Asada recaptures World title

The Ladies long program provided a satisfactory conclusion to the long Olympic season as a number of skaters in the two final war-up groups managed to put forward very strong  performances.

Japan’s  Mao Asada recaptured the world title, while Yu-Na Kim (KOR) rose  from seventh to win the silver. Finland’s Laura Lepistö maintained third overall to win the bronze – her first medal at the World Championships.

Kim seemed to have recovered from her poor showing in the short program. The Olympic Champion began her performance to Gershwin’s Concerto in F by railing off an airy triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a strong triple flip, and a double Axel in combination with another triple toeloop. The student of Brian Orser, however, appeared to lose her focus, falling on a triple Salchow immediately afterwards.

“My practice…

Nagasu leads in Turin

USA’s Mirai Nagasu (USA) finished first in the Ladies Short Program, ahead of Japan’s Mao Asada and Finland’s Laura Lepistö.

Nagasu opened her routine to Pirates of Caribbean soundtrack with an ambitious triple Lutz-triple toeloop attempt, but the second jump in the combination was not fully rotated. She later nailed a triple flip and double Axel, but what really propelled her to the top position at her first senior World Championships were her superb spins, for which she received the best marks of the evening – including a straight +3 from all the judges for the execution of a level four layback spin.

The U.S. silver medalist  improved her personal best by…

Olympic ice dance champs nab first World title

The outcome of the ice dance competition at the 2010 World Championships has been in little doubt long before the start of the event. The level of the teams and the quality of their material have made it pretty clear who will place where, if everyone skates clean.

The Championships ended pretty much as predicted. Canada’s  Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won their first title, while  USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Italy’s Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali took silver and bronze, respectively. It was also the first time the two latter teams have won a world medal.

The relative lack of intrigue, however, did not make the competition any less exciting, especially since the order of finish in the free…

Pang and Tong land second world title

Overnight leaders Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China won their second world title, while  Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy pulled up one spot up to capture the silver.  Russia’s Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov won their second consecutive World Championships  bronze.

Pang and Tong, who skated last, were not flawless (Pang doubled her triple toeloop), but their performance to The Impossible Dream from “The Man of La Mancha” was charged with energy and joy. The skaters were so expressive that the mistake, barely noticeable to the untrained eye, did not mar the overall impression of the program – especially since they nailed all other elements.

The team picked up 136.11 (65.55/70.56) points for the long program, and with 211.39 points in…

Virtue and Moir maintain lead in Turin

The golden quartet from Canton continued to remain unchallenged throughout the second phase of the event as both Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (CAN) and Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA) outscored their closest opponents by ten points to finish first and second in the original dance with new personal records.

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali  (ITA) are third, after they edged Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat  (FRA) on the strength of their interpretation.

Virtue and Moir, who were first to skate in the last warm-up group, delivered their Flamenco with the confidence of experienced performers who knew they had the audience in the palm of their hand from the very first move of the program.

The team stormed through the dance…

Takahashi becomes first Japanese man to win World title

Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi capped off the Men’s Long Program competition with a phenomenal performance of his La Strada routine, which earned him a standing ovation from the audience, a new season’s best from the judges, and his first world title.

Patrick Chan (CAN) and Brian Joubert   (FRA) won the second consequent silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Takahashi, who was the last to skate, opened his program with an ambitious quad flip attempt, but the jump was two-footed and the technical panel did not ratify it as fully rotated. The problem with the landing, however, did not affect the skater’s mood or his ability to express the  character of his music, nor did it prevent him from landing his other jumps.

Once again, the highlights of…

Takahashi takes lead after Short

The Men’s Short Program was such a success that one would have  to go as low as 10th place to find a more serious mistake than turning out of a jump landing; or as low as seventh place to find any mistake at all.

The two final flights would have been a credit to a competition of any level, and the best skaters of the night were not only flawless technically, but brought on their own unique brands of artistic expression to the ice.

Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) is currently first, while Patrick Chan (CAN) and Brian Joubert (FRA) are almost tied for the second and third places with just a little over a point behind the leader.

Skating last in the penultimate group, Takahashi held nothing…

Virtue and Moir lead after solid dance

Post-Olympic World Championships are often considered to be a bit of a letdown as they are held a month after the major event of the last four years. However, if the Compulsory Dance portion of this event is an indicator of the things to come, this year’s edition will prove to be an exception to this rule.

Following the first segment of ice dance competition, less than a point separates the Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (CAN) from their training mates and Vancouver runner-ups Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA).

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali of Italy put a comfortable three points between themselves and the other bronze medal contenders, but three other teams have a chance to overtake them later in the…