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2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships - HighlightsLadies Short Program and Free Dance
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The 2008 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships continued with the Ladies Short Program and the Free Dance.
The U.S. ladies dominated the Short Program, with Mirai Nagasu taking the lead, followed by teammates Caroline Zhang and Rachael Flatt.
Nagasu sparkled in her playful routine to I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin, which featured a superb layback spin. The current World Junior silver medalist landed a triple loop and double Axel, but was penalized on her triple Lutz-triple toeloop for using the wrong take-off edge on the Lutz.
Nevertheless, the U.S. champion placed first with a personal best of 65.07 (39.81/25.26) points.
"I was really nervous coming into this competition because it's such a big competition," the 14-year-old later confessed. When I got on the ice, I put all my fears behind me and I attacked out there, so I'm really happy with my performance."
Nagasu received a lot of hype after winning the U.S. Nationals in her senior debut there. When she was asked how it felt to compete as Junior at this event, she replied: " I've been training all year as a Junior, so going back to my Junior program was pretty easy. Just like last year at Junior Nationals, the win was unexpected, but a pleasant unexpected surprise so I really enjoyed it. Coming here, I got new skates and I've had a knee injury, but I put all that aside and will just focus on tomorrow's long program."
USA's Mirai Nagasu, 14, performs a layback spin in her routine to I Got Rhythm by George Gershwin. |
"I've had a lot of trouble with the flying sit spin at the beginning of the year," Nagasu continued, "and I was getting level 1s on it. It was kind of fun to work on it for each competition, and finally at our Nationals and here I got my level 4. So I'm really pleased with that. Actually, since the flying sit spin is a point-getter, I might keep it for next year since I've gotten it now."
Teammate Zhang exuded confidence along with a great Spanish attitude in her routine to Spanish Gypsy by Ray De Tone. The defending champion landed a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple loop and a double Axel.
Zhang also displayed an outstanding layback spin and spiral sequence, placing second with a new personal best of 62.60 (38.50/24.10) points.
"I think it was a pretty good performance," noted the 14-year-old. "I had a pretty shaky warm-up and before my program, I thought 'Oh my God'. But I think it was a pretty good effort [except] for my flying sit 'cause I just started working on it after Nationals. It could have been a lot better. I think could have done a lot better but it was ok."
Flatt produced a playful, yet mature routine to Gershwin's It Ain't Necessarily So, which featured a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a triple loop, and a double Axel. The U.S. silver medalist earned positive Grades of Execution (GOE) on nearly all elements, and is in a close third with a personal best of 60.16 (35.94/24.22) points.
"I'm very pleased with how I skated today," said the 15-year-old. "I had a couple of bobbles going into my spiral and into my footwork which is almost a little embarrassing. I still had a lot of fun and I'm happy with how I skated."
Yuki Nishino of Japan showed good speed and flowing edges in her routine to Leyenda by Vanessa Mae. The 1007-08 JPG Final bronze medalist landed a triple Lutz-double toeloop, a triple loop, and a double Axel. She is currently fourth with 54.15 (32.23/21.92) points.
Elena Glebova of Estonia scored 53.05 (30.76/22.29) points for her confident routine to Concerto de Aranjuez by J. Rodrigo. The 2006 Olympian landed a triple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, a triple loop, and a double Axel.
Glebova, who is making her fifth appearance at this event, is still recovering from a knee injury.
"I didn't skate for six weeks because of my injury," explained the 17-year-old, "and I had only five weeks to prepare for this competition. I'm really glad and proud of myself that I skated so well with a clean program. I want to say that on practices the last few weeks I didn't skate so well and I'm really glad that I did it at the right time in the competition."
Finland's Jenni Vähämaa is currently sixth with a new personal best of 50.30 (27.02/23.28) points. The 2007-08 JPG finalist produced a serene routine to O Mio Babbino Caro from "Gianni Schicchi" by G. Puccini, but two-footed the landing of a triple flip and turned out the landing of her double Axel.
Alena Leonova of Russia is in seventh with 49.76 (30.48/19.28) points. The 2007 Coupe de Nice champion landed a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple loop, and a double Axel.
Sweden's Joshi Helgesson is in a close eighth with 49.10 (29.67/19.43) points, followed by Sonia Lafuente of Spain (46.36 points).
Last year, USA's Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates stood in second going into the Free Dance, but withdrew due to injury. |
USA's Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates maintained the lead throughout the Ice Dance competition to win the title, while Canada's Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier finished a close second. Russia's Kristina Gorshkova and Vitali Butikov captured the bronze.
Last year at this event, Samuelson and Bates stood in second going into the FD, but the team had to withdraw due to injury. During the FD, Samuelson fell and Bates accidentally stepped on her hand, severing the tendon in her middle finger. The injury required hand surgery.
"It's the opposite extreme from what happened last year," said Samuelson. "We're grateful for everything. For our coaches for getting us this far and the judges and fans for their support. It just has been wonderful."
The 2007-08 JGP Final silver medalists displayed excellent speed and unison in their routine to Luna by Alessandra Safina, which was highlighted by precise and matching steps. The team earned a level 4 on all elements except for their dance spin, and were awarded positive GOEs on all seven elements by all 12 judges.
Samuelson (17) and Bates (19) also produced difficult lifts, as well as perfectly synchronized twizzles, and earned a new personal best of 88.71 (45.96/42.75) points for a first place finish in the FD. Their total score was 181.66 points.
"We felt very, very strong during our performance," said Bates. "We trained very well at home, so when we come to competition we can be relaxed and trust each other. We went out there and skated the program like we do in practice every day. That's all what we needed to do. It's very exciting to come through. All the elements were executed very well tonight; it wasn't just technical elements one after another. We put together a performance that we're very proud of."
Crone (17) and Poirier (16) also produced an outstanding dance in which all elements were awarded positive GOEs as well as level 4s. Their routine to A Los Amigos by A. Pontier and F. Silva showed every aspect of the tango, and the team skated incredibly close together on deep edges and curves, while displaying the characteristic passion for the dance.
Their program was highlighted by excellent diagonal and circular footwork, as well as difficult lifts, and the Canadians earned a personal best of 86.86 (45.45/41.41) points for a second place finish in the FD and overall (178.09 points).
"We were very pleased with our free dance performance tonight," said Poirier. "At the beginning of the season, we were told we needed to work on more speed. I think the free dance had a lot more speed tonight. Altogether I was very happy with the performance because I think it went to the audience as well."
"It still hasn't kind of sunk in yet," Crone told the press. "We worked really hard to get this. Our original goal was the top five, so this is just the icing on the cake to come second."
"After the Junior Grand Prix Final, we went home and trained really hard and focused on what we needed to work on," added Poirier. "I think all our hard work has paid off here."
Gorshkova (19) and Butikov (20) exhibited a real connection to each other in their routine to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler. While not as precise as the top two teams, the 2007 Russian Junior bronze medalists showed great intensity, and their steps and moves matched very well.
The 2007-08 JGP Final bronze medalists also earned a level 4 and positive GOEs on all elements. Their twizzles matched perfectly and their circular footwork showed close holds with matching lines and deep edges. They placed third in the FD with a new personal best of 83.87 (43.38/40.49) and were third overall (172.85 points).
"Tonight we skated really well and did all we wanted to do," said Butikov. "Now we'll have to train, train, train. We have to work on our presentation."
Gorshkova agreed, adding:"We skated well, but we changed our Free Dance in the season and we could have skated it better if we had more time to work on it. Obviously we had hoped to finished higher. As an athlete you always want to win, but we are happy with how we performed."
The Russians, who were fourth last year, had a difficult summer. The team lost their coach Tatiana Kuzmina to a car accident on July 3rd. She was only 44. Butikov also suffered a broken foot.
Teammates Maria Monko (17) and Ilia Tkachenko (21) produced an intense and dramatic dance to the dark and haunting music of Waltz of the Spirits by Karl Jenkins. The only error came when Monko fell during the second set of twizzles which were downgraded to level 1. All other elements were awarded a level 4 with the exception of a very good level 3 serpentine step sequence.
The 2007 Russian junior silver medalists placed fourth in the FD with 77.32 (39.01/39.31) points and fourth overall with 166.01 points.
USA's Madison Hubbell (17) and Keiffer Hubbell (19) skated a strong routine to Hope by Apocalyptica, with excellent matching twizzles and a superb diagonal footwork sequence. However, Madison Hubbell took a fall during a transitional move which resulted in a one-point deduction. The team earned a level four on all elements except for a level 2 straightline lift, and placed fifth with a new personal best of 75.65 (41.08/35.57) points. With a total score of 157.47 points, the current U.S. Junior champions maintained fifth overall.
Ekaterina Riazanova and Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia delivered an enjoyable dance to a Latin medley which was highlighted by a very good level 3 combination dance spin and serpentine footwork, as well as level 4 twizzles. The 16-year-olds placed sixth in the FD with a personal best of 73.64 (39.27/34.37) points and were sixth overall (153.29 points).
Ukrainians Alisa Agafonova (17) and Dmitri Dun (18) placed seventh in the FD (72.77 points) and overall (150.57 points). The 2007-08 JGP finalists showed excellent unison in their midline step sequence and produced three very good level 4 lifts.
Isabella Pajardi (19) and Stefano Caruso (21) of Italy, who stood in 11th after the OD, placed eighth in the FD (71.58 points) and overall (144.13 points). The 2007-08 JGP finalists displayed deep and flowing edges in their dramatic routine, which featured very good level 4 twizzles as well as difficult lifts.
Canada's Kharis Ralph (15) and Asher Hill (16) finished eighth in the FD (69.43 points) and overall (144.29 points). The Canadian Junior champions displayed a good connection to each other in their routine to Rainforest by Karl Jenkins, as well as very good matching positions.
Teammates Karen Routhier and Eric Saucke-Lacelle placed 11th in the FD (65.14 points), maintaining 10th place overall (138.61 points), while Maureen Ibanez and Neil Brown of France placed 10th in the FD (65.65 points) and 11th overall (138.10 points).
The event concludes with the Ladies Free Skate.
