2007 Russian National Figure Skating Championships Preview

The 2007 Russian National Figure Skating Championships will be held Jan 3-7 at the Ice Arena in Mytishi, Russia. Over the past several seasons, Russian figure skaters and ice dancers have lost their dominate position in the sport as a whole. In a roundabout way, this change might have been beneficial for a new generation of the Russian skaters.

Unlike their older teammates Elena Sokolova or Ilia Klimkin, who spent their best years in the shadow of such phenomenal skaters as Irina Slutskaya, Evgeni Plushenko, and Alexei Yagudin, the younger skaters such as 2005 World Junior Champions Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov and 2006 Russian Junior Champion Arina Martinova face no insurmountable obstacles on their way to becoming Russia’s #1. The 2006-07 Grand Prix series, however, showed that at the moment no one is eager to carry that burden. The only exception to that rule is in the ice dance discipline.

Ice Dance

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin began their career with…

2006-07 Grand Prix Final: Men’s Highlights

Brian Joubert of France won his first Grand Prix Final gold, while Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi and Nobunari Oda won the silver and bronze, respectively.

USA’s Evan Lysacek withdrew before the Short Program after the warm up. The two-time and current World bronze medalist took a bad fall on a triple Axel during practice, injuring his right hip.

Joubert put his hand down on the landing of a quadruple toeloop (in combination with a double toeloop), but quickly recovered to produce a solid triple Axel and a triple flip. The two-time and reigning World silver medalist commanded the audience with good level four spins and level three footwork in his powerful Die Another Day routine, earning a new personal best of 80.75 points for a first place finish.

“The mistake was actually that I was too slow going into it,” explained Joubert regarding  quad. “I wasn’t confident enough, so I put my hand down. Overall, I was relaxed when I went into…

2006-07 Grand Prix Final: Pairs Highlights

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China were the winners in the Pairs discipline, while teammates Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang settled from bronze. Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy took the silver.

Shen and Zhao, who skated last, displayed total mastery in their routine to Romanza by Salvadore Bacarisse, executing solid side-by-side triple toeloops, followed by an excellent throw triple toeloop, a good level three spiral sequence, and a good level four backward-outside death spiral. Though their side-by-side flying came spin was only graded a level two, the reigning Olympic bronze medalists also produced a good triple twist and an excellent level four lift, earning 68.66 points for a first place finish.

“This was a good performance, and we’re happy with it,” said Zhao. “The only problem was that the bus ride from the hotel took so long (one hour and 20 minutes due to traffic jams).”

Skating to Spanish Caravan and Hello I Love You by The Doors, teammates…

2006-07 Grand Prix Final: Ladies Highlights

Yu-Na Kim was the gold medal winner in her first appearance at this event, while Japan’s Mao Asada and Switzerland’s Sarah Meier captured the silver and bronze, respectively.

Performing to Nocturne by Frederic Chopin, Asada opened her ethereal routine with a triple Lutz, followed by a good triple flip-triple loop combination, a very good level four spiral sequence, and a solid double Axel. The 2006 World Junior silver medalist also displayed two very good level spins and level three footwork to place first with 69.34 points.

“The first thing my coach (Rafael Arutunian) said after I came off the ice was that I skated brilliantly,” said Asada. “I was nervous this morning in practice but not when I came to the competition. My goal here is to skate better than I did at NHK Trophy.”

Teammate Miko Ando landed a good triple Lutz-triple loop combination, a triple flip, and a double Axel in her confident routine to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. The 2004…

2006-07 Grand Prix Final: Ice Dance Highlights

The 2006-07 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating concluded with the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final after six weeks of competitions in which the top six skaters/couples in each discipline proceeded to the Final. The event was held December 15-17, 2006 at the Ice Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

By competing in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final the athletes earned points towards the World Standings as well. The top three skaters/couples per discipline that earned the most World Standing points during the 2006-2007 season were also awarded with a World Standing Bonus ranging from $18,000 to $67,000 US Dollars.

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria were the gold medal winners, while Canada’s Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon and Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin won the silver and bronze, respectively.

USA’s Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto withdrew earlier this week due to injury. Agosto experienced a thoracic and lumbar strain in his back while practicing a lift…

2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final: Ice Dance Highlights

USA’s Madison Hubbell and Keiffer Hubbell and Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates won the gold and silver, respectively, while Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russian won bronze. Teammates Kristina Gorshkova and Vitali Butikov were fourth.

The Compulsory Dance drawn for the World Championships was the Midnight Blues, the newest of the Compulsory Dances. It was invented by Roy Bradshaw, Sue Bradshaw, Mark Bradshaw, and Julie MacDonald and first performed in 2001 in Vancouver, Canada.

The top three dance teams performed well, placing less than half a point from each other.

Bobrova and Soloviev produced a smooth CD, displaying good knees and flow to place first with 31.56 points.

Hubbell and Hubbell also produced a sound dance to finish close behind with 31.39 points.

Samuelson and Bates were confident in their CD and placed third with 31.24 points.

Gorshkova and Butikov were fourth (28.08 points), while Grethe Grünberg and Kristian Rand of Estonia placed fifth (27.96 points).

Julia Zlobina and Alexei Sitnikov of Russia…

2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final: Pairs Highlights

USA’s Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker edged out Ksenia Krasilnikova and Konstantin Bezmaternikh of Russia to win the gold, while teammates Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss took the bronze. Kendra Moyle and Andy Seitz were fourth.

Performing to music from the Somewhere in Time soundtrack, McLaughlin and Brubaker began with a very good level four lift, followed by side-by-side double Axels, a double twist, and a somewhat labored throw triple Salchow. The JGP Chinese Taipei Cup Champions went on to produce a combination spin, a good level four spiral sequence and pair spin, and a good back-outside death spiral, earning a new personal best of 55.30 points for a first place finish after the short.

“We knew they felt the most comfortable – like kind…

2006-07 Junior Grand Prix Final: Ladies Highlights

The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating was held December 8-10 in Sofia, Bulgaria at the Winter Sports Hall. Approximately 48 skaters from 7 different countries competed for prize monies totaling $105,000 US Dollars. This was the tenth Junior Grand Prix Final competition held since it’s inception during the 1996-97 season.

Comprised of eight qualifying events, the Junior Grand Prix series began with the first competition in France, followed by Hungary, Mexico, Romania, Norway, The Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, and the Czech Republic. The top eight skater(s) in each discipline proceeded to the Final.

The US ladies swept the podium as well as fourth place. Caroline Zhang won the gold, while Ashley Wagner and Megan Oster took the silver and bronze, respectively. Teammate Melissa Bulanhagui was fourth.

Zhang opened her program to Olga (from the Ladies in Lavender soundtrack) with a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, followed by a triple flip, an excellent level four layback spin, and a…