Kim shatters yet another record; wins Olympic Gold

Yu-Na Kim of South Korea broke another world record in the Ladies Long Program, and combined with her Short Program score, became the first Korean skater to ever win Olympic Gold.

Japan’s Mao Asada also set a record for the first woman to ever land three triple Axels (Short and Long Program combined), and maintained second overall to win the silver.

Joannie Rochette of Canadian claimed the bronze, becoming the first…

Kim breaks another record; leads Ladies Short Program

South Korea’s Yu-Na Kim currently sits in first after the Short Program, followed by Mao Asada of Japan and Canada’s Joannie Rochette.

Kim broke another Short Program record after scoring a new personal best 78.50 (44.70/33.80) points for first place in her flawless “James Bond” routine.

The 19-year-old phenom nailed a triple Lutz-triple toeloop, a triple flip, and a double Axel, all of which received high positive Grades of Execution (GoE)….

Virtue and Moir capture historic Olympic gold

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir made history when they became the first Canadians, as well as North American team, to capture the Olympic Gold in Ice   Dance.

USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie   White  claimed the silver medal, while the  bronze went to Russia’s Oksana   Domnina and Maxim Shabalin.

Virtue and Moir gave a spellbinding performance to Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 which featured exquisite level 4 lifts. Their level 4 twizzles were…

Virtue and Moir lead after Original Dance

Tessa Virtue Scott Moir of   Canada took the lead after the Original Dance (OD), while USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White also moved up one spot to second. Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who led after the Compulsory  Dance (CD), dropped to third.

Virtue and Moir delivered a technically complicated, but passionate Spanish Flamenco which had the crowd on its feet as soon as it ended.

“It felt amazing,” said…

Domnina and Shabalin take the lead in Ice Dance

Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin took the lead in the Compulsory Dance, followed by Tessa Virtue and      Scott Moir of Canada and USA’s Meryl Davis and Charlie White.

The Tango Romantica was selected for the Compulsory Dance. The dance, which was invented by Ludmilla Pakhomova, Alexander Gorshkov and Elena Tchaikovskaya, was first performed in Moscow in 1974.

Domnina and Shabalin gave a commanding and expressive performance, showing excellent interpretation of…

Lysacek takes gold; Plushenko gets silver

USA’s Evan Lysacek edged out Russia’s defending Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko, becoming the   first U.S. man to win Olympic Gold since Brian Boitano in 1988. Daisuke Takahashi   claimed the bronze, the first Olympic medal in Men’s Figure Skating for Japan, while Stéphane Lambiel of Switzerland came in a close fourth.

Lysacek gave a solid performance which featured eight triple jumps, including two triple Axels, in his routine to Sheherazade. The…

Plushenko leads men after short program

Evgeni Plushenko of Russia currently sits in first place after the men’s Short Program, followed closely by USA’s Evan Lysacek and Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi. All three men are separated by less than half a point.

Plushenko gave a demanding performance to Concierto de Aranjuez routine, nailing all his opening jumps:  a  quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. The defending champion also earned  level 3 on…

Shen and Zhao capture 2010 Olympic gold

In what turned out to be a nail-biting event, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China won the 2010 Olympic gold medal, while teammates Qing Pang and Jian Tong captured the silver. Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy settled for the bronze.

Shen and Zhao opened their  emotional routine to Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor with solid side-by-side triple toeloops and a double Axel-double Axel sequence. However, during a Axel…

Shen and Zhao lead with record-breaking score

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China lead the pairs after the Short Program, followed closely by Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany and Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia.

Though Shen and Zhao  are the oldest pairs team competing in Vancouver (31 and 36 respectively), it certainly didn’t show.

Skating first, the current bronze medalists  set the tone for the event with an instrumental version of Who Wants…

2010 Olympic Preview to Pairs Figure Skating

The pairs will be the first skaters competing in Vancouver, skating their short programs just two days after the Opening Ceremonies on Valentine’s Day. The table has been set for a delicious entrée of favorites who have the potential to satisfy every craving an observer might have, and the competition even comes with a collection of second-tier teams that offer a sweet dessert for the skating aficionado.

The top contenders…

2010 Olympic Preview to Ladies Figure Skating

The ladies should be a little more cut and dry than the other divisions, but recent Olympic history has taught us that the favorite hasn’t been so lucky as of late. We’ve had Olympic champions with the names Lipinski, Hughes, and Arakawa, while the favorites like Kwan, Slutskaya, and Cohen failed to step up to the challenge. Korea’s Kim Yuna should take note of this little tidbit; it’s likely…

2010 Olympic Preview to Ice Dance

The Ice Dance competition could be the most delicious of all of the contested events in Vancouver. Not only are the competitors well matched in terms of difficulty and scoring potential, but there is also the omnipresent power of politics, scandal, and judging alliances that often plague ice dance competitions.

In a perfect competition, no single team would win more than one phase of the competition, and that could very…

2010 Olympic Preview to Men’s Figure Skating

Most think that it is a forgone conclusion that reigning Olympic champion Evgeny Plushenko is a shoo-in for a second title in Vancouver. After handily defeating every opponent he has faced this season, Plushenko is the favorite, but his dominance is as of yet untested among a full field of the world’s best.

Plushenko has yet to cross paths with World and Grand Prix Final champion Evan Lysacek of the…