Daisuke TAKAHASHI - SP

Daisuke Takahashi leads after the men's short program with a personal best of 90.43 points (also the best men's short score of the season).



Brandon Mroz finish 3rd in the short program after landing the first quad lutz ever landed in international competition

Men's Short Results
Protocols

Free Dance Results
Protocols
Ice Dance Overall Results

Pairs Freeskate Results
Protocols
Pairs Overall Results

Cup of China: A Preview

Pairs: This is possibly one of the deeper pairs fields on the Grand Prix so far, Zhang/Zhang, Kavaguti/Smirnov, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, and Sui/Han likely being the major teams in contention for the podium. Zhang/Zhang led the field after the short program at Skate America and grabbed silver overall, despite not having competed in over a year. Moore-Towers/Moscovitch also medaled at Skate America and will obviously want to repeat that here, but I think it'll be more difficult this with the two Chinese teams and the Russians to contend with. Kavaguti/Smirnov have been World and Olympic medal contenders before and definitely have a good chance win over this field here if they skate well. Sui/Han are a very young team but they did well on the Grand Prix last season and won Junior Worlds for the second year in a row. They may lack finesse, but their big tricks can be absolutely massive, which often helps them shoot up the rankings. Americans Evora/Ladwig are an outside shot for a medal in my opinion, but a solid showing here would be a great way to build confidence going into Nationals.

Ice Dance: World bronze medalists Shibutani/Shibutani are the likely favorites for this event and look to win their first senior title of any kind here . Bobrova/Soloviev will probably be their main challengers for the gold. Beyond that, it's a bit more confusing with Carron/Jones and Coomes/Buckland having been World competitors and Lichtman/Copely who medaled at Junior Worlds last season. The newly formed team of Emily Samuelson/Todd Gilles will also be competing and I'm interested to see where they'll end up (Samuelson's former parter Evan Bates placed 4th at Skate Canada last week with his new partner Madison Chock).


Ladies: Carolina Kostner has to be considered the favorite at this competition. There's a few girls that could defeat her, but for most of them that will probably require mistakes on her part and excellent skates on theirs. Mirai Nagasu should be considered a threat, but her programs this season, especially her freeskate, are lackluster and she displayed very little fire at Skate Canada last week. If Mirai is on, I think she could take Carolina, but like Jeremy, it all depends on what's going on in her head. Kanako Murakami did extremely well on the Grand Prix last season (beating Kostner at Skate America even) and placed at the top 10 at Worlds; she reportedly is having boot problems but if she can fight through that, it's easy to imagine her medaling. Adelina Sotnikova is the 2011 World Junior Champion and will be making her senior GP debut at this event and will likely be a factor if her jumps stay together. Christina Gao will also be making her GP debut; I like her, but I'm not convinced she'll be in it for a medal. She does has a triple flip-triple toe that's been competition tested before though, so I don't think it's entirely out of the question.

Men: The battle for the podium here will be slightly less difficult than it was expected to be, due to Brian Joubert withdrawing because of a back injury he's been dealing with recently. It seems like there will be four main guys in contention, with a few possible spoilers should they falter. Jeremy Abbott is a fantastic all around skater, but how he places here will depend on his mental game; if he keeps it together he could come out with a massive score, but if he doesn't, he could end up off the podium entirely in this field. Artur Gachinski is lacking in some areas but can be a very consistent jumper and has a solid quad under his belt. Yuzuru Hanyu shocked many by placing second behind Daisuke Takahashi at Four Continents last season and while still developing (understandable because he's still only 16), has nice style and some absolutely gorgeous jumps. Nobunari Oda is not planning to attempt a quad here because of a knee injury he was dealing with a few months ago, which could make medaling here significantly more difficult with Gachinski, Abbott, and Hanyu competing; especially with all three planning to quad (to the best of my knowledge).  Kevin Reynolds, as usual, has the potential to play spoiler here as he'll probably be attempting at least two types of quads, but he lacks consistency and often falls apart in the freeskate. Richard Dornbush also has a quad planned and can be a steady competitor, but unless the others really struggle, I think don't think his odds of medaling are great.

Icenetwork Livestream Schedule
Isu Event Page

Skating Updates

 

Ryan Bradley is retiring from competition. He plans to continue being involved in skating and is going to try to keep his eligibility should the urge to compete strike him again. I wish Ryan the best of luck and while I wish Worlds would have gone more smoothly for him, I truly look forward to seeing him skate in shows - he's such a great performer.

Sarah and Drew talked to Alex Shibutani about he and Maia's World medal win, their stop in Paris, and their excitement for next season.

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali have taken back their retirement! 

The ISU fiddled with some values of elements, GOEs, and requirements for levels.

Evgeni Plushenko wants to become a legend.

U.S. Figure Skating's Coach of the Year nominations are up. 



Adam Rippon attempting a quad lutz. It looks around 1/4 underrotated, but I'm really curious to see if he can get it all the way around over this summer.

Skating Updates

Daisuke Takahashi is not retiring and plans to compete next season. He says he wants to take things one season at a time, but has also stated in several interviews that he would like to compete in Sochi. Daisuke will be having knee surgery to remove the screw left from his prior surgery to repair his ACL and meniscus (this month, if I am not mistaken).

Daisuke also spoke to Icenetwork about his 5 favorite things.

Controversy abounds about whether or not Rachael Flatt should have competed at Worlds with her fractured tibia. While I am of the opinion that she should have withdrawn, I think it's more important to be asking why her coach Zakrajsek would even let her compete in such pain (and in fact, has a history of letting or supporting his skaters do so.)

Meryl Davis and Charlie White make history as the first American ice dance team to ever win Worlds. Alongside Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, they created another historic moment; it was also the first time that North America swept the entire ice dance podium at Worlds.

The ISU President gave out some more details on the team skating event for Sochi.

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin are calling it quits (despite their 6th place finish at Worlds...). She is looking for another partner while he is weighing his options.

Yu-Na Kim donated her prize money from her silver medal win at Worlds to UNICEF to help Japanese children.

An article on Alena Leonova.

Takahiko Kozuka talks about his flawless freeskate at Worlds.

Worlds Free Dance and Final Results

Free Dance results

Protocols

Overall results

Post free dance interviews

Meryl Davis and Charlie White (1st)



Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (2nd)



Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani (3rd!)



Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje (5th)

Worlds Short Dance Results

Short Dance Results

Protocols

Post short dance interviews

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (1st)



Meryl Davis & Charlie White (2nd)



Maia & Alex Shibutani (4th)

Skating Updates

 Takahiko Kozuka won the qualifying round in a stunning fashion, his sole mistake being an underrotated quad toe.

An article on Rachael Flatt concerning Worlds and her future skating and college plans.

An article on Yankowskas & Coughlin, Savchenko & Szolkowy, and Alexander Majorov.

Lastly, it is Alex Shibutani's 20th birthday today! Happy birthday Alex, and good luck at Worlds! (see _skating for a celebration post)

Skating Updates

So sorry for the lack of posting! I've been enjoying the calm before the storm that is Worlds. Updates will definitely be a LOT more frequent when it is about to start. That said, here's some recent skating news!

There will be a free Russian live stream of Worlds!

Japanese skating fans should be pleased to hear that Fuji TV will be covering Worlds.

A new Alissa Czisny article by Phil Hersh.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir talk about Tessa's injury at 4 Continents, and how the delay of Worlds has enabled them to polish their free dance.They have changed a lift to avoid straining her quad again.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White also believe that the wait has been beneficial, but haven't made any changes to their programs.They're trying not to think about the prospect of being the first U.S. Dance team to win Worlds too much.

An interview with Rachael Flatt.

The Final Round of Fantasy Skating is open!

Patrick Chan talks about his hopes for Worlds. 

Ryan Bradley talks about Worlds (of course) and competing against Daisuke Takahashi at World Juniors in 2002. 

Maia and Alex Shibutani spoke to Icenetwork about their five favorite things.

An update from the ISU. Of interest is the fact they have approved the idea of 3 new pro am competitions, as well as allowing (requiring?) seeded skaters to compete in 3 Grand Prixs each season.

30 Days of Skating - Day 29: Your favorite figure skater of all time

There is no way that I'm picking just one for overall... but one for each discipline (other than synchro)? Sure!

Ladies

The one and only Michelle Kwan. She will forever be the queen of figure skating, as far as I am concerned.


Men

Daisuke Takahashi. (Really, did you expect anyone else? :P)


Pairs

Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao. Their story is essentially skating's version of a fairy tale. (If you haven't yet, read The Second Mark for their life stories up until about 2003.)

Ice Dance

Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani. I've only become a fan recently, but going back and watching videos of them when they were younger, I've realized how insane it is that I haven't paid much attention to them until this season. They are a gorgeous team and I truly look forward to seeing them continue to improve in the years to come.

*Note: I just looked back and realized that all of the skaters I listed are Asian or of Asian descent, haha. I guess that's telling about my taste and how skating has shifted in power in recent years.

4 Continents Exhibition Part 3

Meryl Davis & Charlie White (with encore)


Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani


Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje


Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier


Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein (Missing the beginning - I think I heard the stream was on commercial at the start of it or something.)

Skating Updates

Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir once again state that her recent quad injury that caused their withdrawal from Four Continents will not hinder them at all in training for & going to Worlds.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett have announced the end of their partnership. Caydee is hoping to find a new partner in time to compete in the 2011/2012 season, while Jeremy is retiring from competition entirely.

Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali are not listed as members of the Italian World team.

Alex Shibutani finished his blogging for Four Continents with a couple of final entries that are pretty entertaining. Be sure to check out the photo gallery as well for some cute pictures of Maia & Alex with other skaters.

Quebec City will be the site of the 2011 Grand Prix Final.

Tonya Harding recently gave birth to her first child, a son.

4 Continents Ice Dance Videos

Virtue & Moir Free Dance attempt and withdrawal.


Virtue & Moir Short Dance



Davis & White Free Dance

Shibutani & Shibutani Free Dance

4 Continents Free Dance & Final Dance Results

You may have heard by now, by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir withdrew after completing a few elements, reportedly due to a tightness in her thigh muscles. A Skate Canada team leader claims that it is unrelated to her recent shin surgery.

1. Meryl Davis & Charlie White TE 50.01 PCS 53.01 ;FD 103.02 = 172.03 Total (USA)
2. Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani TE 48.76 PCS 44.58 ;FD 93.34 = 155.38 Total (USA)
3. Vanessa Crone & Andrew Poirier TE 47.27 PCS 42.90 ;FD 90.17 = 151.83 Total (CAN)
4. Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje TE 42.29 PCS 43.40 ;FD 85.69 = 151.14 Total (CAN)
5. Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein TE 44.15 PCS 41.15 :FD 85.30 = 142.44 Total (USA)
6. Xingtong Huang & Xun Zheng TE 40.01 PCS 37.35 ;FD 77.36 = 130.29 Total (CHN)
7. Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang TE 40.92 PCS 34.25 ;FD 75.17 = 125.75 Total (CHN)
8. Xueting Guan & Meng Wang TE 35.10 PCS 28.39 ;FD 63.49 = 106.26 Total (CHN)
9.Danielle Obrien & Gregory Merriman TE 35.72 PCS 26.30 ;FD 62.02 = 104.69 Total (AUS)
10. Corenne Bruhns & Benjamin Westenberger TE 24.95 PCS 22.92 ;FD 47.87 = 88.55 Total (MEX)
11. Maria Borounov & Evgeni Borounov TE 24.66 PCS 19.05 ;FD 43.71 = 72.23 Total (AUS)


Detailed FD Results
Protocols

4 Continents Short Dance Results

1. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir TE 35.64 PCS 33.76  =  69.40 Total
2. Meryl Davis & Charlie White = TE 34.50 PCS 34.51 = 69.01 Total
3. Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje TE 36.50 PCS 28.95 = 65.45 Total
4. Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani TE 34.22 PCS 27.82 = 62.04 Total
5. Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier TE 33.50 PCS 28.16 = 61.66 Total
6.  Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein TE 30.94 PCS 26.20  = 57.14 Total
7. Xintong Huang & Xun Zheng TE 28.42 PCS 24.51 = 52.93 Total
8. Xiaoyang Yu & Chen Wang TE 27.78 PCS 22.80 = 50.58 Total
9. Xueting Guan & Meng Wang TE 24.72 PCS 18.05 = 42.77 Total
10. Danielle Obrien & Gregory Merriman TE 42.67 PCS 17.67 = 42.67 Total
11. Corenne Bruhns & Benjamin Westenberger TE 25.28 PCS 15.40 = 40.68 Total
12. Maria Borounov & Evgeni Borounov TE 15.62 PCS 12.90  = 28.52 Total

Detailed Short Dance Results
Protocols

Skating Updates

 Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett have withdrawn from 4 Continents due to a training accident that left Jeremy needing 42 stitches. They will be replaced by Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker.

Maia and Alex Shibutani are blogging about 4 Continents for IceNetwork - here is the first of their blogs.

Recently it has come to light that the ages of some Chinese skaters are different on some documents than their ISU biographies. Sui and Han and Zhang and Zhang are among the listed skaters with age discrepancies. Here's an Icenetwork article about it and another article. 

Sarah and Drew spoke to Andrew Johnson, Ashley Wagner, and Joshua Farris about the injuries and illnesses they had at Nationals. I cannot understand why Joshua was allowed to compete with the torn abductor muscle, let alone the allergic reaction the day before the freeskate.