Entertaining as ever, Bradley finally takes U.S. title

It wasn’t the skate that twenty-seven-yea- old Ryan Bradley had in mind when he decided to return to competitive ice three months ago, but the result was exactly what he had hoped to do. With just the fourth best freeskate of the evening, Bradley had enough reserve left over from the short program to clinch his first US Championships title in the senior division.

“Today’s was a really hard program. It wasn’t the way that I pictured it,” said the unusually solemn Bradley. “It wasn’t what I trained for every single day.”

Bradley opened by attempting and making mistakes on two different quadruple toe loop jumps, and it was clear that the 1999 US Junior Men’s Champion would have to fight through the rest of the program in order to…

Czisny dazzles; captures second U.S. title

Thursday’s ladies short program gave no real clue as to which skater was to be the 2011 US Champion. In a virtual tie heading into the free skate, three former US Champions held all of the cards in each of their hands, knowing that all they had to do was to win the freeskate.

The 2009 Champion, twenty-three-year-old Alissa Czisny, finally pulled it all together, and ran away with the title with the best performances of her career. The gold medalist earned credit for six triple jumps, though one was deemed underrotated, and outscored the silver medalist by nearly eight points.

“I had a lot of fun out there tonight,” Czisny said of her winning performance, “and I went out there and just focused on what I…

Korpi leads ladies after short program at Europeans

Kiira Korpi of Finland won the Ladies Short Program at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2011 followed by Russia’s Ksenia Makarova. Switzerland’s Sarah Meier unexpectedly came in third, while top favorite Carolina Kostner of Italy fell twice and is currently ranked sixth.

Korpi put out a delightful performance of her program to The Wizard of Oz. She hit a solid triple toe-triple toe combination, a triple loop and a double Axel. The flying sit spin and the combination spin merited a level four, while the layback was a level three and the footwork a level two. Korpi picked up a seasons best with 63.50 points.

“I expected a clean program because I have been doing really well this season and as…

Pechalat and Bourzat dance to first European title

France’s Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France not only danced to the title in the ice dance event at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2011 in Bern, Switzerland, but also to their first medal. Silver medalists Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia also made the European podium for the first time, while Sinead Kerr and John Kerr from Great Britain celebrated a comeback to claim the second European bronze medal of their career.

Pechalat and Bourzat skated last and finished a high-level ice dance event on a high note with an excellent performance to Charlie Chaplin. The French showed a real program, not just the execution of difficult elements, but the story of Charlie Chaplin…

Sarah Meier captures ladies European title

It was like a romance movie when Sarah Meier of Switzerland skated to the title on her home ice in Bern at the 2011 ISU European Figure Skating Championships. Carolina Kostner of Italy surged from sixth to claim the silver and Finland’s Kiira Korpi earned the bronze medal.

A lot of people needed tissues when the 26-year-old multiple Swiss Champion put out one of her best performances as the last skater in the Ladies event in what was her final competition.

Meier’s routine to Love in the Times of Cholera included five triple jumps, two double Axels, a level-four her flying camel spin, two level-three spins and level-three footwork. The crowd roared with each element she hit and the skater was overwhelmed with emotion in the…

Amodio wins European title in his debut

Florent Amodio of France won the European title in a turbulent Men’s competition as veterans Brian Joubert (FRA) and Tomáš Verner (CZE) fought back to capture silver and bronze. The Men’s event was an exciting end of the 2011 ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Bern, Switzerland.

Amodio was a real crowd-pleaser in his program to pop music by Michael Jackson, Black Eyes Peas and others. The 20-year-old pulled off two triple Axels, a triple Salchow-triple toe combination, and three more triples, as well as fast and precise spins to score 148.75 points. He totaled 226.86 points.

The program might contain too much posing and Amodio doesn’t has as many transitions and ice coverage as some of his competitors do, but the crowd loved it. The Frenchman…

Bradley boogies to lead at U.S. Nationals

If ever there were a case study in the power of positive thinking, twenty-seven-year-old Ryan Bradley might be the poster child.

The two-time World Team member has been surrounding himself with positive thoughts, often posting them on social network sites, and reaching out to his family, friends, and fans to support him in his quest for a first senior national title. The result was the best performance of Bradley’s long career, and the showman sits in first place after the short program ahead of two-time and defending champion Jeremy Abbott.

“I was really happy with the way things went, especially after the last few years,” Bradley said with a smile. “To do a clean short program is a great feeling, but I have a lot…

Yankowskas and Coughlin win U.S. title with stirring tribute

In a moving tribute to his mother Stacy, twenty-five-year-old John Coughlin and his twenty-year-old partner Caitlin Yankowskas captured the 2011 US Pairs title. Coughlin’s mother, a huge inspiration in his skating career, passed away last February, and the duo decided to honor her with their Ave Maria freeskate this season.

“It’s been a wild year, and I didn’t really know what to think at first,” Coughlin said of the performance. “I was trying to find (our coaches) right away, and I looked for my father in the audience. I kind of grabbed Caitlin and spun her around and soaked it all in. This is something that we will remember forever, and I told myself no matter what we did today competitively, to…