the ice, it looks stunning. You can see the rotation speed increase with the music.”

What outstanding musical sense!

At this point, Zhang Jue jumped into a butterfly jump and then a donut spin, completing this series of quadruple jumps, before quickly entering a leg hug squat spin. This squat spin again amazed many people.

Right-handed athletes rotate counterclockwise during jumps and spins, while left-handed ones can spin clockwise. The only athlete who had done both clockwise and counterclockwise rotations before was Japan’s Keiko Shiratsuka!

But at this moment, Zhang Jue’s squat spin was clockwise.

The leg hug squat spin, side squat spin, then the athlete’s spinning posture slowly changed to an upright bowing spin, followed by Zhang Jue lifting his left foot and spinning into a clockwise Berman!

At this moment, the performance became even more spectacular, as the entire space seemed to return to spring: the spring breeze swept across the earth, rain softly fell, and tiny green shoots silently broke through the last remnants of snow to be reborn.

The graceful young man skated on the ice as if bringing that vitality with him. His movements were free yet strong, as though Rossini danced a joyous dance in the morning light.

During this part of the performance, the athlete skated on one foot for over fifty meters of ice, not speeding, but maintaining a pace close to that of the short program. What was rare was how perfectly the performance was synchronized with the music.

Until the footwork ended, Zhang Jue tapped his right foot on the ice, his left skate on the inside edge, leaped high into the air, and completed a 4.2-revolution jump.

Hayato Teraoka’s jaw dropped in surprise.

Jiang Chaosheng exclaimed: “A back inside edge four-revolution jump!”

Zhang Jue, despite having already made a mistake, boldly performed his fifth four-revolution jump in his career at a time when he should have been playing it safe. And he nailed it!

When he landed, Zhang Jue felt like he heard an almost silent crack, as if his long-suffering knee was protesting.

He comforted himself in his mind: “Hang in there, old buddy, let me finish this performance.”

And then, as if by a miracle, he no longer felt the pain. He smoothly completed the 3A3T and 4T1lo3S, and when he reached the final jump, a 3lo, Zhang Jue thought: “Why not complete a program with five quadruples right now? I can do it.”

So he really did it. Zhang Jue crossed his legs and leaped gracefully, his black skates cutting through the air, leaving a trail behind, before landing on the ice.

There was another crack sound, and Zhang Jue stumbled slightly, his body tilting, but he stayed upright and didn’t fall.

Finally, it was the change-foot combination spin.

Yankee spin, compass spin, change-foot squat spin, upright spin—like a precision machine, the young man completed the final movements. Especially during the upright spin, his rotation speed reached an astonishing level, propelling the atmosphere to its climax.

Zhang Jue spun, arms outstretched, with a slight expression of “Look, this performance is great, right,” though he tried to remain composed and elegant.

At a time when everyone thought Ilya would beat Zhang Jue, he took the risk and completed a program with five quadruple jumps, not perfect but undeniably spectacular!

Most importantly, Zhang Jue had officially become a five-quad young man today! He now had five types of quadruple jumps, one of which was the 4.2-revolution 4F. Who else could compare with his jump repertoire?

The audience stood up and applauded. Zhang Jue exhaled and bowed to all sides.

Many noticed that even after completing an elegant program, his bowing posture exuded the aristocratic elegance of a court noble.

Zhang Jue: “Since I’m performing, I’ll go all the way.”

But the fans were clearly enamored with this style. Even some athletes and coaches in the crowd thought Zhang Jue looked amazing in this manner.

When Zhang Jue left the ice holding a large bouquet of red roses and a half-human-sized Pigsy doll, Shen Liu couldn’t help but sigh: “Not bad, you may not have the highest free skate score today, but you’re definitely the most handsome in the whole arena.”

Zhang Jue grinned: “Where? Where? Haven’t I always been the most handsome in the arena?”

Shen Liu, Zhang Junbao, Coach Lu: Although they knew he was telling the truth, they still thought the arrogant little brat who said that was super narcissistic.

Zhang Jue’s free skate score wouldn’t be higher than Ilya’s, that was certain. Clean and not clean scores were never the same thing, and the program’s execution alone was a step behind.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, Zhang Jue’s free skate score was displayed on the big screen: 223.65. Adding his short program score of 116.03, his total score reached 339.68.

Zhao Ning shouted excitedly, matching the enthusiasm of the Russian commentators: “The total score record is once again back in Zhang Jue’s hands! Thanks to his short program advantage, Zhang Jue became the champion of the 2016 Grand Prix Final!”

“Zhang Jue is unbeatable! He narrowly defeated Ilya and became the winner once again!”

The coaching staff collectively breathed a sigh of relief—great, their little brat had won again.

Zhang Jue looked at the big screen, complaining with a hint of frustration: “I thought I could try to perfectly complete a program with five quadruples today, but I still made a mistake. Looks like the free skate record will stay with Ilyusha for a while.”

Zhang Junbao comforted him: “It’s fine, we got the gold medal. This trip was worth it.”

On the other side, Ilya was also unwilling to accept defeat. He muttered to Vasily: “I thought I could win today, but I got beaten again. That kid is so hard to beat.”

Vasily patted his shoulder: “It’s okay, at least your world record is still intact. When we go back, we need to start focusing on physical training. You see, Teraoka and the little crocodile are both doing five quadruples now. More quadruple jumps are the future.”

Ilya clenched his fist: “Don’t worry, I won’t let them get ahead of me!”

Teraoka Hayato, on the other hand, grumbled into his straw: “How can this be? I ended up with bronze? Damn it, I’ll show them next time!”

When the World Championships come, he would definitely win!

Because the bald coach, who had shaved his head, commented: “You should pay attention to your legs. If you keep this up, just wait for Gushi to take over your job.”

He was already a 65-year-old coach, and still had to worry about this little brat.

At this moment, the camera landed on the Three Musketeers’ faces, and many ice fans silently noticed that although the three of them dominated the podium again, they looked just as unwilling as if they had lost the competition, without any joy of having their medals in hand.

Were these three really not going to leave any breathing room for others?

In fact, after seeing the Three Musketeers’ performance, the other athletes, including the younger male singles who were about to move up, felt as though three huge mountains had crashed down on their shoulders, overwhelming them with pressure.

In ice dance, there was only one king-level athlete, the world number one female partner, Yoon Mijing. In pairs skating, there was only one king, the world number one male partner, Guan Lin. In women’s singles, the queen was Keiko. But in men’s singles, the oddity was that there were three kings.

 

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