Innholdsfortegnelse for April 1, 2015 i International Figure Skating

This post-Olympic season has been one of the most interesting and eventful in memory. The results from a number of national championships that took place around the globe in late December and throughout January gave skating fans a lot to talk about. Some defended their titles, and a number of new faces graced the national podiums. The IFS team covered four of the top competitions, and we highlight those in this issue. It was disappointing to see so many empty seats at the 2015 European Championships that took place in Stockholm at the end of January. Given the strong lineup in all disciplines at this event, I expected that it would be well-attended. That was not the case, unfortunately. There were a few pleasant surprises at that event. The Russian…

WHEN KAITLYN WEAVER AND ANDREW POJE STOOD AT OP THE PODIUM on a December evening in Barcelona as the Grand Prix Final champions, they became the first Canadians to claim the title since Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz did so some 13 years earlier. But Weaver’s connection with Bourne has a flashback element that, in retrospect, could have been just another moment in time — the kind that an aspiring skater files away in a personal scrapbook for safekeeping. For the American-born Kaitlyn Weaver, in particular, the serendipity of what transpired on that magical night in Spain could not have been more perfect. Shae-Lynn Bourne is not only the couple’s former coach and the one who laid much of the foundation for who they are today, she is also the…

Fans on the Internet jokingly referred to the 2015 Russian Championships as “The Hunger Games,” in reference to the movie and bestselling book “The Tributes of Panem,” in which young people have to kill each other off until only one survives. While there were more survivors in Sochi, there were also casualties. Elena Radionova took the lead over Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in the short, but Tuktamysheva should have earned a higher component score and ranked first. Her triple toe-triple toe combination was so well-executed that it earned 10.20 points, just 1.20 less than Radionova earned for a triple Lutz-triple toe combination. In the long program, Radionova reeled off seven triples, including two combinations, and produced excellent spins, claiming her first national title with 217.45 points. Tuktamysheva, who skated after Radionova, gave…

Heading into the post-Olympic season, Javier Fernández planned to pace himself and take it a little easier. His original idea was to sit out the Grand Prix Series and focus on contesting the 2015 European and World Championships. But when it was announced that Barcelona, Spain, had been selected as the venue for the Grand Prix Final, earning a berth to that event became his driving force. When Javier Fernández returned to his Toronto training base at the end of August, his coach, Brian Orser, noticed a difference in his student. “There was a change of attitude, but I really did not know which way it was going to go with Javi,” Orser recalled. “He had gone off and done a whole bunch of shows in Japan, where he is…

Japanese men have been a dominant presence on the international scene for the past two seasons, but it was not until Daisuke Murakami captured the title at NHK Trophy in Osaka last November that he joined those elite ranks. It has been a bumpy road for the 24-year-old, who has been playing catch-up since he underwent surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder two seasons ago. “It was a mental struggle last season because I was coming back from the injury, while all of the other Japanese men were having really phenomenal results,” said Murakami, who hails from Kanagawa but calls Southern California home. “Then, when I saw this season’s Grand Prix roster and I didn’t get an event, I was pretty devastated.” Discouraged, he briefly considered retirement, but a discussion…

Evgenia Medvedeva A Dominant Force Every year, it seems, Russia produces a new crop of young ladies that dominate the international junior circuit. This season, Evgenia Medvedeva was the standout and is currently the top ranked junior in the world. In her second year on the circuit, she easily won both of her Grand Prix assignments and captured the title at the Junior Grand Prix Final. It was a vast improvement over her results from last season. Competing with an injury, she landed in third at the Final and at the subsequent World Junior Championships. Medvedeva, who turned 15 on Nov. 19, is not eligible to compete at senior level Championship events this season. As with many of the young Russian stars, her desire to skate took flight after watching…

After winning their second Junior Grand Prix Final ice dance crown in December, Russia’s Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov are the top favorites heading into the World Junior Championships, which take place this March in Tallinn, Estonia. However, the duo was in the same situation exactly one year ago but had to settle for silver at Junior Worlds while an American team went home with the gold. Yanovskaya, 18, and Mozgov, 19, are focused on ensuring that there will be no repeat of that scenario this season. “We have matured and our focus is on producing more grown-up programs. No one is stagnating,” Yanovskaya said. “We also tried to improve technically,” Mozgov said. “We are emphasizing maturity and more of a relationship to portray the idea of our free dance,…

At a Canadian Championships in which ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje and Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford reaffirmed their status as World Championship threats, a 16-year-old arguably caused the biggest stir of all. On the eve of the commencement of the competition, Brian Orser felt the need to deliver a rather pointed message to Nam Nguyen, his star protégé. “You’re the best guy here. You can’t go out on the ice like you used to, looking up to these guys and being a little intimidated by them,” Orser told him after what he described as a timid first practice session. “Go out and command the practice, show off for the people and be the boss out there.” Nguyen, Orser would later say, took that message to heart and…

The death of Toller Cranston on Jan. 24 of an apparent heart attack at his home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, sent shock waves through the worldwide skating fraternity. Cranston, 65, had complained of chest pains a day earlier but did not seek medical attention. As news of his death filtered around the arena at Canadian nationals, it was not lost on many that he had died on the very day that a new men’s champion would be crowned. Cranston claimed six consecutive national titles from 1971 to 1976. “Ironic that it’s the day of the men’s free program at Canadians. He was so important to these championships — someone who changed the sport for everybody,” said Brian Orser. “I watched him as a kid and tried to be…

Carolina Kostner was dealt a heavy blow on Jan. 16 when the Italian Olympic Committee’s (CONI) anti-doping tribunal handed down its decision on her complicity for her role in the evasion of a doping test by her ex-boyfriend, Alex Schwazer. The CONI prosecutor had initially asked that Kostner be banned for four years and three months. However, at the final hearing on Jan. 16, the prosecutor reduced his initial suspension request to two years and three months. The tribunal handed down a sanction of 16 months, to commence immediately, and a fine of US$1,150. Kostner was disappointed at the outcome of the hearing. “I’m determined to go right to the end to find justice. Of course, I am not happy. I feel very bitter and disappointed. I lied at his…

The announcement came out of the blue. One moment, Tatsuki Machida was on the World team, and the next moment he was not. At the end of the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships in late December, Machida, 24, glided onto the ice and announced his retirement from competitive skating. “I know it is sudden, but today I made the decision to retire from competitions,” he said. “I take this opportunity to make an official announcement. I decline the spot for Worlds in that regard. I am clearing the path to my second career.” Machida plans to attend Waseda University’s Graduate School of Sciences this April and earn a master’s degree in sports science. “I go on the new path. I’m determined to be a researcher in the future,” he explained. “Now…

Japan has a history of producing top-ranked female skaters, but in recent years the men have been stepping it up starting with Daisuke Takahashi who trailblazed his way onto the Olympic podium in 2010. He set the pace for all those who have followed in his wake. One of those young men is 17-year-old Shoma Uno, whose breakthrough came at the Junior Grand Prix Final last December. Uno finished fifth at the 2014 World Junior Championships in his third appearance, but he was not considered a top contender for the title in Barcelona. However, all that changed when he landed in third after the short program. His only miscue was a stumble on the triple Axel. In the free skate, Uno produced a personal best performance. Though he had struggled…

While much of the world was recovering from Christmas celebrations, the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships unfolded in Nagano. Yuzuru Hanyu, chasing his third consecutive title, led the charge in the men’s event. He exuded confidence as he took to the ice to perform his short. The opening quad toe and triple Axel that he landed midway through the program looked easy. However, he went off-axis on the triple Lutz combination and scrambled to tack on a double toe. The look on his face at the end said it all. However, he earned high grades of execution and component scores and, even with the error, leapt into the lead with 94.36. Tatsuki Machida, the last skater in the short, landed a quad toe-triple toe combination, a triple Axel and a triple…

It was a week of record-breaking performances at the U.S. National Championships. Seeking redemption after finishing fourth last year, Ashley Wagner was looking to silence the critics who have hounded her all season. And Wagner, 23, did just that, capturing her third title with 221.02 points, smashing Gracie Gold’s record last season by almost 10 points. “Of my three titles, this one tastes the sweetest and means the most because it shows every single person that doubts me, that says I’m too old, that says I am not capable of being a leading lady — that they need to shut their mouths and watch me skate,” Wagner said. Gold made mistakes in both phases of competition but was able to hold on for the silver medal. “Both of my performances…

THE INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION (ISU) announced in November that it had demoted two judges, citing their lack of English skills as the reason for the decision. “With the agreement of the Vice President Figure Skating, the Figure Skating judges, Yuri Balkov (UKR) and Evgeny Rokhin (UZB) who, up to the 2013/14 season, had the status of ‘ISU’ judge for the singles, pairs and ice dance disciplines, were transferred to the list of ‘International’ judges for these disciplines. A reinstatement to the respective ‘ISU’ judges’ list is subject to the above-named judges demonstrating to the satisfaction of the ISU that they have acquired a working knowledge of English, at the latest by the 2016 ISU Congress.” Sources confirmed to IFS that a referee at the 2014 World Junior Championships advised the…

“My mother will first congratulate me and then tell me about my mistakes. We always first talk about the mistakes and then about what was good. I think it is good that way.” —Evgenia Medvedeva “You can’t work on that. It’s what you feel. It is inside you.” —Julianne Séguin on the synchronicity of her pairs partnership with Charlie Bilodeau “I’m happy about being in third place. For me, it is a personal victory. The skater I like best is Javier Fernández. I admire his commitment, how he connects with the audience and the way he works.” —Alexander Petrov “Coming into Barcelona, I was aiming for third place, but, after the short program, I almost had given up the hope to win a medal.” —Wakaba Higuchi on her fifth-place ranking…