Bobrova and Soloviev take lead in Oberstdorf

The 2007 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, which is taking place Feb 27 – Mar 4 in Oberstdorf, Germany, kicked off with the Compulsory Dance.

The event, which was held in Oberstdorf in 1982 and 2000, has existed since 1978, with the 1976 and 1977 competitions known as the “Junior Figure Skating Championships”.

In 2000, Oberstdorf set an ISU World Junior Championship record for figure skating (which still stands) for the most skaters (201) participating. Even for Senior Worlds, this number has only been beaten twice: 2001 Vancouver, Canada – 212 skaters and 1994 Chiba, Japan – 211 skaters.

Oberstdorf is setting yet another record for the most nations participating (50) at an ISU World Championship (either Junior or Senior) with India and Monaco participating at the ISU World…

McLaughlin and Brubaker take lead at Junior Worlds

The 2007 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships continued Tuesday with the Pairs’ Short Program after the ice dancers completed the Compulsory Dance.

USA’s Keauna McLaughlin (14) and Rockne Brubaker (20) skated to music from the Somewhere in Time soundtrack, setting a soft romantic mood which carried throughout the program. Aside from a step-out on the throw triple Salchow, all of their elements were well executed, which included a huge lateral double twist and very good side-by-side double Axels.

The 2007 US Junior Champions, who placed first with a new personal best score of 57.00, received a level four on their hand-to-hand one-armed loop lift with changes of holds, spiral sequence, and pairs spin. The only negative Grade of Execution (GOE) score was on the throw…

2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships Preview

The 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships will take place in Oberstdorf, Germany from February 26 to March 4. Coming off of unprecedented success at the Junior Grand Prix Final, with gold medals in every discipline and nine of the twelve medals in all, U.S. skaters are favored to dominate once again.

One name not among the medalists at the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) Final is Mirai Nagasu, yet Nagasu could be considered a co-favorite to win in Oberstdorf. The thirteen-year-old Californian, who did not make it past the regional level in the U.S. last year, toppled the previously unbeatable Caroline Zhang at U.S. Nationals in the junior division. Nagasu has been on a winning streak of her own with victories at Regionals and Sectionals, but the World Junior Championships will be the first test of her mettle on the international level. Nevertheless, she stands an excellent chance of a medal – perhaps gold – if she can deliver clean…

Dubreuil and Lauzon take 4CC title

The third day of the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships continued with the Free Dance and Men’s Long program.

UPDATE: Canadian pairs skater Jessica Dubé, who suffered a facial laceration during the pairs long program Thursday, was discharged from Memorial Hospital yesterday afternoon.

Davison’s blade sliced the left side of Dubé’s cheek and nose during their side-by-side flying camel spins. The 19-year-old was seen by a maxiofacial trauma surgeon and underwent surgery for exploration of the wound and repair. Her eye was not affected and nothing was broken.

“The surgery went very well,” said ISU medical advisor Dr. Moran. “Jessica is doing great.”

In a statement issued Thursday, Davison said: “We both realize the risks involved in pairs skating. Jess is handling it extremely well. She is tough and calm. We are…

Lysacek captures second Four Continents title

USA’s Evan Lysacek proved that his performance at the US Championships two weeks ago was no fluke. The two-time and reigning World bronze medalist overcame an almost 11 point deficit after the short program to win his second title at this event.

Three-time and current Canadian Champion Jeffrey Buttle settled for silver after a disappointing performance.

Skating to music from Bizet’s Carmen, Lysacek opened with a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, albeit slightly two-footed, which set the tone for the program from the start. His lone error came on his next element, the triple Axel, in which he had to put his hand down to keep from falling. The 2006 Cup of China Champion produced quickly recovered to land seven more solid triple jumps, as well as good spins and footwork, to earn a new personal best score for both his long program (159.23) and overall score (226.27).

Lysacek earned the highest technical score of the event based on his jump…

Meissner clinches Four Continents gold

World Champion Kimmie Meissner pulled out all of the stops this afternoon to pull up from sixth place after a disappointing short program. In her first appearance at this event, the 17-year-old clinched the gold medal with a performance that brought the crowd to its feet.

“This title means a lot to me,” said Meissner. “It’s my first Four Continents and I’m excited to have the title now. I felt really excited to go out there and do a good program.”

Skating to Galicie Flamenco, Meissner opened her program with a triple lutz-triple toe combination – the only triple-triple combination of the night, and later landed another triple Lutz near the end of her routine.

“It felt good to land those Lutzes,” said Meissner. “The last year has been like a whirlwind. Making the Olympics was a big goal of mine…

Rochette leads at Four Continents

The question that resonated throughout the ladies short program tonight was, ‘Does anybody really want to win this thing?’.

Only three ladies in the field of twenty-six skated a technically clean performance, and of those, only one is in the top three.

One by one, the top skaters popped, fell on, or stepped out of a jump, and in the end, Canada’s Joannie Rochette was standing alone at the top of the heap, albeit with a very small lead.

Rochette started her sultry program to Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing with a triple flip that she had to step out of before tacking on a double toe, which wasn’t counted as her required combination. After the mistake however, Rochette skated cleanly and surely, showcasing her willowy back and balletic fingers as she ticked off each successive element.

The four-time Canadian…

Belbin and Agosto snatch lead at Four Continents

USA’s Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto bested Canada’s Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in the original dance competition by over one point in this phase of the competition. However, even with the lead, the 2006 Olympic silver medalists were not at their best.

Dressed in black with red highlights, Belbin and Agosto performed their tango to Piazzolla’s Concierto para Quinteto and Oblivion, but the program seemed to lack the typical punch that this team usually exhibits in the original dance.

“Every program for us is always a work in progress,” explained Agosto. “After each competition, we always come back and analyze what we did well, and what we didn’t do well to make a game plan of what we want to change.”

That would be the dress for starters.

During the side-by-side midline step sequence, Belbin’s left skate snagged the back of her dress, forcing her to skate on one foot until she tore herself free.

“Thankfully it happened in the one-foot section because…