Petrova and Tiknonov take gold at Trophee Eric Bompard

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series continued with Trophée Eric Bompard, the fourth of six qualifying events. The event was held November 16-19 at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France. Over 60 skaters from 14 different countries competed for points and monies totaling $180,000 in U.S. dollars. The points go toward qualification for the Grand Prix Final, to which the top six competitors in points standings from each discipline will be invited to compete for a total purse of $272,000 U.S. dollars. The Grand Prix Final will be held Dec 14-17, 2006, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia were the gold medal winners, while teammates Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov and USA’s Rena Inoue and John Baldwin won the bronze and silver, respectively.

Performing to Sarabande by Handel, Petrova and Tikhonov opened with a lateral triple twist, however, Petrova two-footed the landing their side-by-side triple toeloops. The two-time and current World…

Denkova and Staviski win gold in Paris

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria won their second Grand Prix gold for the season, while France’s Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder and Italy’s Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali won their second consecutive Trophée Eric silver and bronze respectively.

The Compulsory Dance chosen for this event was the Westminster Waltz. The dance was invented by Eric van der Weyden and his wife Eva Keats. It was first performed in London at the Westminster Ice Rink in 1938.

Denkova and Staviski delivered a smooth CD which had strong flow and deep lobes as well as good unison to place first with 38.32 points.

Delobel and Schoenfelder also produced a sound and smooth dance, finishing close behind with 37.65 points.

Faiella and Scali were confident in their CD, earning 33.63 points for a third place finish.

Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France were fourth (31.53 points), while USA’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Italy’s Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte placed fifth…

Kim captures first Grand Prix Gold

South Korea’s Yu-Na Kim captured her first senior Grand Prix gold, while Miki Ando of Japan won the silver. USA’s Kimmie Meissner, who was fifth at this event last year, settled for bronze.

Kim opened her program to El Tango De Roxanne with a solid triple flip-triple toeloop combination, followed by a good level four spiral sequence, a level four flying sit spin, and a huge triple Lutz. The current World Junior Champion also produced a beautiful level three layback and a solid double Axel to earn 65.22 points (personal best) for a first place finish after the short.

“I was nervous and my warm up wasn’t so good,” revealed Kim. “I don’t see a big difference,” the three-time and reigning South Korean National Champion added, comparing her Skate Canada performance with this one. “The technical score was almost the same, but the program component score here was higher.”

Ando landed a good triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a triple flip, and…

Joubert wins Trophee Eric Bompard gold

Brian Joubert of France easily captured the gold medal, while teammate Alban Preaubert won the silver. Russia’s Sergei Dobrin, who was seventh at this event last year, won the bronze – his first senior Grand Prix medal.

Joubert showed that he was clearly the class of the field, landing his opening quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination in his exciting performance to music from the Die Another Day soundtrack. The two-time and reigning World silver medalist also delivered a triple Axel, a triple flip, and good spins and footwork for a first place finish in the short (77.35 points).

“My goal was not to make any mistakes,” said Joubert, who added that he has problems with pressure when competing on his home turf. “I fought for the quad today. I was off balance, but I had a good reaction and I could do the triple toe .”

Teammate Preaubert also delivered a good performance, opening with a good triple Axel and…

2006 Cup of Russia: Ladies Highlights

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series continued with Cup of Russia, the fifth of six qualifying events. The event was held Nov 23-26 at the Luzhniki Ice Arena in Moscow, Russia. Over 65 skaters from 20 different countries competed for points and monies totaling $180,000 in U.S. dollars. The points go toward qualification for the Grand Prix Final, to which the top six competitors in points standings from each discipline will be invited to compete for a total purse of $272,000 U.S. dollars. The Grand Prix Final will be held Dec 14-17, 2006, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Switzerland’s Sarah Meier captured her first senior Grand Prix gold, while Julia Sebestyen of Hungary rose from fifth place after the short to win the silver. Japan’s Yoshie Onda rose from sixth place after the short to win her second consecutive Cup of Russia bronze.

Sebestyen opened her routine to Schubert’s Serenade with a triple flip, but then put her hand…

2006 Cup of Russia: Pairs Highlights

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany edged out Russia’s Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov by 1.42 points to win the gold, while Russia’s newly-formed team of Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov captured the bronze.

Savchenko and Szolkowy executed a very high throw triple flip, but Savchenko put her hand down on the landing. The current Grand Prix Final bronze medalists went on to produce good side-by-side triple toeloops, a triple twist, a difficult lift, two good spins, and a very good level four spiral sequence, earning 63.96 points for a first place finish in their routine to music from the soundtrack Once Upon a Time.

“We’re not too satisfied with the performance because we had the mistake on the throw jump and a lot of other small mistakes,” said Savchenko. “But it was better than our at Cup of China.” Szolkowy added: “I wasn’t really into it from the very beginning. It started with the throw and…

2006 Cup of Russia: Ice Dance Highlights

The ice dance event proved to be tough, exciting, and somewhat unpredictable as the top three teams were on each other’s heels throughout the competition.

USA’s Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto edged out Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin by less than one point to win the gold, while Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France settled for bronze.

The Compulsory Dance (CD) for the event was the Golden Waltz. The dance was invented by Natalia Dubova, Marina Klimova, and Sergei Ponomarenko and was first performed at the 1987 Moscow Cup.

Domnina and Shabalin delivered a smooth and confident CD, emphasizing holds and displaying good expression to place first with a new personal best of 37.99 points.

“I think we showed a good Waltz today,” said Domnina. “It’s actually harder to skate at home because you feel more responsibility. Everybody is supporting us and wants us to skate well.” She added: “The Golden Waltz is a difficult dance technically…

2006 Cup of Russia: Men’s Highlights

Brian Joubert of France easily captured the gold medal, while USA’s Johnny Weir took the silver. Ilia Klimkin of Russia, who was ninth at this event last year, won the bronze.

Joubert landed his opening quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, but stepped out of the landing on a triple Axel. The two-time and reigning World silver medalist also delivered a triple flip, two good level three footwork sequences, and three good level four spins, earning 77.70 points for a first place in his routine to music from the soundtrack of Die Another Day.

“At the 2005 World Championships I finished second and that’s not a good memory, but this is forgotten now,” said Joubert. “What I like here is the audience. They’re really super, and even at the World Championships it was a pleasure to skate in Moscow. So I like coming here.” The French National Champion added: “I’m quite disappointed about my triple Axel because this jump has…