Imai embraces change

Though Haruka Imai is still in the shadow of the Japanese  figure skating stars, she is certainly one to watch. This season she made some changes in her life—the most importantly, the switching of  coaches and moving from her native Tokyo to the USA.

In September, Imai came to Detroit to train with 1994 World Champion Yuka Sato and her husband Jason Dungjen.

“Haruka was with us for a month in May,” Sato recalled. “I choreographed three numbers— long program, short program, and a show program. Then she went home. At the end of the summer I got a call. She wanted to be with us for the whole season.”

Imai, who suffered from a stress fracture in her foot during the summer and was off the ice for about two months, arrived in…

Abbott wins third U.S. title

It was a mixed bag for the newly crowned U.S. Men’s champion at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Jeremy Abbott, the 26-year-old from Aspen, Colo., was having perhaps the performance of his life in front of a packed house, while in the stands, his stepfather, Allen Scott, 64, was having a medical emergency.

Focused so completely on his performance, the three-time champion missed the melee that was just rows away from the ice.

“Before the medals ceremony, people kept telling me that I needed to call my mother,” he explained. “But I thought it was just her being her normal self, and just wanted to congratulate me.”

Abbott learned that shorted after his Exogenesis: Symphony program had started, that Scott blacked out and started convulsing.

“I spoke with my mom and learned that his heart rate is…

Denney and Coughlin capture gold at U.S. Nationals

It was the third consecutive year that either Caydee Denney or John Coughlin ascended to the top step of the podium at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose.

Denney, who won the title with former partner Jeremy Barrett in 2010, and Coughlin, who was the gold medalist last year with Caitlin Yankowskas, won the 2012 U.S. pairs title together with a flawless routine that brought the crowd to its feet.

Coughlin became the first American skater to win back-to-back titles with a different partner since Melissa Militano did it back in 1973-74.

“Has it been that long?” Coughlin said. “I didn’t know that. Cool.”

Skating to Jeff Beck’s modern version of Nessun Dorma from the Puccini opera Turandot, Denney, 18,…

Kostner takes fourth European title

Italy’s Carolina Kostner continued her stellar season in Sheffield at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championships, taking her fourth title. Kiira Korpi of Finland held on to second place to earn her first silver medal, while Georgia’s Elene Gedevanishvili grabbed her second bronze medal at the event.

Kostner gave an inspiring performance of her exquisite program to Concerto No. 23 for Piano and Orchestra by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. She completed five solid triples, including a flip, and two level-four spins to score 120.33 points.

It was nice to see how she enjoyed her performance. Overall, the 24-year-old accumulated 183.55 points.

“I am very pleased with the whole week here,” said Kostner. “I had an awesome feeling on the ice, and just hearing the crowd cheer me on, it was amazing.”

“I completely canceled…

Plushenko takes seventh European title

Evgeni Plushenko skated off with his seventh European title Saturday at the 2012 ISU European Figure Skating Championship in Sheffield, Great Britain.

Overnight leader Artur Gachinski settled for the silver, making it one-two for Russia in the Men’s. It’s the first time since 2004 that the Russian men took two medals at Europeans. Defending Champion Florent Amodio of France moved up from fourth to claim the bronze.

Plushenko underlined his status as a legend in Sheffield. The 29-year-old defied the naysayers and overcame a knee injury to give a strong performance.

The 2006 Olympic Champion opened his Tango de Roxanne with a solid quad, followed by two beautiful triple Axels and three more triples. All jumps had excellent quality, except for the last double Axel, which was…

Wagner rebounds to gold at U.S. Nationals

Before the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 20-year-old Ashley Wagner made some pretty bold statements about how things would shake out this year.

Often described as the ‘almost girl’, Wagner said that she would cast away her short program demons and win her first U.S. title in San Jose. And she did just that in front of a very welcoming crowd of spectators.

“I’m really glad that I was able to back up my statements,” Wagner said after the competition. “I would be a horrible person had I not been able to. I wasn’t being cocky—I was just saying what everybody else was thinking instead of putting on an act. I don’t think anybody comes to the national championships to not win the gold medal.”

Skating to music from Black Swan, Wagner had to…

Davis and White take fourth consecutive title at U.S. Nationals

Even if the results were generally predictable, the figure skating was electrifying this afternoon at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championship free dance competition.

Reigning World Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White skated away with their fourth consecutive U.S. title, leaving the rest of the crowd in the dust with their Die Fliedermaus program.

“We felt really great about our performance today,” Davis said following the competition. “We left it all out there on the ice and pushed beyond our comfort level this week. We’re building for the rest of the season, and we’re exactly where we want to be at this point.”

Davis and White had the crowd behind them every step of the way, and the applause built as the program wore…

Abbott leads men in San Jose

Jeremy Abbott, the two-time U.S. Champion, reestablished himself as the man to beat after a disappointing fourth place finish at last year’s championships in Greensboro, N.C.

The 26-year-old danced his way to the top of the standings after the Championship Men’s short program at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, taking a seven point lead into Sunday’s free skate.

“I did the skate that I wanted to do,” Abbott said after the competition. “I feel much more prepared and mature than I did when I won my two national titles. I am focusing on making my programs the best that they can be so that I can secure my spot on the world team.”

Abbott put everything into his swing dance program, and was rewarded with the highest component marks of the night. The…