whisper
8th February 2007, 21:35
The 2007 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships kicked off Wednesday in Colorado Springs, USA, with the Compulsory Dance, the Pairs and Men’s Short Program. The Four Continents Championships were introduced by the ISU in 1999 as an equivalent to the European Championships. 89 skaters/couples from 14 ISU members are competing in the Championships. Brazil and India both are represented for the first time at an ISU Championship.
Championships. 89 skaters/couples from 14 ISU members are competing in the Championships. Brazil and India both are represented for the first time at an ISU Championship.
Ice Dancing, Compulsory Dance
The Compulsory Dance at the Four Continents Championships was the Golden Waltz, the same as at the European Championships end of January. Marie-France Dubreuil/Patrice Lauzon (CAN) danced to the lead ahead of the two U.S. teams Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto and Meryl Davis/Charlie White.
Dubreuil/Lauzon had drawn to skate first out of the 12 couples. The reigning World silver medallists put out a solid performance of the Golden Waltz, scoring 38.54 points (19.67 element score/18.87 program component score). “It felt quick. I think it was a pretty good dance for us. Skating first is always a little more nerve wracking with the altitude. We didn’t warm up because we wanted still to have some juice for the performance”, Dubreuil said. “We’ve skated here (in Colorado Springs) for a week. After Nationals there was no point for us going back to Lyon because our coaches were at Europeans. So we came to train here”, she added. Her partner was still out of breath when talking to the journalists in the mixed zone. “The Golden Waltz is a pretty hard compulsory dance. There is not much breathing time”, he explained.
Belbin/Agosto showed a strong Golden Waltz until the end of the last sequence when Agosto suddenly tripped and almost fell. The Olympic silver medallists earned 37.72 points (19.03/18.69). “The performance was good except for the fall (stumble). Basically my toe pick got caught on the ice. I still feel it was our strongest performance of the Waltz, because we felt very tentative at Nationals. We wanted to push it out, to make it more exciting, it felt great and very smooth”, Agosto told the press. “It was still a good performance and the fact that we are less than a point behind the leaders puts us in a good position”, Belbin said.
World junior bronze medalists Davis/White had a good start into their first senior Championship and came in third with decent performance of the Golden Waltz. They were awarded 33.68 points (17.83/15.85). “It helps a lot (having the same compulsory dance at Nationals). If we’d had only a week to train the Golden (Waltz), being the most difficult compulsory dance we’ve ever done it would have been a lot more difficult », Davis commented. «It’s been an interesting ride doing this dance. At first we thought it was almost hopeless. But you get into it and you start to feel it, start to feel the music. By the end of the year it’s pretty comfortable, not too bad », White said, referring to the fact that this is a new dance for them.
Reigning World Junior Champions Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (CAN) are only 0.27 points behind at 33.41 points in fourth place.
Pairs, Short Program
The competition continued with the Pairs Short Program. China’s Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao and Qing Pang/ Jian Tong finished first and second while Rena Inoue/John Baldwin (USA) came in third.
Shen/Zhao delivered an exciting short program to « Romanza », completing an excellent side by side triple toeloop, a high throw triple loop and a difficult one-armed lift. The Technical Panel awarded the two-time World Champions a level four for their death spiral, spiral sequence, the spins and the lift, and only the triple twist was flawed. The two-time Olympic bronze medallists picked up 69.29 points (37.23 element score/32.06 program component score). « We’re very tired. Originally we didn’t want to come here (to Four Continents), because it was so close to the Asian Winter Games, and this is high altitude and Hongbo Zhao (her partner) got injured at high altitude (when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in August 2005 during a training camp in Kunming/CHN). We decided to come here, because we haven’t performed these programs yet in Canada or the USA”, Shen said.
Pang/Tong, who skated first, set the standard with a strong performance that featured a side by side triple toeloop, a triple twist, a throw triple loop. The reigning World Champions were awarded a level four for their side by side spin, the pair combination spin, the press lift, the death spiral and spiral sequence. They earned 65.80 points for their program to « O Doux Printemps d’Autrefois » by Jules Massenet. « It was a quite good performance. There were still some little errors, and we feel that the high altitude is affecting us”, Pang said. “It (her health) is better than it was but I’m still not fully recovered and we need breaks in practice. My stamina is still not so good”, she continued when asked about her condition. Pang suffered from nephritis earlier this season.
Skating to « The Soul of Spain » Inoue/Baldwin nailed their signature element, the throw triple Axel as well as a side by side double Axel, a double twist that was graded a level four and a one-armed lift. The defending Four Continents Champions collected 61.73 points (35.27/26.46), slightly surpassing their previous personal best. ”The throw triple Axel was something we’ve been able to do since last year, so it wasn’t shocking (to do it today), but it’s always exciting to land it. We’re honoured to be in the last group with two World Champions”, Baldwin commented.
Valerie Marcoux/Craig Buntin (CAN) are within striking distance of the podium at 60.43 points. They produced a side by side triple toeloop and a high double twist, but Marcoux had to fight for the landing of the throw triple loop. Anabelle Langlois/Cody Hay (CAN) finished 5th. She fell on the throw triple Lutz (56.15 points).
Men, Short Program
Today’s competition concluded with the Men’s Short Program. Canada’s Jeffrey Buttle grabbed the lead ahead of two Americans Jeremy Abbott and Ryan Bradley.
Buttle opened his routine to a Piano version of « Adios Nonino » with a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, but then stumbled out of his triple Axel. The two-time Four Continents Champion rallied back to hit a triple Lutz and showed exquisite spins and footwork, all of which were graded a level four by the Technical Panel. Buttle earned 77.72 points (41.58 element score/36.14 program component score), which was sligthly more than his previous personal best of 77.39 points. « My season has been very uneventful. I’ve been spending most of the season just off the ice and recovered. The injury healed completely. I was back on the ice, training, basically I’m back to normal”, the Olympic bronze medalist said, referring to his back injury that kept him out of the Grand Prix Series this seasons. “The jumps obviously weren’t as good as they’ve been. My body kept rotating after the Axel so I had a pretty major step out. Otherwise I think all of the other elements, the spins, the footwork, (I) really have been pushing, trying to get the levels, and not only the levels, but the quality of the levels. I think it paid off”, Buttle went on.
To the delight of the home crowd, Abbott and Bradley, who both live and train in Colorado Springs, put out strong performances. Abbott, who is competing in his first ISU Championship, landed a solid triple Lutz-triple toeloop, a triple Axel, and a triple loop. He showed fast and well centered spins, earning a level four for all three of them. He scored 74.34 points (41.91/32.43) for his musical performance to “Dead Already” from the “American Beauty” soundtrack. “I was much more mentally prepared for this short program than at Nationals. (At Nationals) I was very distracted and didn’t know what to expect. But having gone through that and knowing what to expect it was a lot easier to get through this short program”, Abbott told the post-event news conference. The 21-year-old was surprised to be in second place. “I am a little shocked. I was very pleased with this performance, and I knew I could perform the way that I did, but never having been to a large international (competition), I didn’t know how I rank”, he said.
Bradley entertained the crowd with his funny Polka program and landed a high triple Axel, but then came close to the boards and just added a double toe to his triple flip for his combination. The 23-year-old produced a triple Lutz after that and got a level four for his spins as well to pick up a new personal best of 68.83 points (37.19/31.64). His previous personal best was 64.44 points. “The last time I competed in Four Continents (in 2004) was not as successful, this time was certainly better than my last. It was a good step up for me from Nationals. I didn’t jump as well, but my other things were a little bit stronger. I am not surprised that Jeremy and I ended up back to back, I feel like we compete everyday, and I think that’s what pushes us. Obviously being used to the altitude helps. There are a lot of great skaters here, and it just happened to be our day today”, he explained.
Two-time and reigning World bronze medallist Evan Lysacek (USA) is currently standing in fourth place at 67.04 points. The 2005 Four Continents Champion doubled the flip. Emanuel Sandhu (CAN) came in fifth. He landed a quad-double toeloop combination, but singled the Axel. He also had to interrupt his program when a hook on his boot popped out and the laces of his skating boot became undone (64.98 points). Jialiang Wu (CHN) rounds out the top six. He nailed a good triple Axel, but his triple flip-triple toe combination and his final spin were wobbly (63.52 points).
The ISU Four Continents Championships 2007 continue Thursday with the Original Dance, Pairs Free Skating and the Ladies Short Program.
For more information and full results please see: www.isu.org and www.4continents.com.
Ma scuzati m-am trezit cu o competitie de care nu stiam :P
Championships. 89 skaters/couples from 14 ISU members are competing in the Championships. Brazil and India both are represented for the first time at an ISU Championship.
Ice Dancing, Compulsory Dance
The Compulsory Dance at the Four Continents Championships was the Golden Waltz, the same as at the European Championships end of January. Marie-France Dubreuil/Patrice Lauzon (CAN) danced to the lead ahead of the two U.S. teams Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto and Meryl Davis/Charlie White.
Dubreuil/Lauzon had drawn to skate first out of the 12 couples. The reigning World silver medallists put out a solid performance of the Golden Waltz, scoring 38.54 points (19.67 element score/18.87 program component score). “It felt quick. I think it was a pretty good dance for us. Skating first is always a little more nerve wracking with the altitude. We didn’t warm up because we wanted still to have some juice for the performance”, Dubreuil said. “We’ve skated here (in Colorado Springs) for a week. After Nationals there was no point for us going back to Lyon because our coaches were at Europeans. So we came to train here”, she added. Her partner was still out of breath when talking to the journalists in the mixed zone. “The Golden Waltz is a pretty hard compulsory dance. There is not much breathing time”, he explained.
Belbin/Agosto showed a strong Golden Waltz until the end of the last sequence when Agosto suddenly tripped and almost fell. The Olympic silver medallists earned 37.72 points (19.03/18.69). “The performance was good except for the fall (stumble). Basically my toe pick got caught on the ice. I still feel it was our strongest performance of the Waltz, because we felt very tentative at Nationals. We wanted to push it out, to make it more exciting, it felt great and very smooth”, Agosto told the press. “It was still a good performance and the fact that we are less than a point behind the leaders puts us in a good position”, Belbin said.
World junior bronze medalists Davis/White had a good start into their first senior Championship and came in third with decent performance of the Golden Waltz. They were awarded 33.68 points (17.83/15.85). “It helps a lot (having the same compulsory dance at Nationals). If we’d had only a week to train the Golden (Waltz), being the most difficult compulsory dance we’ve ever done it would have been a lot more difficult », Davis commented. «It’s been an interesting ride doing this dance. At first we thought it was almost hopeless. But you get into it and you start to feel it, start to feel the music. By the end of the year it’s pretty comfortable, not too bad », White said, referring to the fact that this is a new dance for them.
Reigning World Junior Champions Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (CAN) are only 0.27 points behind at 33.41 points in fourth place.
Pairs, Short Program
The competition continued with the Pairs Short Program. China’s Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao and Qing Pang/ Jian Tong finished first and second while Rena Inoue/John Baldwin (USA) came in third.
Shen/Zhao delivered an exciting short program to « Romanza », completing an excellent side by side triple toeloop, a high throw triple loop and a difficult one-armed lift. The Technical Panel awarded the two-time World Champions a level four for their death spiral, spiral sequence, the spins and the lift, and only the triple twist was flawed. The two-time Olympic bronze medallists picked up 69.29 points (37.23 element score/32.06 program component score). « We’re very tired. Originally we didn’t want to come here (to Four Continents), because it was so close to the Asian Winter Games, and this is high altitude and Hongbo Zhao (her partner) got injured at high altitude (when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in August 2005 during a training camp in Kunming/CHN). We decided to come here, because we haven’t performed these programs yet in Canada or the USA”, Shen said.
Pang/Tong, who skated first, set the standard with a strong performance that featured a side by side triple toeloop, a triple twist, a throw triple loop. The reigning World Champions were awarded a level four for their side by side spin, the pair combination spin, the press lift, the death spiral and spiral sequence. They earned 65.80 points for their program to « O Doux Printemps d’Autrefois » by Jules Massenet. « It was a quite good performance. There were still some little errors, and we feel that the high altitude is affecting us”, Pang said. “It (her health) is better than it was but I’m still not fully recovered and we need breaks in practice. My stamina is still not so good”, she continued when asked about her condition. Pang suffered from nephritis earlier this season.
Skating to « The Soul of Spain » Inoue/Baldwin nailed their signature element, the throw triple Axel as well as a side by side double Axel, a double twist that was graded a level four and a one-armed lift. The defending Four Continents Champions collected 61.73 points (35.27/26.46), slightly surpassing their previous personal best. ”The throw triple Axel was something we’ve been able to do since last year, so it wasn’t shocking (to do it today), but it’s always exciting to land it. We’re honoured to be in the last group with two World Champions”, Baldwin commented.
Valerie Marcoux/Craig Buntin (CAN) are within striking distance of the podium at 60.43 points. They produced a side by side triple toeloop and a high double twist, but Marcoux had to fight for the landing of the throw triple loop. Anabelle Langlois/Cody Hay (CAN) finished 5th. She fell on the throw triple Lutz (56.15 points).
Men, Short Program
Today’s competition concluded with the Men’s Short Program. Canada’s Jeffrey Buttle grabbed the lead ahead of two Americans Jeremy Abbott and Ryan Bradley.
Buttle opened his routine to a Piano version of « Adios Nonino » with a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, but then stumbled out of his triple Axel. The two-time Four Continents Champion rallied back to hit a triple Lutz and showed exquisite spins and footwork, all of which were graded a level four by the Technical Panel. Buttle earned 77.72 points (41.58 element score/36.14 program component score), which was sligthly more than his previous personal best of 77.39 points. « My season has been very uneventful. I’ve been spending most of the season just off the ice and recovered. The injury healed completely. I was back on the ice, training, basically I’m back to normal”, the Olympic bronze medalist said, referring to his back injury that kept him out of the Grand Prix Series this seasons. “The jumps obviously weren’t as good as they’ve been. My body kept rotating after the Axel so I had a pretty major step out. Otherwise I think all of the other elements, the spins, the footwork, (I) really have been pushing, trying to get the levels, and not only the levels, but the quality of the levels. I think it paid off”, Buttle went on.
To the delight of the home crowd, Abbott and Bradley, who both live and train in Colorado Springs, put out strong performances. Abbott, who is competing in his first ISU Championship, landed a solid triple Lutz-triple toeloop, a triple Axel, and a triple loop. He showed fast and well centered spins, earning a level four for all three of them. He scored 74.34 points (41.91/32.43) for his musical performance to “Dead Already” from the “American Beauty” soundtrack. “I was much more mentally prepared for this short program than at Nationals. (At Nationals) I was very distracted and didn’t know what to expect. But having gone through that and knowing what to expect it was a lot easier to get through this short program”, Abbott told the post-event news conference. The 21-year-old was surprised to be in second place. “I am a little shocked. I was very pleased with this performance, and I knew I could perform the way that I did, but never having been to a large international (competition), I didn’t know how I rank”, he said.
Bradley entertained the crowd with his funny Polka program and landed a high triple Axel, but then came close to the boards and just added a double toe to his triple flip for his combination. The 23-year-old produced a triple Lutz after that and got a level four for his spins as well to pick up a new personal best of 68.83 points (37.19/31.64). His previous personal best was 64.44 points. “The last time I competed in Four Continents (in 2004) was not as successful, this time was certainly better than my last. It was a good step up for me from Nationals. I didn’t jump as well, but my other things were a little bit stronger. I am not surprised that Jeremy and I ended up back to back, I feel like we compete everyday, and I think that’s what pushes us. Obviously being used to the altitude helps. There are a lot of great skaters here, and it just happened to be our day today”, he explained.
Two-time and reigning World bronze medallist Evan Lysacek (USA) is currently standing in fourth place at 67.04 points. The 2005 Four Continents Champion doubled the flip. Emanuel Sandhu (CAN) came in fifth. He landed a quad-double toeloop combination, but singled the Axel. He also had to interrupt his program when a hook on his boot popped out and the laces of his skating boot became undone (64.98 points). Jialiang Wu (CHN) rounds out the top six. He nailed a good triple Axel, but his triple flip-triple toe combination and his final spin were wobbly (63.52 points).
The ISU Four Continents Championships 2007 continue Thursday with the Original Dance, Pairs Free Skating and the Ladies Short Program.
For more information and full results please see: www.isu.org and www.4continents.com.
Ma scuzati m-am trezit cu o competitie de care nu stiam :P