Imai embraces change

Though Haruka Imai is still in the shadow of the Japanese  figure skating stars, she is certainly one to watch. This season she made some changes in her life—the most importantly, the switching of  coaches and moving from her native Tokyo to the USA.

In September, Imai came to Detroit to train with 1994 World Champion Yuka Sato and her husband Jason Dungjen.

“Haruka was with us for a month in May,” Sato recalled. “I choreographed three numbers— long program, short program, and a show program. Then she went home. At the end of the summer I got a call. She wanted to be with us for the…

Abbott wins third U.S. title

It was a mixed bag for the newly crowned U.S. Men’s champion at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Jeremy Abbott, the 26-year-old from Aspen, Colo., was having perhaps the performance of his life in front of a packed house, while in the stands, his stepfather, Allen Scott, 64, was having a medical emergency.

Focused so completely on his performance, the three-time champion missed the melee that was just rows away from the ice.

“Before the medals ceremony, people kept telling me that I needed to call my mother,” he explained. “But I thought it was just her being her normal self, and just wanted to congratulate me.”

Abbott learned that…

Denney and Coughlin capture gold at U.S. Nationals

It was the third consecutive year that either Caydee Denney or John Coughlin ascended to the top step of the podium at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose.

Denney, who won the title with former partner Jeremy Barrett in 2010, and Coughlin, who was the gold medalist last year with Caitlin Yankowskas, won the 2012 U.S. pairs title together with a flawless routine that brought the crowd to its feet.

Coughlin became the first American skater to win back-to-back titles with a different partner since Melissa Militano did it back in 1973-74.

“Has…

Kostner takes fourth European title

Italy’s Carolina Kostner continued her stellar season in Sheffield at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, taking her fourth title. Kiira Korpi of Finland held on to second place to earn her first silver medal, while Georgia’s Elene Gedevanishvili grabbed her second bronze medal at the event.

Kostner gave an inspiring performance of her exquisite program to Concerto No. 23 for Piano and Orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She completed five solid triples, including a flip, and two level-four spins to score 120.33 points.

It was nice to see how she enjoyed her performance. Overall, the 24-year-old accumulated 183.55 points.

“I am very pleased with the whole…

Plushenko takes seventh European title

Evgeni Plushenko skated off with his seventh European title Saturday at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championship in Sheffield, Great Britain.

Overnight leader Artur Gachinski settled for the silver, making it one-two for Russia in the Men’s. It’s the first time since 2004 that the Russian men took two medals at Europeans. Defending Champion Florent Amodio of France moved up from fourth to claim the bronze.

Plushenko underlined his status as a legend in Sheffield. The 29-year-old defied the naysayers and overcame a knee injury to give a strong performance.

The 2006 Olympic Champion opened his Tango de Roxanne with a…

Wagner rebounds to gold at U.S. Nationals

Before the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 20-year-old Ashley Wagner made some pretty bold statements about how things would shake out this year.

Often described as the ‘almost girl’, Wagner said that she would cast away her short program demons and win her first U.S. title in San Jose. And she did just that in front of a very welcoming crowd of spectators.

“I’m really glad that I was able to back up my statements,” Wagner said after the competition. “I would be a horrible person had I not been able to. I wasn’t being cocky—I was just saying what everybody else was thinking instead of putting on…