Kim pockets gold at 2009 Worlds

The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships concluded with the Ladies Long Program.

It wasn’t a competition. It was a coming out party, and all of the other skaters were invited as guests. Korea’s Yu Na Kim did not give another skater even a whisper of hope in this competition, and she ran away with the gold medal with a new world record score as well as the largest margin of victory by a lady at the World Championships.

“This has been a dream come true for me,” admitted the two-time bronze medalist turned champion. “I have been dreaming of this happening since I was a little girl, and now it came true.”

Kim entered the freeskate with an eight-point cushion over…

Kim grabs easy lead in Los Angeles

The highly anticipated duel between Korea’s Yu-Na Kim and Japan’s Mao Asada was finally back in action today with the ladies short program.

Canada’s Joannie Rochette had a little something to say about that, but the day belonged to Kim as she annihilated her competition with a short program that would have been competitive in the men’s field this week.

Kim opened her “Danse Macabre” short program with a gorgeous triple flip-triple toe loop combination, and then a brilliant triple Lutz.

“I am very happy with how I did today because I had a very good performance,” said the Four Continents Champion. “I have been doing very well in training, and I am happy that I could transfer that over to…

Domnina and Shabalin win gold at 2009 Worlds

As expected, it was a tight race to determine the final placements and medals in the ice dance competition. Five teams had a very real shot at harvesting medals, and so many of the teams gave season’s best performances with everything on the line. In the end, the medals went to the top three teams after the original dance, and only two teams swapped placements in the top ten.

Winning their first world title was Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia, who skated a competent program to Khatchaturian’s “Spartacus”. The 2008 European Champions earned level fours on seven of their eight executed elements, and defeated their training mates, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United…

Domnina and Shabalin maintain lead at 2009 Worlds

For a few hours this afternoon, the Staples Center was transported back in time to the 1920s, 30s, and 40s as the Original Dance (OD) competition featured music and dances from that era. Skaters could select their own rhythms among those represented by music from that time period. As a result, the audience was treated to dances from all over the rhythmic spectrum including blues, the foxtrot, swing, and even the waltz.

When the sequins and feathers settled, Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin held onto their lead over Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto who won the OD portion of the competition. The Russians cling to a narrow 0.64 points lead heading into the free dance, which amounts to a single level or Grade of Execution (GoE) difference from one team to the other.

“We are happy with what we did, but it can always be better,” Domnina said. “We are excited about getting a level four on all of…

Lysacek captures first world title

You couldn’t write a better script to what happened to Evan Lysacek in the last year of his skating career. The two-time U.S. Champion was forced to withdraw from the World Championships with an injury last season, and he was looking like his time had passed with somewhat average performances on the Grand Prix circuit last fall.

At this season’s national championships, Lysacek had perhaps his poorest freeskate in recent memory, and barely qualified for the World Championships to be held in his adopted hometown.

Lysacek showed up this week with a renewed spirit and has been a great ambassador for Los Angeles, taking time from his busy schedule to promote this competition as much as he could. His goal…

Joubert leads men at 2009 Worlds

There is something in the air in Los Angeles. Or maybe it’s in the water. Either way, figure skating has never looked so good. After great competitions yesterday, the men took to the ice at the Staples Center, and followed up those performances with some great ones of their own. A little more than four points separates the top four competitors which sets the stage for a dramatic freeskate that could be one of the most talked about events in recent years.

Leading the pack is Brian Joubert of France, the 2007 World Champion, who skated an audience-pleasing program to Rise by Safri Duo. Joubert opened with a hand down on his quadruple toe loop…

Savchenko and Szolkowy win second consecutive world title

After a night of great skating in the pairs short program, the pairs freeskate was a huge let down of sorts, as there were only two performances that were worth phoning home about.

Perhaps it was because of the late hours that the competitors were forced to keep last night (the draw ended sometime after 11:30 PM PDT), or maybe it was because the pressure wore the skaters down as they attempted to qualify their nation for entries into the Olympic Games. Whatever the reason, the skating was just not as good as in the short program.

One of the highlights of the night was the commanding win by the reigning…

Domnina and Maxim Shabalin grab lead in Los Angeles

The 2009 World Figure Skating Championships are being held March 24-28 in Los Angeles, California at the Staples Center. It is the first time Los Angeles is hosting the event in which a record number of approximately 216 skaters/teams from 52 different countries are competing.

Brazil and Ireland are participating for the first time in an ISU World Championship.

The competition kicked off on March 24 with the Compulsory Dance.

The event got off to a fiery start as sixty skaters burned up the ice with the Paso Doble selected as the compulsory du’jour. The dance was invented by Reginald B. Wilkie and Daphne B. Wallis, and was first performed in 1938. In international competition, the dance has…