From Left to Right: Rika Hongo (JPN), Elena Radionova (RUS), and Uliana Titushkina (RUS)

The 2012-13 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating kicked off this week in Courchevel, France, with approximately 76 skaters/teams representing 28 countries competing in the Men, Ladies and Ice Dance disciplines.

The athletes competed to earn points towards qualification for the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Final which will be held in Sochi, Russia in December.

LADIES

Elena Radionova of Russia won the event by landslide, while teammate Uliana Titushkina took the bronze. Rika Hongo of Japan rose from third place after the short program to capture the silver.

Radionova was the clear winner of the event after placing first in both the short and long program with a total score of 177.79 points. Both programs were rock solid with positive Grades of Execution (GOE) in all elements.

In her short program (61.15) to music from The Fifth Element soundtrack, Radionova landed a triple Lutz-triple toe, a triple flip, and a double Axel. All three spins were graded a level four and received many +2 positive GOEs, as did her level three straight line steps.

In the long, the reigning Russian junior bronze medalist landed a total of seven triple jumps, including a solid triple Lutz-triple toe. The 13-year-old displayed strong level three foot work, and wowed the judges with a layback spin which garnered a level four and a hoard of positive GOEs. She finished in first place (116.64) and overall with a total score of 177.79.

Hongo’s solid short program to Samson and Delilah featured a triple toe loop-triple toe, triple flip, and double Axel, and the 17-year-old finished third with 53.16 points.

In her  long program to Swan Lake (96.22), the student from Nagoya received an edge call on her opening triple Lutz and later fell on a triple loop, but otherwise landed four clean triples including a double Axel-triple toe. With 149.38 points in total, she was able to move up to second place overall.

Titushkina had a good start placing second in her short (53.62) program to music from Teheran 43 which featured a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple flip, and double Axel. She also displayed a good level four layback spin, but lost a bit of speed on the flying camel.

The 13-year-old had a sub par performance in her long, underrotating several triple jumps, falling on a loop, and a receiving a time violation deduction. The teen from St. Petersburg placed fourth in the long (90.30) and third overall (143.92).

USA’s Vanessa Lam finished in fourth place overall (140.89), followed by teammate Ashley Cain (136.51).

MEN

Boyang Jin of China placed first in both the short and long program for a lock on the gold with nearly 10 points to spare. USA’s Jason Brown came from third place after the short to capture the silver, while Japan’s Ryuju Hino slipped from second to third to settle for the bronze.

Jin’s upbeat short program (62.98) to Chambermaid Swing featured a very good triple Axel, as well as a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip.

In his long routine (131.15) to Charlie Chaplin, the 14-year-old impressed with a quadruple toe and triple Axel-double toe, and his only errors were an underrotated double toe (in combination with a triple Lutz-triple toe) and a step-out on a triple Lutz.

Brown opened his short program with a solid double Axel for his opening jump, however, the current JGP Final champion received an edge call on a triple Lutz (in combination with a triple toe) and two-footed the landing of his triple flip. Despite the errors, he presented a very good footwork sequence which earned a level four and mostly +2s for GOEs. He placed third with 59.33 points.

In his long to Liebestraum, the reigning World Junior bronze medalist underrotated several jumps and received an edge call on both triple Lutzes. Once again, however, he displayed good footwork and spins, and placed second with 126.48 points. With a total score of 185.81 points, the 17-year-old was able to move up to second overall to win the silver.

Hino stepped out of his opening triple Axel in his short program to music by Kodo, and also received an edge call on a triple flip, but otherwise landed a triple Lutz-triple toe and displayed good spins and footwork to place second (59.70).

The Japanese junior champion was off to good start in his long to Robin Hood in which he opened with a solid triple Axel-toe, but he later fell on a triple Lutz and received an edge call on a triple flip again. The 17-year-old placed third in the long (121.91) and overall with 181.61 points.

USA’s Harrison Choate placed fourth overall (169.70), followed by Alexander Petrov of Russia (159.68) who placed sixth in both the long and short program.

From left to right: Jason Brown (USA), Boyang Jin (CHN), & Ryuju Hino (JPN)

ICE DANCE

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France overcame a second place finish in the short dance to win the gold, while Russia’s Valeria Zenkova and Valerie Sinitsin slipped from first to second overall for the silver. Madeline Edwards and Zhao Kai Pang of Canada placed third overall for the bronze.

Papadakis and Cizeron put out a good Blues/Swing dance which was highlighted by level three twizzles, a level four straight line lift, and a solid level two midline step sequence. The team also earned a level three on sequence two of their blues pattern, and placed second with 52.25 points.

In their free dance to a Pink Floyd medley, the French team showed strong level four lifts and a dance spin, as well as a very good level three diagonal step sequence. They placed first in the free dance (78.88), and with a total score of 131.13, won the gold.

Zenkova and Sinitsin were nearly solid in their Blues/Swing routine which featured the only level four in the Blues Pattern section of all the dance teams. The team also put out a good level one midline step sequence and level four rotational lift which earned positive GOEs from the judges.

The Russian junior bronze medalists did well in their free dance to music from the Cats musical. The routine was highlighted by a level four curve lift and level three circular steps and twizzles. They earned 72.03 points for second place, but with a total score of 124.94, slipped to second overall.

Edwards and Pang produced a level four straight line lift and twizzle sequence, as well as a level three on sequence one of their blues pattern in their Blues/Swing short dance, and placed third with 46.53 points.

Performing to music from The Artist soundtrack for the free dance, the Canadian junior silver medalists delivered two level four lifts, level three twizzles, and a level four combination dance spin. They placed third (67.20) and maintained third overall with 113.73 points.

Ukrainians Daria Korotitskaia and Maksim Spodirev came in fourth overall (111.23), followed by Russia’s Sofia Evdokimova and Egor Bazin (110.91).

The JGP circuit continues next Thursday in Lake Placid, New York.

From left to right: Valeria Zenkova and Valerie Sinitsin (RUS), Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (FRA), & Madeline Edwards and Zhao Kai Pang (CAN)

• Full Results
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• JGP Standings: Men | Pairs | Ladies | Ice Dance

The post 2012 JGP Courchevel appeared first on Golden Skate.

The 2012-13 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating continued this week in Linz, Austria, with approximately 116 skaters/teams representing 34 countries competing in the Men, Ladies, Ice Dance, and Pairs disciplines.

The athletes competed to earn points towards qualification for the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Final which will be held in Sochi, Russia in December.

ICE DANCE

France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won their second consecutive JGP gold at this event, while Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov of Russia took the silver. Canada’s Mackenzie Bent and Garrett Mackeen slipped to third, pocketing their second JGP bronze.

The medal winners all gave solid short dances, and only a .01 points separated the Russians and Canadians.

Papadakis and Cizeron, both 17, placed first with 59.19 (31.79/27.40) points after displaying strong level four twizzles and pocketing many positive Grades of Execution (GOE) for their level three midline steps.

The French team also did well in their free dance to a Pink Floyd medley, earning 69 positive Grades of Execution (GOE) out of a possible 72 for their elements. The team displayed good level four lifts, as well as strong level three circular and diagonal steps in their smooth and powerful routine.

The 2012 JGP Courchevel champions placed first in the free dance with 82.89 (40.21/42.68) points, and with a total score of 142.08, won their second consecutive JGP event.

In the short dance, Yanovskaya and Mozgov impressed with a level four rotational lift, which garnered +2s GOEs across the board, however, the team only met one of their six key points in the blues patterns. Nevertheless, they showed very good level three circular steps, and finished third in a near tie with the Canadians with 54.30 (27.22/27.08) points.

In their expressive free dance, the current JGP Final silver medalists opened with strong level four twizzles, earning +2s GOES across the board. The Russian team also performed three level four lifts, however, their circular steps were only a level two. They finished second in the free dance with 80.72 (39.40/41.32), beating the leaders in the components scores, and with a total score of 135.02, rose to second overall.

Although Bent, 15, and Mackeen, 18, met all six key points in their blues patterns, their twizzles were only graded a level one. However, their level three midline steps and level four curve lift were awarded positive GOES, and they finished second with 54.31 (30.00/24.31) points.

The team from Ontario were solid and showed confidence in their free dance to Misterio Y Fuego, displaying good level three twizzles and diagonal steps. They finished third (74.85) in the free dance and overall (129.16).

Shari Koch and Christian Nuechtern of German finished fourth (117.56), followed by Ukrainians Alexandra Nazarova and Maxim Nikitin (114.05). USA’s Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons, who stood in fourth after the short dance, placed eighth in the free dance and sixth overall.

PAIRS

Brittany Jones and Ian Beharry of Canada captured the gold in their international debut together as a team. Russia’s Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin moved up from fourth to second overall to win the silver, while teammates Maria Vigalova and Egor Zakroev maintained third place for the bronze.

Jones, 16, and Beharry, 20, delivered a nearly flawless short program which featured a huge throw triple Salchow. The skaters, which have only been together several months, also produced good side-by-side double Axels, a double twist, and a level four lift and pair spin. They were awarded first place with 51.70(28.52/23.18) points for their Bollywood-themed routine to Bombay Awakes from the “Bombay Dreams” musical.

In their long program to Vivaldi’s Winter and Summer from “Four Seasons”, Jones and Beharry had problems with the catch in their opening triple twist, and Jones later fell on a throw triple Salchow. The Canadians otherwise landed side-by-side triple toes, a throw triple loop, and earned a level four for their lift and two spins. They place first in the long with 101.08 (50.02/52.06) points, and were the overall winners with a total score of 152.78 points.

Fedorova, 14, and Miroshkin, 18, were also solid in their short program to Singing’ In the Rain, earning the highest total element score of the event. The team impressed with a level four double twist, double Axels, and a very good throw triple Salchow, and earned a level four on both their lift and combination spin. They placed second with 50.63 (28.68/21.95) points, trailing the Canadians by just over a point.

However, the Russians did not fare as well in their long program. While the team opened with a huge triple twist, Miroshkin took extra steps after the first jump in the double flip-double toe combination, and Fedorova fell on the double Axel. The 2012 Youth Olympic Games junior silver medalists otherwise produced a good throw triple Salchow and good lifts, but received a deduction for a time violation. They finished fourth with 92.86 (46.81/48.05) points in the long and second overall (143.49).

Vigalova, 13 and Zakroev, 19, placed fourth (6.28) in the short program with their jazzy routine, displaying a good triple twist and throw triple Salchow, as well as a level four lift, pair spin, and straight line footwork sequence.

In their dramatic long program, Zakroev singled the first jump and touched down with his hand on the second in a side-by-side double Axel-double Axel sequence. The Russians were otherwise solid in all other elements, earning many positive GOEs for their triple twist, throw triple loop, and throw triple flip. They earned the highest total element score, finishing second in the long with 96.50 (50.88/45.62) points. With a total score of 142.78, the team rose to third overall in their international debut.

Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin of China, who placed third in both the short and long, missed the podium by a mere .51 points, placing fourth overall (142.27).

In their short program to a violin concerto, the 2012 World Junior silver medalists impressed with a very good throw triple Salchow, double Axels, and a double twist, however, they encountered problems with their lift.

In their long program to Die Fledermaus, Yu underrotated her jump and fell on the opening triple toes and later had problems on the double Axel-double Axel sequence. The Chinese bronze medalists otherwise executed a good throw triple Salchow, triple twist, throw triple loop, and a good level three backward inside death spiral. They placed third in the long with 94.45 (49.58/45.87) points.

USA’s Britney Simpson and Matthew and Matthew Blackmer finished fifth with 133.05 points, while teammates Jessica Calang and Zack Sidhu were sixth (123.88).

MEN

USA’s Nathan Chen was the clear winner of the men’s event, taking the gold with over 36 points to spare in his international debut. Japan’s Ryuju Hino won his second JGP silver medal, while Jin Seo Kim of South Korea, also making his international debut, catapulted from 10th place to win the bronze.

Chen opened his short program to Praeludium and Allegro by Fritz Kreisler with a solid triple Axel, and followed up with two very good level four spins, a triple Lutz-triple toe, and a triple flip. The 13-year-old also displayed very good level four straight line footwork, and place first with 75.15 (43.05/32.10) points.

The U.S. Junior champion was just as flawless in his long program to music from The Three Musketeers soundtrack, landing a total of eight clean triple jumps, including a triple Axel. He also earned many positive GOEs on his level four footwork and spins, placing first with 146.85 (79.51/67.34) points. With a total score of 222 points, Chen easily dominated the event for first place overall.

Hino opened his short program with a good triple Axel, however fell out of the landing of the second jump on a triple Lutz-triple toe, and later received an edge call on a badly landed double flip that was meant to be a triple. The 17-year-old otherwise displayed good spins and footwork, placing third with 60.41 (33.41/27.00) points.

The Japanese junior champion opened his long with a triple Axel-triple toe, but once again, received an edge call on a triple flip. He also fell out of the second jump on a double (meant to be a triple) Lutz-triple toe, and fell on a triple Axel. The skater otherwise landed three move clean triple jumps and earned a level four on all three of his spins to place third with 125.44 (69.88/57.56) points. Although the 2011-12 JGP finalist placed third in both segments of the competition, he finished second overall with a total score of 185.85 points.

Kim, who stood in 10th after the short program, rebounded in his long routine to music from Cirque du Soleil, placing second with 126.27 (71.07/55.20) points. The South Korean skater landed a total of eight good triple jumps with only the flip receiving a edge call. The 15-year-old also earned positive GOEs for his level three straight line footwork, placing third overall (175.87) to win the bronze in his international debut.

Peter Coufal of the Czech Republic narrowly missed the podium with 175.72 points. The 17-year-old put out two solid programs, however, did not have a triple Axel.

Japan’s Sei Kawahara, who was second after the short, placed seventh in long and fifth overall (170.41). USA’s Jay Yostanto finished sixth (165.74) overall, followed closely by Andrei Lazukin of Russia (163.27)

LADIES

Elena Radionova of Russia dominated the ladies event, winning her second consecutive JGP gold with more than 24 points to spare. USA’s Hannah Miller won the silver, while teammate Samantha Cesario rose from fourth place to win the bronze.

Performing to music from the Fifth Element soundtrack for the short, Radionova landed a triple Lutz-triple toe, followed by a triple flip and double Axel. The 13-year-old also displayed very good level four spins and a level three straight line footwork sequence. She was awarded positive GOEs on all elements, and placed first with 62.71 (36.80/25.91) points.

The Russian junior bronze medalist was equally flawless in her long program, landing a total of seven solid triple jumps. Once again, she was awarded with positive GOEs for all her elements, including her level four spins and level three footwork. Her layback spin, in particular, earned seven +3 GOEs, and the 2012 JGP Courchevel champion placed first with 120.15 (66.39/53.76) points, and overall with 182.86 points.

Miller had a clean short to Tanguera by the Sexteto Mayor which featured at triple loop-double loop, triple flip, and double Axel. The U.S. junior bronze medalist impressed with strong spins, and was the only competitor to receive a level four for her footwork sequence (straight line). She placed second with 55.47 (31.97/23.50) points.

In her long to The Storm by Balázs Havasi, the 15-year-old landed five triple jumps, but received an edge call on the Lutz. She also underrotated a triple loop (in combination with a double loop), but otherwise produced good spins, finishing third with 103.05 (54.57/48.48) points. With a total score of 158.52 points, she was able to maintain second overall.

Teammate Cesario placed fourth in her “Black Swan” short program, which featured a triple loop-double toe, triple flip, and double Axel. The 19-year-old also produced good spins and footwork, earning 54.38 (31.12/23.26) points.

The American had a near-perfect performance in her long to Carmen Fantasie, however, she received an edge call on her opening triple Lutz and later underrotated her firs jump in a double Axel-double Axel sequence. Nevertheless, she showed good footwork and spins, finishing in second with 103.34 (55.85/47.49) points, and third overall (157.72).

With the exception of an edge call on a triple flip, Ziquan Zhao of China gave a solid performance to Moonlight Sonata, placing fifth with 53.87 (31.47/22.40) points. The student from Beijing had three falls in the long program in which she placed fourth (92.35), and with a total score of 146.22, placed fourth overall.

Hae Jin Kim of South Korea, who stood in third after the short (54.46), placed ninth in the long and fifth overall (141.29).

Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman finished sixth (139.77), followed by Maria Stavitskaia of Russia (136.71).

• Full Results
• ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube Channel
• JGP Standings: Men | Pairs | Ladies | Ice Dance

The post 2012 JGP Austria appeared first on Golden Skate.

Russia’s Elena Radionova performs to music from “The Fifth Element” soundtrack at the 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating.

The 2012-13 ISU Junior and Senior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating continued with the Junior Ladies Short Program.

Elena Radionova, who was expected to be a sure bet for the title in Sochi, place first, however, the Russian prodigy is only a couple of points ahead of USA’s Hannah Miller and three points ahead of teammate Anna Pogorilaya.

Rock-solid and fierce at her two qualifying events in France and Austria, Radionova stepped out of the landing of the easiest jump in her program— a double Axel, and got an edge call on her triple flip attempt in the Final. However, the 13-year-old nailed her opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination.

“It is such an honor for me to skate here,” she said, regarding qualifying for the Final in her first international season. “It was a big goal for me and I am so happy that I was able to reach this level. As for my performance today, not everything worked out. I made an error on the double Axel. It was a mistake in the jump itself. I hope to skate better in the free skating.”

Although Radionova must have been quite upset by her mistakes, the student of Inna Goncharenko did not let it show during the performance. She displayed all signs of a major star in the making as she delivered her The Fifth Element routine to the maximum impact, never breaking her connection with the audience even for a second.

“Everybody is different and it depends a lot on your psychology,” said the teen from Moscow. “I just was born with this kind of psychology. I go out and just do it. I love skating in front of an audience. The most important for me is to please the audience and the score then depends on the judges. I want to be consistent and to perform well, no matter what. Today, for example, my music started five seconds late and I had to catch up. I am pleased that this didn’t affect me.”

Nevertheless, Radionova is indeed feeling some pressure.

“It’s a big honor to be number one, but at the same time, you have more responsibility,” she noted. “When you compete in Russia, you get bigger support from the crowd, but it is important to have confidence in yourself as well.”

Miller, the only skater in the Final not to attempt a triple-triple combination in her short program, had to rely on her other qualities to succeed in a very competitive field. Fortunately, the skater, who trains under her aunt (Kirsten Miller-Zisholz), has so many good qualities, that it is a challenge to pick just one as the best.

The 16-year-old excelled technically by picking up a level four for all her non-jumping elements and by moving her triple loop-double loop combination to the second half of the program to increase its value. The choreography of her routine to Tanguera by Sexteto Mayor was so tight and complex that it would not look amiss at a Senior event.

“I am very excited,” said the teen. “I worked so hard for this, just doing the program over and over. I think I put out the best program I could.”

“We moved combination to the second half, because it is worth a bit more points,” she acknowledged, “and we put the double Axel in the beginning because it is a really strong jump and it goes well with the music there. I don’t think it makes that much of a difference (whether the combination is in the first or the second half of the program). I am working on triple-triple combinations, but it is not yet strong enough to be put into the program.”

The US Junior bronze medalist posted a new personal best of 59.18 (33.64/25.34) points.

Pogorilaya, has also decided to upgrade the difficulty of her program. She replaced two toe loops with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, which is worth an impressive 10.10 points. Even though the 14-year-old struggled with it during the morning practice, crashing on a triple Lutz several times, she nailed it during the performance to pick up 10.80 for the effort, one third of her technical score.

“I’ve increased the difficulty in the short program because everybody has this combination,” explained the rather unheralded skater, who was initially assigned to only one JGP event. “Without the Lutz-toe loop I would have no chances.”

“I had an injury last season, but have I started to work harder this year,” added the student from Moscow. “I understood that I was a little behind all other girls who were doing triple-triple combinations, but slowly I started to get into shape and catch up with the rest of them.”

“It’s unbelievable to be in the Final,” Pogorilaya told the press. “Overall, I’m satisfied with the performance. There was a mistake in the step sequence, and that is upsetting, but I’ve done the hardest jump combination, which was my main aim for the short program.”

She also improved her personal best, scoring 57.94 (33.25/24.96) to earn a six-point advantage over USA’s Angela Wang.

Wang had to overcome a shaky start in her performance to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as the lights in the arena dimmed momentary while she was setting up for the opening combination. The student of Christy Krall and Damon Allen only added a single toe loop to her triple Lutz, earning an automatic “-3” Grade of Execution (GOE) for the element.

“I noticed that the light blinked, but I don’t think it really distracted me,” Wang later told the press.

The 16-year-old went on to land a triple flip, which received an edge call, and then lost a few points because her step sequence was only rated a level two. With 51.16 (26.24/24.92) points, it will be hard but not entirely impossible for her to win a medal in Sochi, and the skater is looking forward to the challenge.

“I feel like I fought back for the rest of the program, and I’m really proud of that,” said the teen from Colorado Springs. “I’m going to skate how I’ve been practicing in the long program and hope for the best. I think my artistry definitely has improved. I’ve been working a lot. I made a few changes to my jump, so I hope I can show that on Saturday.”

Japans’ Satoko Miyahara made even more drastic changes: she replaced her routine to a J. Strauss’ waltz with a brand new one set to Saint-Saens’ The Swan. A more serene and introspective character of the music highlighted her superior basic skating skills, great lines, and excellent presentation skills. Technically, though, her performance left something to be desired.

The student of Mie Hamada fell on her opening triple Lutz that was supposed to be a part of a triple-triple combination. The Japanese Junior champion otherwise earned a level four on all her non-jumping elements, and picked up 49.60 (26.22/23.38) points.

Even though the Iceberg venue was at best one-third full on Thursday night, the young skater found it intimidating.

“I was surprised about the large audience,” said the 14-year-old. “I was inspired and anxious. I was nervous and missed my jump. Now I have to forget that I made a mistake and I need to concentrate on my free program. I want to perform with no mistakes and will focus on the jumps.”

USA’s Leah Keiser also fell on a triple Lutz attempt and finished sixth with 47.23 points.

“I’m not very happy. I feel like I should’ve been able to do it better,” said the 15-year-old. “I was really glad to do the rest of the program I still have a chance to fix my mistakes though. I still feel very confident coming into the free program because I know I’m a very consistent skater, so I will be fighting a lot.”

Related Links:

• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Full Results
• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Discussions
• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Articles

The post Radionova squeaks into first in Junior Ladies at Grand Prix Final appeared first on Golden Skate.

Elena Radionova of Russia won the Ladies title in her debut at the 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating.

The final day of the 2012-13 ISU Junior and Senior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating began with the Junior Ladies event. The sheer intensity of the six performances, as well as the number of attempted and mostly rotated triple jumps per program, nearly matched that of the of a high-ranked Senior competition.

Overnight leader Elena Radionova of Russia maintained her impressive lead over her rivals, finishing 11 points ahead of USA’s Hannah Miller and teammate Anna Pogorilaya.

Unlike her performance in the Short Program, Radionova was her usual un-stoppable self in her free skate to music from the soundtracks And Finally I Love You and The Country of Deaf soundtracks.

The only negative Grades of Execution (GOE) in the protocol of her skate were those stemming from edge calls on both of her triple flips – something she did not receive at her two qualifying events.

Even more impressive than watching the 13-year-old reel off seven triple jumps over the course of three and half minutes, was witnessing her doing it while staying in character of her somewhat introspective and sophisticated routine. Stylistically, it was quite a departure from her short program two days ago, but she coped with the theme equally well, earning 118.50 (64.65/53.85) points for the long program and 179.40 points in total.

“I am very pleased with my performance,” said the teen from Moscow. “Everything worked out for me. I did all the jumps, all the combinations. I was in a good mood when I skated. You need to skate calmly and with confidence. I wanted it so much and it just happened.”

“Honestly, I didn’t have much strength to skate the free program today,” she added, “but I was able to pull myself together. At the end, I didn’t even get tired that much.”

The student of Inna Goncharenko claims that she loves all the triples: “I do all triples. I love the Lutz, and even more, I like the Salchow.”

The next goal for the young competitor is to improve her presentation.

“I love to watch how Senior skaters hold themselves on the ice, the way they glide,” said the Russian Junior bronze medalist. “I know that what I do on the ice still looks like “kid skating”, and I want to learn how to present myself to the audience. To glide on the ice just as effortlessly as the senior girls do. I want to be solid in my performances and to bring people joy with my skating. Consistency is the most important.”

Without a triple-triple combination, Miller was unable to match the leader jump-by-jump. She attempted six triple jumps in her routine to The Storm by Balázs Havasi, hanging on to the landings of all of them. Unfortunately, her final triple Salchow was underrotated and a triple Lutz received an edge call.

Nevertheless, the skater, who works with Daniel Barantsev and Tanith Belbin on her choreography, presented one of the most mature and complex programs which allowed her to pick up the second highest program components scores. She scored a new personal best of 109.23 (56.16/53.07) points for the long, and with 168.41 overall, remained in second place despite finishing fourth in the long.

“I am very happy about it,” Miller said later. “I got my personal best and I turned in the best skate I could have done. I have been training really long and hard for this, and I am really happy that it turned out how I wanted it to. I think I performed it well, and all my spins and jumps were the best they could be.”

The US Junior bronze medalist admits to being relieved at the end of her program, breaking into a huge smile after her last double Axel.

“I always smile at this point of the program,” said the student of Kirsten Miller-Zisholz. “It’s exciting to have the last jump done. My goal was to come here and to skate as well as I could. It put me in the medal slot, so I am really excited.”

Pogorilaya’s program to Danse de Phryné from Faust was off to a rough start as the skater stumbled out of her opening double Axel, which was supposed be in combination with a triple toe-double toe.

However, the 14-year-old showed remarkable skills as both a skater and as a competitor. To make up for the mistake, she  added a double toe to her double Axel-triple toe combo, and then did a  triple Lutz -triple toe (instead of a planned triple-double). Overall, her jump content amounted to seven triple jumps, but she received an edge call on her triple flip.

“I hesitated going into the double Axel, and I had to switch my combination to triple Lutz-triple toe,” she explained. “If I hadn’t, my marks would have gone down. I have the Lutz toe loop in the short program, and I decided to do it during the performance. I had nothing to lose. And when I did it, it calmed me down a lot.”

The skater, who has been exceeding expectations all season long, scored 109.46 (59.36/50.10) for her free and 167.40 in total to win the bronze medal.

“In general, I’m very glad that I overcame my fear and showed everything I could,” Pogorilaya told the press. “In both programs I achieved a season’s best. I have grown up. I’m not afraid any more, and my legs are not trembling. Or may be they still do, but only after the performance – not before it, and it makes all the difference in the world.”

“It was funny that I gained more confidence after I nearly fell on the double Axel,” she mused. “After that, I was skating a lot more freely and was able to do everything I wanted. It was really tough to skate today because of the bad weather. It was gloomy outside, but at the end, I gained some strength and was able to finish on a high.”

USA’s Angela Wang finished second in the free program, but remained in the fourth place overall. She also produced seven triple jumps, but her last triple Salchow was underrotated. The 16-year-old opened her performance to music from Ladies in Lavender with a powerful triple Lutz-triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, and maintained energy and flow throughout. However, her presence on the ice is still not quite as strong as those of the leader. She scored 110.89 (58.90/51.99) points and 162.05 overall.

“I felt really good,” said the student of Christy Krall. “That’s how I’ve been training, so I am really glad that I was able to show that today. I felt really calm out there. I’ve been working really hard on my artistry for this program, and I hope that showed. I learned a lot from this competition. It’s my first major international and I gained a lot of experience. I hope I can use that for the Nationals.”

“I think I have learned how to stay calm when skating in a really big arena,” added the teen from Salt Lake City, Utah. “I definitely need to work on my short program consistency, taking that same feeling I had today and bringing it into the short.”

Japan’s Satoko Miyahara finished fifth in the long program and overall with a tally of seven triple jumps, two of which were underrotated. Her intricate long program is set to Nino Rota’s Romeo and Juliet overlaid with Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio, but in places it looked like the skater is anxious to move faster and with more attack than her music either allows or demands. She picked up 108.14 for the segment, and 157.74 overall.

“In short program I was very nervous, then in free program, I managed to put my emotions under control,” said the Japanese Junior champion. “It’s the Grand Prix Final, and I’m privileged to take part in this event, so I wanted to perform the best performance I can.”

“I think one of the best elements in my performance today was the triple-triple (Lutz-toeloop),” said the 14-year-old. “I think I’ve manage to put all my energy into the performance. The fighting spirit actually overcame the tensions I had before. I pretended this was practice, not the competition, in order not to get nervous. My coach told me to have fun and do my best at the Olympic venue.”

USA’s Leah Keiser remained in the sixth place with a performance that had four clean triples and three flawed ones. She crashed on her opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, in which the last jump was downgraded. She recovered to produce a double Axel-triple toe loop combination, but then popped a triple loop into a single. She picked up 90.21 points for the free and 137.44 overall.

“The biggest disappointment for me in this program is the loop,” said the 15-year-old. “I haven’t even tried it, but it’s a good learning experience for me. It is my first big international competition and it definitely did not go the way I wanted it to, but it gives me a lot of things to work on for the next season, even for Nationals.”

Keiser particularly admires her training mate Ashley Wagner.

“I train with her and she is really great,” she said. “She is always working and her best quality is… I mean she has everything, but… is her components [scores]. She is always in contact with the audience and it is something I can learn from her everyday.”

Related Links:

• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Full Results
• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Discussions
• 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final – Articles

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Russia’s Elena Radionova performs to music from “The Fifth Element” soundtrack at the 2012-13 Junior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating.

Elena Radionova is Russia’s skating wunderkind of the 2012-13 season. The 13-year-old dominated the Junior Grand Prix and capped it off with a clear victory at the Junior Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating earlier this month.

Elena, or “Lena” as she is usually called, is a tiny blond girl with a quick smile and a surprisingly grown up way of thinking. Unlike most other kids, it wasn’t her mother, but her father who took her to the ice rink.

“My mother was even against it,” said Radionova. “She said, it was too cold. But I had very weak legs, especially the right leg, and my dad said he’d let me skate to strengthen my legs. So one thing led to the next, and I started to do well and they decided to leave me (in figure skating).”

The then four-year-old girl started training right away under her current coach, Inna Goncharenko at the CSKA Moscow club.

“She stood out immediately,” recalled Goncharenko. “She picked up everything very fast and remembered it. She was little and the most diligent in the group. She worked hard, used her hands, her feet, and did everything as told. A little, light, thin girl, like a dandelion. She is still like this, like a little deer.”

“”Her talent was obvious right away,” the coach continued, “but to guess right away how far it can go… I don’t like to look so far into the future. We take it day by day and work. When she was eight, nine years old, it was obvious that she could do what is necessary.”

The skater has no clear memories of the beginning of her career.

“I don’t remember at all how I started,’ said Radionova. “Some prominent events remained in my memory. When I was little and skated poorly, and also when I skated very well. These bright moments I remember. I also remember exactly that in my first competitions, I took first place right away.”

The teen from Moscow cannot pinpoint at what moment she realized that she wanted to achieve something in the sport.

“I like skating, but there was not a moment that I said, ‘I want (be a champion),'” said Radionova. “Just one thing happened after the next.”

“It’s nice to be a champion of course,” she commented. “It’s nice to win and to have a medal…not everybody gets that. Obviously, you need to have a great desire, but it develops by itself. I just go and work. Sometimes it is not working and you want to stop, but then I tell myself, ‘No way, you have been skating for ten years already. You dedicated half your life already to figure skating’. Then you think, ‘Girl, work hard, you can do everything!’ My coach also helps and supports me.”

Radionova feels that figure skating was the right choice for her.

“I like everything about it basically. Figure skating is dancy and interesting, and it is something special on skates. The jumps are interesting,” she pointed out, adding that she never wanted to be a ballerina or a gymnast. I always think that they are suffering a lot. Ballet is also nice, but not as nice.”

“In figure skating, it is easier to achieve something, because in ballet, there are a 100 people and you will stand in row 35 behind the scenes,” she explained. “To become a prima ballerina is really tough. In figure skating, at least you have chances to skate, to perform in competitions. The ones that don’t jump well can go into ice dance or pair skating, but where can you go in ballet?”

Radionova sometimes watches gymnastics and ballet on TV and occasionally goes to the theatre to see it live.

“I like watching ballet, it is beautiful,” the Russian Junior bronze medalist said. “I also like rhythmic gymnastics, but I feel so sorry for them. They suffer so much.”

The Muscovite enjoyed her international exposure at the Junior Grand Prix events and the Final this season.

“It was a different level of skaters,” she noted. “Not everybody can come here, and it is more interesting to compete. The audience is different, you meet different people, other skaters. It is really interesting. Inside Russia, it feels like you know everybody, but here it is something new.”

It was especially interesting for Radionova to watch the senior level skaters in Sochi. She met the Russian senior skaters and talked to them, but was unable to communicate with the foreigners due to the language barrier.

“I would like to talk to Mao Asada,” Radionova shared. “I would like to ask what Japan is like. I really want to go to Japan one day. Japan and France are my favorite countries. I don’t know why. I love French croissants. I was for the first time in France at the Junior Grand Prix event, but even more so, I would like to go to Paris. And for some reason I feel drawn to Japan. It would be interesting to see how the people are.”

Off the ice, Radionova is attending school, but on a special program for athletes. She is in the 7th class and goes to classes whenever it fits in her practice schedule.

“I study Russian, algebra, geometry, literature, history, geography, physics, and English, but I don’t attend subjects like sports, work, and informatics,” she commented. “I only go to the main classes. There, I study like the others and write two tests as well, but I am just going to a time that is convenient for me. I also study at home with several tutors that come to my house for Russian and English.”

Radionova said she is a good student and especially likes algebra, geometry, and Russian.

In her spare time, she enjoys writing song verses and singing, something that drew the attention of the media at the Grand Prix Final.

“I have a notebook where I write them,” the skater revealed. “I write a line, and I might cross everything out and start all over. I like to work on that when I have time.”

Asked about the content, she giggled: “(They are) about nothing. They are so silly, just about something I might see. I see it and I start to sing. It’s only interesting when I look at them again after a month. I am surprised and I think, ‘Wow, I wrote this.'”

“Maybe I’ll be a singer when I grow up, maybe something will come out of it,” said Radionova. “I really like music.”

Although she likes music, she does not play an instrument as she has no time. If there was time, she’d like to try “playing drums”.

The most important hobby, however, is her dog Martel (called Motchik), a Yorkshire terrier.

“I love him,” the skater gushed. “I do everything for him, what he likes. I dress him. He has a lot of costumes. I get him all kinds of clothes for summer and winter, like T-shirts. My mother walks him in the morning when I am training, but I walk him in the evening and I bathe him.”

Radionova has on-ice training for a total of three hours on most days, split in half at 9:30am and 2:15pm or 3:15pm. During the time in between, the skater goes to school, has a lunch break, and rests. She stretches and goes to choreography classes after afternoon practices on most days of the week. Luckily, she doesn’t live far from the ice rink.

On the ice, the Junior Grand Prix Final Champion often meets Adelina Sotnikova, who enjoyed the same success as a junior.

“I have a good, friendly relationship with Adelina,” said Radionova. “We don’t spend our time together on the days off, but we are socializing without any negativity. I like to train with her. You go out and think, ‘It’s cool to skate with Adelina’. Not just cool, but you want to skate right away. You feel you belong to this group. When she is there, I do even more and I jump better. When I am with others in a group that are a little weaker than I am, I am relaxing anyway.”

The young skater describes her character as friendly and positive.

“I never feel any malice towards others,” she stated. “I never felt envy towards others. Thank God, I don’t have that terrible character trait. I am always composed and it is not easy to surprise me with something. I think you can achieve everything when you work hard for it and want it. I am a good-natured person. In some situations, I might not want to give in, and I show a fighting spirit. I can argue with someone, get loud, but then in five minutes we’ll make peace and everything is ok.”

“She is a good-natured person,” coach Goncharenko agreed. “She is very smart. She’s got a clever mind, but she is sensitive. She might give in to her emotions and you have to talk to her, but then she pulls herself together.”

For the rest of the season, Radionova has set her goals high.

“I’d really would like to win the Junior World Championships,” she said. “Maybe it is possible to make the top three, but I really want to win. And to be on the podium at Russian Nationals (senior level). These are my most important competitions.”

Radionova would also like to compete with the seniors next year.

“To try at least,” she said. “I like to skate with them. You watch them and they are skating better and faster than you are, so you are drawn to them. You want to be like them or even better. My skating is still kids’ skating, everybody according to his age. I can’t yet skate like them. I need to work more on my skating skills. I am still small and I need to grow a little and it will look different. The other girls grew up and they look different on the ice, so graceful.”

Her next competition is the Russian Figure Skating Championships (senior level) December 25 to 28 in Sochi.

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Elizaveta Tuktamysheva performs her Long Program at the 2013 Russian National Figure Skating Championships.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva won her first national title in the last event of the 2013 Russian National Figure Skating Championships. Elena Radionova moved one spot up to capture the silver, while defending champion Adelina Sotnikova had to settle for bronze.

Tuktamysheva had to overcome more than just pressure of being in the lead and the usual competition nerves in order to win the first title of her career. The student of Alexei Mishin did not attend the morning practice and the famous coach even informed members of the press that she was withdrawing from the event due to illness. The withdrawal was never made official, though, and the overnight leader showed up for the competition, looking a bit under the weather, but determined to proceed.

“I already felt a bit off yesterday,” she said afterwards, “but I did not realize it at first. Today, at five in the morning, I woke up feeling bad. My nose was stuffed, I was shivering. I put a lot of warm clothes on and went back to bed and in the morning I realized that something was wrong.”

Despite feeling ill, the 16-year-old decided to compete.

“It was a team decision, we always discuss those things together,” she claimed. “We had not considered an option of withdrawing after the warm up. By that time, we had already made up our minds that we would fight till the end, that I should skate no matter what, because a lot of things could happen and I might find myself in an even worse situation in the future. I have to know how to handle it, so we decided to skate.”

Considering the circumstances, her performance was very impressive.

The 2011 World Junior silver medalist produced a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, landed a double Axel-triple toe loop in the second half of the routine, and had two more clean triples. However, she popped the triple flip into a single and stumbled out of triple Salchow landing.

“The performance was not among my bests,” she admitted, “but I felt awful. My head was spinning, so even though it was way less than perfect, I believe considering my current condition, it was as good as it gets.”

The 2012 Youth Olympic Games Champion earned 127.07 (60.15/66.92) and won the title with 196.57 points in total. She finally age-eligible for ISU Championships, and will now prepare for the European Championships.

“I do not expect anything new from the Europeans,” she told the press. “I will face the same rivals. I have already competed against many of them before and have even defeated some of them. So I have to step on the ice and get the job done. Besides, on the ice it is does not matter what is the level of the competition, you still have to do your best.”

“If me and Adelina skate well, we can challenge for good places,” she stated. “There are very few skaters doing a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination in the free.”

Radionova was flawless, producing seven clean triple jumps, including a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and a triple flip-triple Salchow sequence. This content, however, only earned her the second-best technical score of the night. Still, she finished a close second in the long (126.68 (67.25/59.43)) and overall (191.26) to win her first Senior Championships medal.

“I did not expect such a result,” she claimed. “I am very happy. First of all, because I landed all my jumps and delivered the program to the best of my ability. I am very happy with my placement. Frankly, I did not expect it.”

The 2012 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion is too young to participate in the ISU Championships, either this year or the next, but she claims that she does not regret it.

“I am not at all upset,” stated the 13-year-old. “I hope I still have many years ahead of me. Besides, I still have not won a Junior Worlds, which is something that I really would like to do. So I am not upset. I have a lot of room for improvement.”

Still, Radionova feels that competing against Senior skaters is more interesting.

“Of course it is more difficult to compete in the Senior ranks,” said the student of Inna Goncharenko. “It is a completely different level. It is always interesting to see how you would look compared to very strong rivals.”

Sotnikova picked up the highest program component scores of the night for her interpretation of the Burlesque soundtrack, but technically her performance was quite uneven. The landing of her opening triple Lutz was not perfect, but she still decided to add a triple toe loop to it, which resulted in a fall and downgrade of the second jump in combination. Later in the program, she stepped out of a triple flip and a double Axel. She did, however, land three solid triples and a double Axel – triple toe loop combination.

“I am happy with my performance, not entirely happy, but happy nonetheless,” said the student Elena Vodorezova-Byuanova. “I managed to overcome it. It was my best performance of the season. I am moving forward.”

The three-time Russian champion does not believe that there is anything special about her successful performances at the Nationals.

“There is no secret,” she claimed. “I guess I just know how to center myself for the Nationals. Now I have to learn to do the same thing for international events.”

In contrast to her performances earlier this year in Sochi, Sotnikova was relaxed and confident, fully immersing herself in the music, and the overall impression was very strong. She received 123.76 (56.76/68.00) points for the long and narrowly missed second place (190.75).

“I am trying to re-invent myself,” she revealed when asked how she coped after the mistake on the opening combination. “I know that I have to be able to deal with any possible problem with my jumps, be they crooked, skewed, leaning, or straight. It was an extra practice before international events, so I will try to skate even better internationally.”

“Overall, I think I leave Russian Nationals feeling more confident,” the 16-year-old summed up. “It was much easier to skate here, so I am on the right track. My coach praised me, which pleased me a lot.”

Despite her lack of consistency this year, the skater does not seem to be intimidated by the prospect of competing at her first European Championships.

“The Europeans is going to be a new event for me,” acknowledged the 2011 World Junior champion, “but come think of it, it is unlikely to be very different to Grand Prix events or any other competition. One has to be calm and skate well. I know that both me and Lisa are capable of skating perfect programs, and if we do, we can even finish on the podium.”

Serafima Sakhanovich pulled up to fourth place with a flawless performance which earned her the highest technical score of the night. The 12-year-old nailed seven triple jumps, but unlike Radionova, the skater from St. Petersburg executed her triple flip-triple Salchow sequence in the second half of the program. Other aspects of her lyrical routine were also strong, and the student of Alina Pisarenko definitely succeed at making a memorable first impression on many fans and specialists. She was awarded 120.87 points for the long program and 177.37 in total.

Anna Pogorilaya slipped to fifth place overall (176.58) with a four-clean-triple-jump performance, in which she stumbled out of the opening triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and got an edge call on her flip.

Nikol Gosviani pulled up to sixth place (170.67). The student of Alexei Urmanov produced seven nearly clean triples, but the quality of some of them were not up to the standard displayed by those who finished ahead of her. She did, however, excel in the interpretation of her music.

“I kept training hard and hoped that I would be able to compete at the Nationals,” said the skater, who was the third alternate. “This season was much more successful for me than the previous ones. It was very intense with many competitions. I guess the quantity translated into quality. I am happy that I was able to do everything I planned.”

After a difficult Grand Prix season, Alena Leonova changed her long program to the famous Concerto d’Aranjuez, claiming that she feels more comfortable skating to this music, however, the change did not help the 2012 World silver medalist to deliver a clean performance. She finished eighth in the long and seventh overall (169.64) with a only three clean triples to her name.

Ksenia Makarova pulled up to eighth place (163.83) with a season best performance in which she was clearly determined to fight till the very end. She was not flawless, though, as her triple flip was downgraded and the second part of the triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination was considered underrotated. Nevertheless, she avoided falls and finished the routine on a high note.

“I was not happy with my performance in the short,” said the student of Evgeni Rukavitsin. “I tried to let go of the disappointment, but truth to be told, I was rather angry today. I guess it helped me to skate better in the long. I was injured, but it is better now. Doctors tell me that the pain will disappear if I stop skating, but it won’t happen any time soon.”

Polina Korobeynikova slipped to tenth place (163.04) with an error-ridden performance, which featured only three clean triples. Alsou Kayumova finished ninth (163.51).

The Russian Figure Skating Federation selected Tuktamysheva, Sotnikova, and Gosviani to represent the ladies at the upcoming 2013 European Figure Skating Championships.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva performs her Long Program at the 2013 Russian National Figure Skating Championships.

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Russia’s Elena Radionova performs her “Zombie” routine at the 2013-14 Junior Grand Prix Final in Fukuoka, Japan.

Russia’s Elena Radionova made history when she became the first female skater to defend the World Junior title earlier this year, and is now on her way up to the senior level.

“I had a lot of emotions at Junior Worlds in Sofia,” shared the 15-year-old. “I was very happy to win the second time and to be the only (Junior lady) to have won (Junior) Worlds for the second time.”

“Of course, when I came home, I had calmed down already, because this is the lowest step of the ladder to move up to the elite of the figure skating world,” Radionova told Golden Skate at her training site in Moscow. “Therefore, I was calm and I realized that I have to work hard in order to get to the World and European Championships and so on.”

Since her triumph at Junior Worlds, the petite blonde has been busy.

“I came home, I trained a little bit and then I went on tour with Show of the Champions that was held in many cities (in Russia),” the Muscovite noted. “I also found time to do my new programs and to work.”

“I really enjoyed skating in the shows and it gave me experience to skate in front of an audience every time,” Radionova shared. “At first I was nervous, because I wasn’t so used to it, but towards the end of the tour, I was calm. I knew what I had to do, how I had to perform, and with what kind of emotions. I had broken in the programs and at the end of the tour, I was confident and opened up.”

For the next season, Radionova will skate to a Flamenco piece in the short program that uses some lyrics, and as such, taking advantage of the rule change that allows vocal music in competitive programs. For the long program, her team selected music by Sergei Rachmaninov.

Both programs are aiming at making the expressive skater look more mature.

“They are new and are completely different from what I did before,” the skater pointed out.

As in the past, she is coached by Inna Goncharenko and worked with choreographers Elena Maslennikova and Ilia Averbukh.

Following the tour, she returned to Moscow in May and trained and also went to Korea to perform in Igor Bobrin’s Theatre on Ice. The plans for the summer include a training camp in Novogorsk near Moscow.

The two-time Russian national medalist did very well on her senior Grand Prix debut last fall, medaling twice and reaching the Final where she placed fourth. Even though she went on to take the bronze medal at the Russian Championships, she was ineligible for the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi as she was too young (she turned 15 in January 2014).

Now Radionova hopes to establish herself on the senior scene and would be old enough to compete at the European and World Championships in 2015. In order to do that, she is thinking about raising the bar.

“I’ll probably learn some new spins, make the jumps harder, and maybe, I don’t know yet, work on a triple-triple-triple combination,” she said. “I’ve done that in practice, but it was not very convenient to do in the program, because you get less (value), you have to calculate. Therefore, in training, I’ll learn several, but won’t try quads for now.”

The field in Russian ladies is as deep as it ever was with Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova, World silver medalist Julia Lipnitskaya , and Anna Pogorilaya (who ranked fourth at her debut at Worlds this year), as well as others. However, Radionova seems unfazed.

“Well, you just have to work a lot and then we’ll see what happens,”  she said with a smile. “If you qualify it’s good, if not, it is not good.”

“I don’t think too much about it,” she continued. “I don’t have any feelings about it, but I think as the season draws near, and I’m competing in my first events, then I’ll understand if this is pushing me. Obviously, this competition is motivating.”

Radionova feels especially motivated by Sotnikova, who trains alongside her at their club CSKA Moscow, but under different coaches. Nevertheless, Sotnikova’s Olympic title came as a surprise to the two-time World Junior Champion.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect that from Adelina, but she did a great job. I saw how hard she worked,” Radionova observed. “I skated with her on the same ice and I saw how she prepared for the Olympic Games. She was upset when she wasn’t selected for the team event. I think that was a plus for her because she prepared even better for the individual event.

“She could do everything and she earned her place,” the athlete concluded of Sotnikova. “This is motivating for me, of course. “She set an example of how you have to train.”

Radionova is currently scheduled to compete at Skate America and Trophée Bompard in the fall.

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Russia’s Elena Radionova performs her long program at 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.

The Russian National Championships that are held this week in Sochi might very well be one of the most exciting ladies competitions this season, and it somehow feels right that it will happen on Olympic ice.

Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova only recently resumed practice due to a torn ankle ligament, and as a result, will not be competing. However, the field remains amazingly deep with Grand Prix Final champion Lisa Tuktamysheva, World silver medalist Julia Lipnitskaya , Skate Canada champion Anna Pogorilaya, Junior Grand Prix Final champion Evgenia Medvedeva, Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist Serafima Sakhanovich, 2012 World silver medalist Alena Leonova, and last but not least, Grand Prix Final silver medalist Elena Radionova.

Radionova seems ready for the challenge. Thus far, the two-time World Junior champion has had a great season and was the only lady to win both her Grand Prix events at Skate America and Trophée Bompard. She then finished a strong second to Tuktamysheva in Barcelona, Spain at the Grand Prix Final.

“I see a development (in my skating), because I won two Grand Prix events,” the 15-year-old analyzed. “I was second in the Final, but it is still a better result than last year (fourth). This shows that I am not stagnating, but making progress.”

Although Radionova has grown, and sometimes looks like she is still adjusting to her longer arms and legs, she still is very consistent and put out strong performances in the Grand Prix, with the only major error being a fall on the triple loop in her Flamenco short program in the Final.

Winning Skate America was a big step for the two-time World Junior Champion.

“This was the first Grand Prix I won and I’ll never forget this victory,” said the student of Inna Goncharenko. “It is one thing to be second or third, and a totally different thing when the anthem of your country is played for you in honor of your victory. I want more of those moments. I want to stand on the top of the podium with the gold medal, hear the anthem and know that I am first.”

The Muscovite enjoyed another precious moment like this when she won her second Grand Prix title in Bordeaux, France. She felt she had improved over her first competition.

“Before the short program at Skate America I was very nervous,” Radionova noted. “In France, I was calm because I knew what I was doing and how I should do it. I did my job until the end. I think that I skated with more confidence and cleaner in France (than at Skate America), and I fixed the errors that I made at the first Grand Prix.”

Before the Final, the teenager fell sick with a high temperature and only had two days of training before she left for Barcelona. There was even speculation about her withdrawing, but she showed up. She was ranked third after the short when she missed that loop.

“I don’t know why I fell,” said the 2014 National bronze medalist. “Maybe I was tired, maybe it was nerves, or maybe it was a technical mistake.”

Although Radionova looked a bit shaky in practice and was still possibly affected by her illness, her free program to music by Rachmaninov in the Final was clean with the maximum of seven triples, and she pulled up one spot.

“I am so happy to have skated my free program clean and it is a personal victory to me to have overcome this difficulty and still show my best,” the skater said with a big smile. “My coach was so nervous that I would be too ill, but I told her I could fight to the end and I did.”

Radionova is working so hard that she makes most of her elements look easy. Nevertheless, she feels she still has a long way to go despite the fact that she can do several triple-triple combinations, even triple-triple-triples in practice, and usually gets level fours for her spins.

“There is no limit for perfection”, the Muscovite observed. “I can improve my spins, my spirals, I can work on my skating skills. I can improve my jumps. I can make them higher and at higher speed. I can’t stagnate and I actually still have to work a lot.”

Sochi is the next stop, the gateway to Europeans and Worlds. Radionova, who will turn 16 on January 6, was too young to compete at these events and the Olympic Games last season. Some figure skating fans even refer to the Russian ladies competition as the “Hunger Games”. In this case, however, there will be three “survivors”, or maybe two, depending on whether Sotnikova will be ready for Europeans and whether she will be named to the team even though she misses Nationals.

Radionova, who always appears composed in competition no matter what, is unfazed by the battle she is going to enter.

“Obviously, Russian Nationals are important, but so is each competition,” she noted. “I’ve competed at three Russian Nationals (senior level) before. I was fourth in my first, then I was second and third. I will prepare as for any other competition and I won’t worry too much and not get too nervous. I just have to go out and do my job. I am focusing on my performance.”

The young skater feels that a lot depends on the inner approach a person has.

“All athletes are preparing in a similar way,” she observed, “but some can pull themselves together in competition while others can’t.”

And usually, she can.

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2015-16 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating: Ladies Preview

For the first time in recent years, every single competitor in the Ladies’ discipline at the 2015-2016 ISU Grand Prix Final has won a Grand Prix event this season. In addition, the season’s best overall scores for all but one lady in this Final is above the 200-point mark.

Fans are anticipating an interesting and somewhat unpredictable ladies’ competition when the short program starts Friday in Barcelona, Spain.

The gold standard for the ladies’ field are multiple triple-triple or double Axel-triple toe combinations. The six finalists here will attempt 18 such combinations over the course of the competition.

Evgenia Medvedeva is the latest debutant in an already deep Russian senior ladies’ field. Medvedeva’s Grand Prix at Skate America (SA) followed an undefeated junior international season that included a Junior World Figure Skating Championship title.

Medvedeva has sought every opportunity to rack up the points. All three jumping passes in her short program to Issac Schwarz’ “Melodies of the White Nights” are after the halfway mark, giving her a 10 percent bonus in the jumps’ base value.

The 16-year-old has seven jumping passes, including a triple-Salchow-triple toe loop combination, in her free skate to a musical selection from the W.E. soundtrack and Rene Aubry’s “Allegro”—five of which are in the second half.  Numerous transitions and tanos (when she lifts her arm over the head during some of the jumps) ups her Grade of Execution (GOE) mark.

As a result, it should come as no surprise that the reigning Russian bronze medalist currently has the highest technical element score (TES) in the short program (39.66) and the free skate (72.12), as well as the highest free skate score in the Grand Prix series.

Last season’s Junior Grand Prix Final champion is also a steely competitor. When she fell on a triple flip and missed the triple-toe combination during the short program at Rostelecom Cup (RC), she added a triple toe loop to her planned solo triple loop jump, which kept her in third place. She then won the free skate to earn silver overall behind Russian teammate Elena Radionova.

If Medvedeva skates clean programs, she has a good shot to win the Final in her debut Grand Prix season, a feat last achieved by Yuna Kim, the retired Olympic Gold medalist from South Korea, in 2006.

A year earlier, Mao Asada of Japan won the 2005 Grand Prix Final during her debut Grand Prix season, beating the then reigning World champion (and eventual bronze medalist at the 2006 Olympic Games) Irina Slutskaya of Russia. Asada, who was too young to compete in the 2006 Olympics, was in the same place as Medvedeva—a rising star with an impressive international junior resume and a triple Axel.

A decade later, Asada is now the veteran of this year’s Final. This is the seventh outing in this event for the 25-year-old who medaled in her six previous appearances (she qualified for the 2011 Grand Prix Final, but had to withdraw due to the death of her mother).

The six-time Japanese champion is no longer a precarious jumping prodigy, but a mature skater with beautiful lines, an elegant lyrical style and smooth step sequences and fast spins. She, deservingly so, has the highest component marks in the field.

Asada, however, is as ambitious as ever with her technical content: She has attempted the triple Axel and a triple flip-triple loop jump combination in both her programs.

She showed the perfect blend of artistry and technical difficulty during her short program to “Ei Mir Bist Du Schoen” at Cup of China (COC). There, she landed a beautiful triple Axel and her program components for that segment (34.65) is still the highest for the entire Grand Prix series.  However, technical inconsistency has plagued the 2010 Olympic silver medalist this season.

Asada has missed or under rotated all but one of her triple flip- triple loop attempts. She hit both her planned triple Axels at her first event, Cup of China, but then missed both of them at NHK Trophy (NHK). She also continues to struggle with the edge on her triple Lutz in which she has received either a wrong or unclear edge call on all but one, and has popped the jump on half her attempts.

Several mistakes in an otherwise beautiful free skate to Madame Butterfly at Cup of China led to a second place finish in the segment (though she won overall) behind teammate Rika Hongo. She made mistakes in both programs at NHK, leading to a disappointing third place finish behind teammate Satoko Miyahara and USA’s Courtney Hicks.

Asada’s technical struggles are reflected in her scores: She has the lowest season’s best overall score out of the Final qualifiers and is the only skater here to not break the 200-point mark this season.

Nevertheless, the three-time World champion is a fierce competitor and could make a major comeback. During the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, she came back from a dismal 16^th place short program with a thrilling third place free skate that helped her move up to sixth place overall. A month later, she won her third World title in her home country with a new World short program record score (78.66) that still stands today.

In short, don’t count Asada out for a podium finish or even a possible win at this competition.

Russia’s Elena Radionova is only 16, but was overshadowed early on by the stellar rise of the slightly younger Medvedeva. When she finished third at Cup of China behind Asada and Hongo, it appeared she was on the decline. However, she showed she still was a top contender at Rostelecom Cup (RC). She skated with great passion during her short program to Lara Fabian’s “Je t’aime” and had tears of joy when she finished.

Fans were highly skeptical of her free skate to “My Heart Will Go On,” the popular song from the 1998 movie Titanic. Voiceovers from the movie by actors Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio layered over Celine Dion’s vocals added to the cheese factor for fans.

At Rostelecom Cup, Radionova again skated her heart out to that score, and when she finished, fans were more than willing to buy what she was selling. She lost the free skate to Medvedeva, but her lead from the short program was enough to win the overall competition with the highest overall score (211.32) in the Grand Prix series.

Radionova has two different triple-triple combinations, a triple Lutz-triple toe loop that she does in both programs and a triple loop-single loop-triple Salchow in her free skate. Radionova does struggle with the edge of her flip, but the technical panel has deemed that her flip has an unclear, rather than the costlier “wrong” edge.

With Asada’s return to competition, it looked like Satoko Miyahara would be in her shadow despite being the reigning World silver medalist. However, the 17-year-old grabbed fans’ attention when she beat Asada at home at NHK with a set of new personal best scores.

The most glaring issue with Miyahara is her small jumps, which are sometimes under rotated. The reigning Japanese champion mitigates that issue most of the time through rotating her jumps quickly, but the tactic doesn’t always work. Still, she manages to receive a positive Grade of Execution (GOE) score through her transitions in and out of the jumps.

Despite her excellent skating skills, Miyahara currently has the lowest program component scores in this Grand Prix Final field. Even her new personal best program component score of 65.88 at NHK is still several points below what others have earned during the Grand Prix.

Nevertheless, the two-time Four Continents silver medalist continues to work on improving her program components. She shows a flirtier and fierce side in her short program to “Fire Dance” from the Riverdance soundtrack. Her free skate to Franz Liszt “Un Sospiro” is elegant, but may seem similar to many of her past classical programs.

However, despite her ongoing challenges, Miyahara is consistent—a key to her career success. The Kyoto native will likely be off the podium if others are clean, but it’s more than probable that her consistency will help her get on the podium instead.

Rounding out the Grand Prix Final field are two U.S. Champions: Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner.

At 24, Wagner is the another veteran competitor in this field, having debuted in the Grand Prix Series back in 2008. However, the reigning and three-time U.S. champion is out to prove that she can still compete with the sports’ rising stars.

The 2014 Olympian made the case for such when she won Skate Canada (SC) in October. There, she broke the 70-point barrier for the first time after a flawless and entertaining samba short program to Club des Belugas’ “Hip Hip Chin Chin” that featured a triple flip-triple toe loop and two solo jumps in the second-half of the program.

Wagner had under rotations for both her triple-triple combinations in a reworked version of her Moulin Rouge free skate from last season. Despite those mistakes, she still broke the 130 mark (free skate) and the 200 mark (overall) for the first time.

But Wagner’s inconsistency, which has kept her from the podium at several World Championships, made its comeback at NHK. In the short program, she had a wonky landing to her triple flip and could not complete the planned triple-triple combination, settling for a wonky triple Loop-double toe loop instead. To Wagner’s credit, she continued to sell the program, which prompted judges to give her the highest program component marks of the segment, including over a flawed Asada.

Wagner also made several more jump mistakes in her long program, including missing another triple Flip-triple toe combination attempt and an under rotation on her Salchow on her second triple-triple combination. She attempted to add a triple toe loop to a triple Lutz to make up for the combination missed earlier in the program, but that jump was also under rotated.

But like Asada, the three-time Grand Prix medalist is a fighter and fierce competitor and certainly can make a comeback during her fourth straight trip (fifth overall) to the Final. Wagner could join an exclusive group of skaters by winning a fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final medal here, but she needs to keep those under rotations at bay. The Californian also needs to be careful not to lose points either through lost spin levels, which she has done so previously, or a wrong edge on her triple Lutz.

For some, it’s hard to believe that Gracie Gold will step on the ice Thursday in her first Grand Prix Final event after four seasons in the Grand Prix series. The 20-year-old actually qualified for the Final last season, but had to withdraw due to injury.

The 2014 U.S. Champion is arguably one of the world’s best jumpers, but her inconsistency has kept her from getting the big prizes, namely a World medal. She also has had edge calls on her flip in the past (though she managed to avoid those calls this season). Despite this, Gold has an ambitious goal: winning the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, close to her birthplace.

The first step toward that gold is two programs that are a departure to the numerous princess programs she’s skated to in the past. Many believe her short program (tango program to Angel Villodo’s “El Choclo”) and her free skate (to Igor Stravinski’s Firebird) provide a better display of Gold’s power and big jumps.

During the Grand Prix series, it appeared that Gold was learning to keep her competition nerves in check. At Skate America, she doubled her triple flip—a costly mistake as she earned zero points for that element— but was flawless everywhere else to stay in second place behind Medvedeva.

In the free skate, Gold hit nearly all her elements, including a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and a double Axel-triple toe loop-double toe loop combination in the second half of the program to win the free skate (though she was second overall).

Gold’s best performance of the season came at Trophee Eric Bompard (TEB) where she skated a flawless short program and earned 73.32 points, the highest for the Grand Prix Series. But she was denied the chance to win when the event was cancelled due to the Paris terror attacks.

At the Grand Prix Final, Gold will have an opportunity to prove that she is becoming a more consistent competitor. Two clean programs will not only get Gold on the Grand Prix Final podium on her first try, but a medal result that would again prompt endless puns on its recipient’s name.

What’s your take on the Ladies qualifiers for the Grand Prix Final? Discuss here!

Related Articles

• 2015-16 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating: Pairs Preview
• 2015-16 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating: Men’s Preview
• 2015-16 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating: Ice Dance Preview

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Russia’s Elena Radionova is the first junior lady to win two World Junior titles (2013 & 2014) in figure skating.

Russia’s Elena Radionova has been a consistent podium contender in figure skating ever since she started competing internationally in the fall of 2012. In fact, the only international competition in which she did not win a medal was her first ISU Grand Prix Final in the 2013-14 season where she came fourth.

Unlike many other girls that struggle during puberty in skating, the Muscovite is able to keep stay true to form, although not always as perfectly as she would like. Radionova, who just turned 17 on January 6, fought through some illness and injuries this season, but took bronze and gold in her two Grand Prix events, as well as the bronze at the Grand Prix Final. She also claimed silver at the 2016 Russian National Championships in December.

Russian Nationals as always been one of the toughest competitions of the season in the deep field of ladies, and the reigning World bronze medalist not only had to face strong competitors, but was also contending with a cold.

“Nationals are the battle of nerves of steel,” Radionova said. “Whoever has stronger nerves will be on top. All our girls have the same jumps and it is just the question of who is able to do everything. I knew that I had to skate clean, and I can say that Nationals was my best competition this season so far.”

The skater felt she performed in Yekaterinburg with more confidence and consistency than in other events thus far this season.

“I did my job a 100 percent,” said the new Russian silver medalist.

Radionova feels that she always has been mentally strong, however, acknowledges that she doesn’t always have “nerves of steel.” Nevertheless, she felt the competition at nationals pushed her. On the other hand, she has proven more than once that she is an excellent competitor. For example, when the triple Lutz in the short program is somewhat shaky and she opts not to go for the combination with a triple toe, she has no problem adding the triple toe to the triple loop later in the program.

However, the 2015 European silver medalist admitted that success doesn’t come always easy for her. At the Grand Prix Final, she said that she had grown about seven centimeters since the past season and felt in Barcelona that her free skating dress was becoming tight.

“When I returned from Barcelona, I realized that I had grown again,” Radionova shared. “I’m always comparing my height to my mother’s. When I stood next to her, I was one centimeter taller than she is. I would like to be about 1 meter 60 or 1 meter 70. This would be the ideal height, I think, but I’m growing to so quickly.”

So for the upcoming 2016 European Figure Skating Championships, Radionova will probably have to change her free skating dress.

“It is made from material that doesn’t stretch and even breathing in it has become a bit difficult,” she revealed. “It is good that the short program costume stretches.”

No matter. The skater, who is coached by Inna Goncharenko, is determined to deal with her growth spurt with grace.

“I’m always saying that there is no limit to perfection,” said Radionova. “You have to work hard and overcome yourself to get through all difficulties. This awkward age is not an easy time, but you can get through it. The most important thing is to keep your focus. When you have a goal, the will, and people that can help you, everything will be fine.”

The two-time World Junior Champion actually believes that growing older and eventually maturing is an advantage and she remains optimistic.

“When you’re smaller it is easier to do things, but I can see more pluses that come with age than minuses,” Radionova pointed out. “I just need to get used to my body.”

The two-time Grand Prix Final medalist is not only a technically strong skater who masters various triple-triple combinations, but is also a strong performer who always puts a lot of emotions into her skating. Her programs to “Je t’aime” (short program) and music from the Titanic (long) are right up her alley.

“They are actually very different from each other,” Radionova explained. “In the short program I’m just like a young rose, it is a beautiful love story. The long program is a tragic love story; love can be very different, therefore, I have programs with different characters.”

The teenager gets really involved in her performances and often has tears in her eyes at the end as she is overwhelmed with emotions.

“I’m just a very emotional person and what I’m showing on the ice always comes from my soul,” Radionova shared. “These emotions are not pretended. I know how some other skaters learn where to smile and where to cock the eye, but I’m skating my programs like I feel them.”

The 2015-16 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist is now preparing for the European Championships later this month in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she aims to be at the top of the podium after taking silver a year ago. Her toughest competition will come from her teammates—Grand Prix Final champion Evgenia Medvedeva and defending European bronze medalist Anna Pogorilaya.

Related Info:

• ISU Bio
• Wikipedia
• GS Fan Fest

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Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva won the title in her debut at the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships.

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia led the sixth Russian sweep of the European Ladies’ podium at the 2016 European Figure Skating Championships on Friday. Elena Radionova picked up the silver medal like last year, while Anna Pogorilaya repeated as bronze medalist.

Fifteen years ago at the 2001 ISU European Championships in Bratislava, the Russian Ladies had swept the podium as well with Irina Slutskaya, Maria Butyrskaya and Viktoria Volchkova. At this time, the current generation of athletes hadn’t even begun skating yet.

Medvedeva led following the short program and was the favorite in her very first European championships. Her performance to “W.E.” by Abel Korzeniowski and “Allegro” by Rene Aubry was highlighted by a triple flip-triple toe, triple Lutz, triple Salchow-triple toeloop, as well as two more triples and a double Axel-double toe-double toe combination.

The Grand Prix Final champion also earned level fours on her excellent spins and footwork, however, she crashed on a double Axel.

“When I went into the Axel I thought ‘do it, do it’ and when I fell, I was like ‘oh no,'” she recalled.

Still, Medvedeva won the free skate with 142.90 points as she picked up lots of positive grades of execution (GOE) as well as high component scores, including one perfect 10.00 for interpretation. The reigning World Junior Champion racked up 215.45 points to win the title, and the skater who is usually very composed, cried when her scores came up.

“I can’t believe it; this is just impossible!” the 16-year-old said. “Today in the Kiss and Cry was the first time I cried from happiness. The tears in the Kiss & Cry were tears of joy. I thought I would be in second after my fall so to be in first was unexpected.”

Medvedeva is now again a favorite for gold at the upcoming 2016 World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, Mass. When asked about the possibility to win Worlds at her first attempt she answered: “My personal goal is to continue to work, to put all my soul into my skate, and trust that my coach knows exactly what to do and what to work on.”

Radionova, who was second after a good short, had skated first in the warm up group and threw down the gauntlet with a powerful performance to “Titanic”. The World bronze medalist hit a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple loop-single loop-triple Salchow combination, as well as three other triple jumps and two double Axels. Only her first Axel was wobbly. The 17-year-old scored 139.03 points and had 209.99 overall.

“I think I skated the free pretty well with a couple of small mistakes on some of the jumps,” she said. “I know I can do better, but I skated more or less as I planned. I know I need to work more and now I know what I should work on and correct.”

Radionova revealed a new, elegant black and white costume.

“I love it!” said the two-time World Junior Champion. “We decided to change it straight after Russian Nationals and I came up with the design myself. It is supposed to be an evening dress style. Every dress feels a little bit different and so I need to get used to it, but I will have a lot more opportunities to do that this season.”

Pogorilaya started strongly with a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple loop-single loop-triple Salchow combination into her routine to “Scheherazade,” but crashed badly on a triple Lutz and triple loop. The 17-year-old picked up level fours for her spin and footwork, ranking third in the free skate (123.24) and overall (187.05). The skater had mixed emotions as she admitted it wasn’t a very good skate, but that it was good experience for her.

“I wasn’t particularly nervous,” said the Muscovite. “Inside I was completely calm. I think it was just my body that was not so relaxed, so some of the jumps were hard. Of course I wanted to do the jumps better than I managed today, but I think I showed all the emotions I could and told the story well.”

Latvia’s Angelina Kuchvalska finished fourth, which is the best result for a Latvian figure skater since Konstantin Kostin placed fourth at the European Championships in the men’s discipline in 1993. She landed five clean triples and earned 176.99 points.

Roberta Rodeghiero of Italy came fifth with a solid performance and 170.76 points, while France’s Maé-Bérénice Méité pulled up two spots after the short to finish sixth with 161.23 points.

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Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva earns top score in the ladies’ short program at the inaugural 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup.

Shortly after finishing her short program to “Melodies of the White Nights,” Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva smiled and raised her arms in celebration as the audience at Spokane Arena poured loud cheers.

Her performance during the head-to-head team singles competition at the inaugural 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup capped a season full of flawless performance.

She earned the top score—77.56 points—and won $5,000 in prize money.

“I was very glad this was the last short program of the season,” the 16-year-old said. “I performed it to my maximum, my personal maximum.”

Medvedeva made a splash during her debut senior season, winning all the major titles including the Grand Prix Final, the European Figure Skating Championships and, most recently, the World Figure Skating Championships. Her only “loss” came at the Rostelecom Cup last fall, when she placed second to countrywoman Elena Radionova.

Therefore, few were surprised when she easily won her head-to-head matchup Friday, but for Medvedeva the performance was still special.

“I wanted to say it is important for me to have experience with a team,” she said. “Everyone would benefit and need such an experience, not only in life, but in competition as well.”

The 2016 Russian champion also praised the audience at Spokane Arena, who cheered loudly for every skater and made sure to clap to cheer up skaters who were not doing well.

“The American audience was very supportive,” she said.

The head-to-head competition kicked off the 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup. The event continues through Saturday at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash.

The inaugural Team Challenge Cup, an ISU-sanctioned event organized by U.S. Figure Skating, is featuring 42 figure skaters competing on behalf of three continental teams: Team Asia, Team Europe and Team North America).

The match-ups were determined by the team captains, who are legends in the sport: Kristi Yamaguchi (1992 Olympic ladies champion for the United States), North America; Christopher Dean (1984 Olympic ice dance champion with Jayne Torvill) for Team Europe and Shizuka Arakawa (2006 Olympic champion) for Team Asia.

Each of the three groups featured men and ladies with the same seed. The winner of each matchup earned 12 points; second place earned 10 points and third place earned 8 points.

Team Asia won with 64 points. Team North America placed second with 62 points and Team Europe placed third with 54 points.

The scores earned during the head-to-head competition will not count toward ISU’s personal or season’s best. The points will also not carry over into the Team Challenge Cup free skate event, which will feature all disciplines, including pairs and ice dance.

No. 1 seed matchup: Medvedeva and Miyahara gives the audience something to cheer about

Medvedeva landed a triple flip-triple toe-loop, triple loop and a double Axel—all in the second half of the program, which earned her additional points in her program. She also landed some jumps with one arm over the head to garner extra points.

The 2016 Russian champion had more than a four-point margin on Japan’s Satoko Miyahara to win her matchup.

Miyahara skated a flawless routine to “Firedance” that included a triple Lutz-triple toe-loop combination.

Miyahara said she was thrilled with her score — 73.28 points — but was also happy that she performed well before a supportive audience.

“I wanted them to cheer even more,” the 18-year-old said.

Gracie Gold of the United States doubled the first jump of her triple Lutz-triple toe-loop combination in her “El Chocio” program, but landed the rest of her jumps. She finished third with 71.34 points.

“I just got a little ahead of myself,” said Gold, 20, adding that she was able to do the rest of her program seamlessly.

No. 2 seed matchup: Canada’s Daleman secures win

Gabrielle Daleman, coming off a ninth place finish at the World Championships, won the No. 2 seed matchup with a solid performance of “You Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)” that earned her 68.45 points.

Her triple Lutz had a scratchy landing, but she nailed her triple-toe loop-triple toe-loop combination, and earned 68.45 points. Overall, the 2015 Canadian champion felt it was solid performance after her long season, which started back in August.

“It proves how much my skating has progressed this year,” the 18-year-old said.

Roberta Rodeghiero of Italy skated a clean performance to “He Sleeps” by James Newton Howard and “Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison that included a triple toe-loop-triple toe-loop combination. The 26-year-old placed second and earned 61.75 points.

Rika Hongo of Japan popped a planned triple flip into a double in her “Incantation” program. The 18-year-old earned zero points for the jump, but recovered with a triple toe-loop-triple toe-loop in the second half the program. She finished third with 60.43 points.

No. 3 seed matchup: Wagner’s mental game

The confidence that helped USA’s Ashley Wagner earn her silver medal at the Worlds championships last month was on full display in her “Hip Hip Chin Chin” short program.

As Wagner landed her jumps, including a triple flip-triple-toe loop combination, she kept her performance to a high level, prompting loud cheers from the audience.

Continued improvement on her triple-triple combination, a must-have in ladies’ figure skating, made her cheer as well.

“I feel my triple-triple has become stronger since Worlds,” the 24-year-old said.

She earned 74.54 points to win the No. 3 seed matchup. She hopes to build on this performance and continue to progress toward what she hopes is a spot on the Olympic team in 2018.

“This is more for mental practice for me and sticking to the technique that Rafael (Arutyunyan) and I worked so hard for under pressure,” she said.

Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbayeva’s “I Got Rhythm” program featured a triple Salchow-triple toe loop in the second half, and a sassy step sequence that was well received by the audience. She placed second with 65.44 points.

Elena Radionova of Russia had struggled with all her jumps in her “Je t’aime” program. She had a rough landing on her triple Lutz and was unable to add the planned triple toe-loop. The 17-year-old attempted to add the triple toe to her triple flip, but fell. She also popped her double Axel and she earned no points for the element.

She placed third with 61.36 points.

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Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva performs her Free Skate at the 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup.

A fighting free skate from USA’s Ashley Wagner, along with a redemptive skate from teammate Gracie Gold, helped Team North America secure its win in the inaugural 2016 KOSÉ Team Challenge Cup.

Wagner’s jumps weren’t perfect, but the audience responded to her performance, giving her a partial standing ovation when she was finished.

“I really had to fight because I’m absolutely exhausted,” said the 24-year-old. “Coming off such a great (World Figure Skating Championships), I set a very high bar for myself and I really wanted to end this program on a very strong note.”

Wagner’s program to selections from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack scored 143.20 points, the third highest score of the night, which helped Team North America win both the ladies free skate segment and overall.

The top two ladies score from each team counted toward the team total. Team North America scored 285.26 points in the ladies free skate, edging out Team Europe, with 284.86 points, by less than half-a-point.

The ladies contributed to North America’s large margin of victory: Team North America scored 892.42 points, more than 40 points than Team Europe’s 848.06. Team Asia finished third with 820.22 points.

“This is an incredible group of skaters,” said Team North America captain Kristi Yamaguchi. “Not only talented, but so much fight in them.”

When Wagner did not pull off a planed triple flip-triple toe loop combination, she added it to her second flip. The toe-loop was deemed under-rotated, but adding the jump was still a victory.

“I pulled that out somewhere deep inside of me,” said the 2016 World silver medalist. “I was happy to pull that out when I needed to.”

The top performance of the night in the ladies, however, once again belonged to Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva. The 2016 World Champion showed her dominance yet again with a flawless performance that scored nearly 80 points for the total elements score (TES).

“I think I’m fully satisfied with my performance,” said the 16-year-old. “I think I’ve done very well. I skated very cleanly.”

Her score of 151.55 helped Team Europe secure a second place finish overall.

“When I was heading back to the team box, I heard (my team say), ‘Thank you,’ and I didn’t know what they were thanking me for,” the 2016 European champion said. “Then later they announced we were in second place.”

Gold’s only error in her free skate to Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird” was a hand down in a triple loop. She hit both her triple Lutz-triple toe and double Axel-triple toe combinations and added 142.00 points to Team North America’s score.

Gold said she kept her contribution to the team in mind during her skate.

“Everyone one else from team (North America) pulled their weight and I felt I dropped the ball for them,” the 20-year-old said about the head-to-head short program matchup. “It really put the extra fire (to do well).”

Russia’s Elena Radionova contributed to Team Europe’s score with what she considered a redemptive skate after a disappointing short program the night before.

She hit both her difficult combinations — a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple loop-single loop-triple Salchow during her program to the “Titanic” soundtrack and added 133.31 points to Team Europe’s score.

“I understood I had to step up for a new day and I have to get myself prepared for a new day,” the 17-year-old said. “Of course I wanted to perform well and I didn’t want to let my team down like I did yesterday. I think I skated very well.”

Team Asia’s ladies were also strong Saturday night.

Satoko Miyahara’s free skate to Liszt’s “Un Sospiro” was flawless, generating the the second best ladies program for the night. The program, which featured two double Axel-triple toe combinations in the second half, scored 145.02 points.

“The first jump I was a little nervous,” admitted the two-time Japanese champion. “My feeling got better and better (to) the end of my program.”

Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbayeva also contributed to Team Asia’s program with a solid performance of her “Papa Can You Hear Me” program. The 16-year-old received 123.61 points for the program, which featured a double Axel-triple toe and a triple Salchow-triple toe in the second half.

Japan’s Rika Hongo had a few jump problems in her free skate to “Riverdance” by Bill Whelan, included under-rotations on the second jump of her triple flip-triple-toe loop combo. The 19-year-old scored 122.15 points.

Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman had her triple flip downgraded and had an under-rotation on her triple loop in her skate to selections from Astor Piazzolla. The 18-year-old scored 115.93 points.

Italy’s Roberto Rodeghiero, 26, scored 105 points for her routine to music from the Evita soundtrack.

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Anna Pogorilaya of Russia performs her long program at 2016 Rostelecom Cup.

Anna Pogorilaya of Russia easily dominated the Ladies’ event at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia, while teammate Elena Radionova claimed the silver. However, the Russian ladies failed to repeat the podium sweep they celebrated last year with Radionova, Evgenia Medvedeva and Adelina Sotnikova.

USA’s Courtney Hicks rose from sixth place to snatch the bronze as drama unfolded around Russian darling Julia Lipnitskaia.

Pogorilaya led after the short with a clean and strong Tango performance to music from Scent of a Woman, not only nailing her jumps and spins, but also showing off expression and elegance. In her dramatic free program to the Modigliani Suite and Memorial, the Muscovite once again was flawless, landing seven triples (including a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple Lutz-singe loop-triple Salchow combo) and overall looked confident and smooth.

The World bronze medalist obviously was satisfied with her performance and her excellent score of 215.21 points. Nevertheless, her focus has already shifted to her next event, NHK Trophy.

“I have to start from scratch, for each competition,” said the 2016 Russian bronze medalist. “This competition is done. I have to prepare and get ready for my next one.”

Radionova, who had been taken ill in September and missed some practice time, was not in peak form yet, but she did enough to win the silver in Moscow with 195.60 points. The European silver medalist was second in the short to Porgy and Bess, where she had two-footed the double Axel.

In her “Turandot” long program, the Moscow teen showed strong nerves. When her opening triple Lutz was a bit shaky, she just tacked a triple toe to the next jump, a triple flip, for a combination. The loop was not Radionova’s friend today; she fell on one and two-footed another one. Overall the 2015 World bronze medalist looked a bit slow, probably the result of missed training time.

“I can’t say that I’m satisfied with my program,” said the 17-year-old. “There was that regretful fall and some other small errors, but this was my first Grand Prix of the season. Last year, my coach (Inna Goncharenko) couldn’t come.”

“This time I had to deal with unforeseen circumstances, but in the end, it is all an experience,” the two-time European silver medalist added, referring to Lipnitskaia, who stopped during her program as she was injured. “I was warming up and I realized that something was not right with Julia, but I tried not to pay attention to it. I just did not know how long I would have to wait (for the competition to continue).”

Hicks came from sixth place following the short. The Californian turned in a solid performance to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with six triples, but no triple-triple combination. The short was clean as well, with a triple flip-triple toe, but the component score was not so high; apparently the judges didn’t appreciate her interpretation of Maleficient so much.

The 20-year-old racked up 182.98 points and won the second Grand Prix medal of her career after the silver from NHK Trophy a year ago.

“I’ve always been drawn to the darker characters and its more powerful music,” Hicks shared when asked why she picks rather dark themes for her programs. “I always just enjoy portraying it. I feel like it’s more fun for me to skate it and to try to perform to this music. I feel the darker, more powerful characters really play to my strength like the jumping and the speed.”

Zijun Li of China overall was solid and just underrotated two jumps in the free to finish fourth at 181.83 points. Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva fell on the double Axel in the short and had few bobbles in the free to place fifth (181.32 points).

Lipnitskaia came out strong in the short set to “Autumn Leaves,” with an easy looking triple toe-triple toe combo. She also started well into her long program with her opening three jumps, but then she apparently felt pain in her leg, didn’t do the Axel, seemed to almost forget her program. The 2014 European champion continued, singled a Lutz and finally stopped and was limping.

After a short conversation with her coach, Lipnitskaia went to the referee who told her that she has three minutes to resume her program. Eventually she was ready to go, and even went for a double Axel but fell. Overall, the skater left out three elements and received a five-point deduction for the interruption so that she went all the way down from third to 12th and last place.

“We now need to find out what happened,” said coach Alexei Urmanov. “Obviously there is a health problem. To put it short, her leg became numb.”

He added that the skater was fine after the short, but felt something was wrong in the warm up. However, the problem did not seem too serious and so they did not think about withdrawing.

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Russia’s Elena Radionova performs her long program at 2016 Cup of China.

Russia’s Elena Radionova is back on track and bagged the gold medal in Beijing at 2016 Audi Cup of China, which also gets her into her fourth consecutive Grand Prix Final. Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada had won the short program, but slipped to second in the Ladies event on Saturday. Radionova’s teammate, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, worked her way up from fourth to grab the bronze.

Radionova’s elegant and expressive performance to “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini was highlighted by six triple jumps, including a triple Lutz-single loop-triple Salchow. However, she underrotated the triple toe in her opening jump combination with a triple Lutz and the triple flip was somewhat shaky. The 17-year-old from Moscow set a new season’s best of 135.15 points. She racked up 205.90 points to win the fourth Grand Prix gold medal of her career.

“My performance was not flawless today, but it was the best performance of the season, as for the jumps as well as for the skating overall,” Radionova said. “I am overwhelmed with positive emotions and just so happy to have achieved this result.”

Her strategy was to make her program harder since last season. “My coach and I already decided at the end of last season that I’ll do five triples in the second half. I am going to the rink every day and I work with my team and what you see is the result. Now I will take a little rest and then will move forward,” the European silver medalist said.

Osmond seemed on the way to gold in the 30 seconds of her dramatic program to “La Boheme,” pulling off a triple flip-triple toe combination and a double Axel-triple toe, but then she botched a triple Lutz, landing forward (downgraded), and also crashed on an underrotated triple loop and underrotated a triple Salchow. That was not enough to defend her lead and she came in second at 196.00 points.

“I started off really strong,” said the two-time Canadian champ. “It was the first time that I did those two jumps (combinations) together in competition. After that, I did two mistakes that were uncharacteristic for me. I know that is something I just have to work on leading into the next few competitions, hopefully keeping my focus a little bit longer.”

Nevertheless, with two silver medals she should be in the Grand Prix Final.

“If I make it to the Final, I’d obviously be super excited with the fact that I’ve never been there before,” said Osmond. “It’s a new competition for me. Overall, this year I’ve been really happy with how I’ve been skating, so my goal just leading into the next few competitions would be just to continue the way I’ve been training and just continue getting stronger and hopefully improve at the next competition.”

After Skate Canada, Tuktamysheva and her coaches decided to return to last year’s “Peer Gynt” program as the “Cleopatra” was not so well received. The 2015 World champion landed five clean triples, including a triple toe-triple toe combination, but she doubled her second Lutz. She was ranked second in the free skating with a season’s best score and pulled up from fourth to third place with 192.57 points.

“I made my free program more difficult,” the 2015 European Champion revealed. “For the first time, I tried two triple Lutzes in the second half. We are going towards the future step by step. I also wanted to do the triple Axel here, but I was sick after Skate Canada and didn’t have enough time to work on it. I plan on going to the competition in Zagreb in two week and I will try the triple Axel there.”

Japan’s Mai Mihara skated quite well to the “Cinderella” soundtrack by Patrick Doyle with five good triple jumps, but she popped a Lutz and stumbled on a triple loop. As a result, she slipped to fourth place. Her teammate Rika Hongo also made mistakes on two jumping passes, but still moved up from sixth to fifth.

USA’s Ashley Wagner did not have a good day. She underrotated six triples, only a triple flip was clean. The World silver medalist finished sixth, but still has a chance to make the Final depending on what happens next week at NHK Trophy.

Osmond won the short program with a confident performance of her program to the Edith Piaf songs “Sous le ciel de Paris” and “Milord,” hitting a triple flip-triple toe, triple Lutz and double Axel. Her jumps are powerful and high, so she gets good Grades of Execution (GOE) when landing them.

Radionova performed her short program with more confidence than in Moscow two weeks ago, but she underrotated the back end of her triple Lutz-triple toe.

Mihara came out strong in the short with another clean performance that included a triple Lutz-triple toe.

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Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva performs her long program at the ISU 2016-17 Grand Prix Final.

Despite a shaky start in her routine, overnight leader Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia was able to defend (227.66) her title at the 2016-17 ISU Grand Prix Final. Japan’s Satoko Miyahara finished second (218.33) while Anna Pogorilaya of Russia won the bronze (216.47).

Medvedeva, who was the last one to skate in the long program, made a mistake on her first jumping pass, a triple flip, which was supposed to be a triple-triple combination. However, the 17-year-old recovered to land six more triple jumps, including an improvised triple flip-triple toe loop combination, in the second half of the program.

“I expected more from myself,” said the 2016 World champion. “I wanted to do more and I could have done more. The mistake was hard to overlook. It happened to me for the first time that I missed that first jump and the combination, but there is always a back-up plan. I had to move the combination to the second half and I did it well, so I’m happy about that.”

“The Grand Prix Final is the most important competition of the season, because it is the only one that has the juniors and the seniors and only the best skaters,” added the Russian. “I am proud to have qualified for my fourth Grand Prix Final, twice as a junior and now twice as a senior. Here, [there] are a lot of talented people you can learn from.”

Miyahara also produced six clean triples, including a double Axel – triple toe loop combination in the second half, but her triple flip was called underrotated by the technical panel. The 2016 Four Continents champion was smooth and fluid in her performance to “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, but lacked power compared to some of the other competitors.

“I am very happy today,” said the student of Mie Hamada and Yamato Tamura. “The flip was not my best, but that was the only not so good part of my program. I am happy, but I still can do more and better. My feeling was getting higher and higher towards the end of my program.”

Pogorilaya received a new personal best for her powerful and emotional performance to “Modigliani Suite,” “Le Di a la Caza Alcance” and “Memorial Requiem.” The student of Anna Tsareva landed seven clean triples, but the take off edge on her flip was called “uncertain.”

“I’m so grateful to everyone that cheered for me and lived it with me,” said the 2016 Worlds bronze medalist. “My whole team has really supported me. I’m really pleased, but the skate was still far from perfect. If I look at the performance as a whole, then it was great. Of course I am insanely happy, but there were still a few mistakes.”

In the short program, the European bronze medalist had an unfortunate stumble when she was getting ready to start, and it looked like it had affected her performance, but the skater claims that she was alright.

“My entrance onto the ice was pretty funny. If anyone in the audience was bored, I definitely woke them up!” she joked. “I slid and hurt my back a bit, but I was just being careful with it. I´m an athlete and skating is my life. What is sport without injuries? I am fine though, there is no problem and nothing to worry about.”

Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond, who stood second after an energetic and engaging performance to a medley of French songs in the short program, slipped to fourth place overall after an uneven performance to La Boheme. The 21-year-old started strong with a clean triple flip – triple toe loop combination, but fizzled out towards the end when she doubled a planned triple Salchow.

“I went out there and had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to do and I did them,” explained the two-time Canadian national champion. “Of course it wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t completely comfortable in the whole program. I didn’t feel fully in the ice and I made some silly mistakes which I don’t usually make. But to do the loop, which I don’t usually land, put the cherry on top of a great skate and then to be able to get a season’s best and sell the program at the end, great. I got to the end of the program and was like, ‘why is it over?’ Now I just need to improve. I can do everything separately so easily. I just need to be able to put it together.”

Russia’s Maria Sotskova, who debuted at the Senior Grand Prix series this season, delivered two strong routines to the music of Alfred Schnitke, but the technical panel called some of her jumps underrotated (198.79).

“This was my little Olympics and I feel like I won it today,” said the student of Elena Buyanova after the long program. “I wasn’t even nervous, really. I loved it, my coach loved it, and I hope everyone watching loved it too. I came here just to show clean skating and to show the judges I can compete for the top places and the top marks.”

Teammate Elena Radionova made mistakes in both programs to finish sixth overall with 188.81 points. The Russian fell on her opening triple Lutz and tried to turn the second triple Lutz attempt into a triple-triple combination, but the second jump was called underrotated. The technical panel also downgraded her triple Salchow attempt in triple loop – half-loop – triple Salchow sequence. The student of Elena Goncharenko skated a rather traditional long program to Turandot, but opted to do a more upbeat jazzy routine in the short, which was choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne and stretches the skater’s range.

“I’m OK (after the fall on the triple Lutz),” said the 2015 World bronze medalist after the long. “These things happen. It’s not ideal to fall on the first jump. I don’t really know why it happened. I rarely skate first after the warm-up, so maybe that explains the problems I had. I don’t know. Of course it’s a shame. I’ve grown a lot and that’s created some problems.”

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Evgenia Medvedeva performs her long program at the 2017 Russian National Figure Skating Championships.

2016 World champion Evgenia Medvedeva defended her Russian national title with a record-breaking score of 233.57 points despite performing an illegal combination jump in the free program. Debutant Alina Zagitova won silver (221.21) and Maria Sotskova captured the bronze (219.90).

Medvedeva was in class of her own on both days of the competition. The 17-year-old approached all her jumps without the slightest hesitation, and towards the end of her long program performance, executed a triple Salchow – triple toe loop – triple toe loop combination, in which the third jump received zero points as it was already the third triple toe loop in her program and she had already done one three-jump combination.

“I know, I know,” she said on the press conference. “I think I managed to surprise even my coach; nobody expected me to go for it. But I know that the rules have been changed this year and they allow you to do more triple toe loops. Previously, the entire element would have received zero points, but now only the third triple toe would be discarded and I thought since I can do it, why not try?”

“It’s a step forward for me,” she added, “both technically and in terms of stamina. I have never done it before and it’s very hard to do 3-3-3 combination as the next to last jump in the program.”

The skater, whom many expected to falter under pressure of defending her titles, keeps skating strong and says that she is unfazed by the expectations.

“I do not feel any pressure, because I treat it differently,” she explained. “The way I see it is as if people expect something from me, it’s because they know that I can do it. If they think like this, it’s because they believe in me and if they believe in me, it’s because they support me. It’s my logic.”

When asked about her strongest qualities, she said it’s the ability to control her emotions.

Zagitova, who debuted at the Junior Grand Prix Series this year after an unimpressive 9th-place finish at the Russian Junior nationals last year, continues to impress. The student of Eteri Tutberidze got the highest basic value in both program, mostly thanks to the fact that she attempts all her jumps in the second half of the program. The list of the jumps included a triple Lutz – triple loop combination and a full set of other triple jumps, including a triple flip – double loop – double toe loop combination, which was perfectly timed to the musical accents in her “Don Quixote” long program.

“Frankly, I did not expect even to be in the top five at Senior nationals,” she confessed at the press conference. “I am very happy, but also slightly disappointed that I won’t be able to participate in the European Championships.”

However, when asked about triple jumps, the 3-3-3 combinations like her teammate, she replied with absolutely confident, “Of course,” as if it is the most natural thing.

“I even do 3-3-3-3 sometimes,” she added. “Even though the rules do not permit such combinations.”

“And a triple Lutz – triple loop combination in the second half,” chimed in Medvedeva.

Now the 14-year-old is looking forward to the New Year holidays.

“I will go home for four days,” said the native of Izhevsk. “I am very happy that I will be able to celebrate New Years with my family. Then I start to prepare for the junior nationals.”

Sotskova, for whom it is the first Senior season, achieved her goals and qualified for the national team with two strong performances in Chelyabinsk. Her only mistake was to single a double Axel in combination with a double toe loop in the second half of her long program.

“I worked hard and I had certain goals for this championships,” said the student of Elena Byuanova. “I have managed to accomplish them, and while I am not entirely happy with the performance, what is done is done.”

Regarding her mistake and emotional reaction to her performance, the 16-year-old explained that she was very disappointed with her mistake.

“It’s better to fall on a jump than to pop it, I was always told,” she said, “but what is done is done. You cannot change it, unfortunately. However, I have to say that I cry after almost every competition. It’s just a release of pent up emotions. It does not mean that I am unhappy.”

“It’s my first year in Seniors,” she added. “I feel like every time I have to prove that the last time was not a fluke.”

According to her, her strongest point is the ability to remain calm in any circumstances.

The skater said that she found the strong competition at home to be very motivating.

“When you know that there is a whole generation coming up who does the same thing as you or even better things, it motivates you to think about new things you can add to your own skating to stay ahead,” said the World Junior silver medalist.

Anna Pogorilaya, who won the bronze at the recent Grand Prix Final in Marseille, had to settle for a fourth-place finish at home with 215.62 points in total. The student of Anna Tsareva sustained a knee injury at practice and was somewhat cautious in her execution, even though it looked more like an attempt to avoid making mistakes due to being carried away than a concern over an injury. Two of her jumps were under-rotated, however: a triple toe loop in a triple Lutz – triple toe loop combination in the short, and a triple Salchow in a triple Lutz – half loop – triple Salchow combination in the long. Otherwise, her tango and Mychael Nyman medley were one of the most mature and expressive performances and were very well received by the crowd.

The skater was unhappy with the her performance.

“It was not an A-game,” said the 18-year-old, “more like a D game. I made my coaches unduly nervous. Emotionally, it was one of my best performances, but the jumps could have been better.”

“Still, it was a pleasure to skate here,” she added. “The support of the crowd was incredible. My knee did not bother me much.”

Fellow Grand Prix finalist Elena Radionova finished fifth with 209.24 points. The student of Inna Goncharenko also under-rotated the second part of her triple Lutz – triple toe loop combination in the short, and missed a triple loop in her long. Despite completing six other triple jumps, the two-time European silver medalist did not qualify for the national team for the continental championships.

Stanislava Konstantinova was seventh in both programs, but a combined score of 200.19 was enough for the sixth place finish. This was unexpected as the skater defeated more decorated skaters, including 2017 Junior Grand Prix Final champion Anastasiia Gubanova and former World champion, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

Gubanova popped a planned triple loop in the short program into a single to finish seventh overall (197.26), while Tuktamysheva struggled with her jumps in the long program to finish eighth (194.52).

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Team Japan wins 2017 World Team Trophy.

Japan’s up and coming Mai Mihara and Wakaba Higuchi carried their team to the gold medal at the 2017 ISU World Team Trophy on Saturday. Team Russia pulled up again to finish second, while defending champion Team USA settled for the bronze. Japan accumulated 109 points, Russia had 105 points and the USA collected 97 points. The other placements remained unchanged: Canada was fourth, China fifth and France sixth.

The Pairs kicked off the final day of competition with the Free Skating. Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France again delivered an excellent program. Skating to “The Sound of Silence”, the European bronze medalists landed a triple twist, triple toe-double toe-double toe combination and throw triple flip. The French were the only pair to go for a quad, a quad throw Salchow, and while fully rotated, James two-footed the landing. The team scored 146.87 points, a new personal best.

“It’s something you dream about doing, but when it actually happens, it still feels like a dream,” said James. “We are very happy and proud, but it was not easy. But it shows the work pays off.”

“It was just amazing today,” added Cipres. “All the teams in the boxes stood up for us, that really touched me.”

Russia’s Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov rallied back from their disappointing short program and came in second in the free skate (142.38 points) which gave their team 11 points. Their routine to “Music Was My First Love” was highlighted by a big triple twist, side by side triple toe-double toe, beautiful throws and level-four lifts and spins. The only error came when Tarasova double the Salchow.

“I went out for the free as usual,” said Tarasova. “Before and at practice, Nina Mikhailovna (Mozer, coach) found very exact and right words for me. After the double Salchow I told myself, ‘enough now,’ remembered all my skates in the season, pulled myself together, and did all the other elements well.”

Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China had to overcome her fall on the double Axel right at the beginning of their program to “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” but the rest of the program was clean, including a triple toe-double toe and triple throws. The team scored 133.13 points.

Skating to “Un ange passe,” Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro of Canada pulled off a flawless program to place fourth (130.09 points). USA’s Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc landed a side by side triple loop, but collided with each other in a transition move and fell. They ranked fifth (104.23 points).

“We had a little mishap where we tripped and went down, but we got up and kept going and we finished the program strong,” Cain offered. “You get up, you brush it off and you keep going, no matter what.”

Japan’s Sumire Suto and Francis Boudreau-Audet were sixth (97.57 points).

The competition concluded with a spectacular Ladies free skate. Once again, Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva was untouchable. Not only did she easily nail seven triple jumps and showed excellent spins and footwork, but she also performed her program with emotions, bringing across the story of her program. The two-time World champion smashed her own record score (154.40) from Worlds and pushed the record to now 160.46 points –due in part to the +3 Grades of Execution (GOE) on her elements, as well as perfect 10.00s for performance from all nine judges and eight 10.00s for composition and interpretation of the music.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect that,” Medvedeva said about her score. “That is just awesome. I enjoyed this unreal season so much, the work we did, the people I met. I am glad that I was able to compete in the team event and to add something to the team result. I went out on the ice absolutely calm, there was no shadow of a doubt or lack of confidence in me.”

Japan’s Mai Mihara turned in an inspiring performance of her “Cinderella” program, hitting all seven triples as well. In the Kiss & Cry, Yuzuru Hanyu acted as “prince” and presented her with the “glass slipper” (made of paper by team captain Kana Muramoto, the ice dancer). Mihara scored 146.17 points, a new personal best.

Wakaba Higuchi did not let her teammates down either and had a clean skate to “Scheherazade,” posting a personal best of 145.30 points. Together, the Japanese ladies brought home 21 points for their team and secured the victory.

Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman skated clean with seven triples and picked up 142.21 points, a personal best.

Elena Radionova of Russia achieved a season’s best with 137.08 points. The first half of her “Tosca” program was flawless, but then she made two mistakes – underrotating and stepping out of a double Axel and also underrotating a triple Lutz.

USA’s Ashley Wagner turned in a seson’s best of 133.26 points and skated beautifully to “Exogenesis Symphony Part III Redemption.” However, there was a glitch when she underrotated both triples in her triple loop-single loop-triple Salchow combination.

“This has been a turbulent season for me, so to finish with such a strong performance was really nice,” Wagner offered. “That wasn’t perfect, but I fought for every single thing. I’m very happy. This was a competitive field and I’m proud that the United States is bringing home a medal. This is a great event to end the season with and we are so appreciative of the fans that were here supporting us.”

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Russia’s Elena Radionova performs her free skate at the 2016-17 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating.

Russia’s Elena Radionova rose quickly to the top in ladies’ figure skating, winning back-to-back World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014 and becoming the first lady to defend the World Junior title. In 2015, she took bronze in her debut at the World Figure Skating Championships in Shanghai, China.

However, puberty struck and the two-time European silver medalist started to struggle with consistency, failing to make the Russian European and World team this past season. To be fair, trying to make the Russian ladies’ figure skating team is currently a tough task due to a tough and competitive field. Nevertheless, Radionova ended the season on a high note with strong performances at the 2017 ISU World Team Trophy.

Radionova announced a coach change a few days after World Team Trophy in late April. She stayed in the Central Army Sports Club (CSKA) where she has been training since childhood under Inna Goncharenko, but is now coached by Elena Buianova (Vodorezova) and her team.

“I think I had to make a change, because, unfortunately as much as I am grateful to Inna Germanovna (Goncharenko), we lost that connection that athlete and coach need to have and there wasn’t anymore the kind of work you need to get a result,” explained Radionova, speaking on the phone from Moscow. “We were together for a long time, but unfortunately we didn’t have that relationship anymore that is required to achieve a good result that would have satisfied both of us. Therefore, I decided to switch to Elena Germanovna (Buianova).”

The skater added that switching coaches was not an easy decision for her, but it helped that she remained in her old environment.

For Buianova, who has known Radionova since she was a child, the change came unexpected.

“She always has been training next to us. She is our girl. I know her pluses and minuses, her problems and I know that Lena (Elena) does not have an easy character.” she offered. “But it has to be that way. Other skaters, if you look at the character, don’t get that far. We don’t really have time to think, we need to get to work right away and we are in the process of learning to understand each other.”

Meanwhile, Radionova has completely adjusted and feels comfortable in her new training group and with her new coaching team.

“The practice has changed a bit, but I can’t say that it has totally changed,” she noted. “I like it a lot, we have a good contact with Elena Germanovna (Buianova), the work is going well and we’ll wait for the test skates.”

Radionova now shares a coach with Maria Sotskova, one of her direct competitors, but they are not training together at the same time. The coaches decided to separate them.

“We have different training times and each of us is focused on herself,” the 2015 World bronze medalist explained. “Elena Germanovna (Buianova) knows what is better and I trust the coach fully. I am not watching anyone else, I am only focused on my own work. I don’t see anyone else on the ice except myself.”

The preparations for the important Olympic season are well underway. In June, the training group went to Courmayeur in the Italian Alps for a three-week training camp.

“We started to prepare for the season there,” said the two-time Grand Prix Final medalist. “Now we are back in CSKA and we are getting into shape.”

After the season ended, Radionova went to Canada to work with choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne. She decided to keep her short program to “Porgy and Bess” by George Gershwin as she felt this program suits her very well. The long program is new, but the skater is not yet ready to reveal the music choice.

“I don’t yet want to open all secrets,” said the 18-year-old. “For the free, I took a style that I never had before. We decided to show me in a new character. It will be interesting for the spectators. It is an emotional program. I like it. When we chose the music and Shae-Lynn choreographed it, it went really well and everyone liked the music—the coaches, the choreographer and I myself.”

Even though Radionova won gold medals last season at the Grand Prix in Beijing and at the Winter Universiade, she is not entirely happy.

“There were some good performances as well, but I am used to always giving the maximum and for me, even one mistake means that it was not a good skate. I always have to skate a 100 percent,” she explained.

Overall, it was a tough year for Radionova, who struggled with injuries and the difficulties that come with growth which affected her skating.

“I had to get used to my new body and to heal injuries,” she pointed out. “I have grown, not so much anymore, but each change affects the technique and you have to get used to it. The feeling on the ice is different – yesterday it is this way and today it is that way. You need to adapt in order to control your body. But the most important thing is to believe in yourself and not to give up and that is in my character.”

Like many athletes, Radionova feels that the obstacles she had to go through eventually make her stronger.

“(Those) who have a strong character can overcome everything,” she commented. “(Those) who don’t have a strong frame of mind will not be a champion. Everybody has injuries, is growing, changing, has to adapt. Who can overcome all that will be on the top. I never give up and I am not desperate. I just need to move forward.”

Radionova feels that the support of her parents, especially her mother, is helping her. The skater is very close to her mother. “She knows absolutely everything about me. She is always there for me when I need her support and she pushes me if necessary.”

Obviously, Radionova’s biggest goal is to make the Olympic team, but she knows how tough the competition is.

“The Olympic Games are the biggest competition in an athlete’s career,” the two-time European silver medalist noted. “Everyone wants to perform there. In order to make the team, you have to be consistent, and to improve in everything – skating skills, spins. I know how I can skate and I have to work very hard.”

For the next two months, Radionova most likely will continue her preparations for the season at her home ice rink in Moscow. The first major event of the season will be the test skates on September 9 and 10 in Sochi. The Muscovite also plans to attend some competitions outside the Grand Prix series, but doesn’t know yet which ones.

Related Info:

• ISU Bio
• Wikipedia
• GS Fan Fest

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From Left to Right: Rika Hongo (JPN), Elena Radionova (RUS), and Uliana Titushkina (RUS)

The 2012-13 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating kicked off this week in Courchevel, France, with approximately 76 skaters/teams representing 28 countries competing in the Men, Ladies and Ice Dance disciplines.

The athletes competed to earn points towards qualification for the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Final which will be held in Sochi, Russia in December.

LADIES

Elena Radionova of Russia won the event by landslide, while teammate Uliana Titushkina took the bronze. Rika Hongo of Japan rose from third place after the short program to capture the silver.

Radionova was the clear winner of the event after placing first in both the short and long program with a total score of 177.79 points. Both programs were rock solid with positive Grades of Execution (GOE) in all elements.

In her short program (61.15) to music from The Fifth Element soundtrack, Radionova landed a triple Lutz-triple toe, a triple flip, and a double Axel. All three spins were graded a level four and received many +2 positive GOEs, as did her level three straight line steps.

In the long, the reigning Russian junior bronze medalist landed a total of seven triple jumps, including a solid triple Lutz-triple toe. The 13-year-old displayed strong level three foot work, and wowed the judges with a layback spin which garnered a level four and a hoard of positive GOEs. She finished in first place (116.64) and overall with a total score of 177.79.

Hongo’s solid short program to Samson and Delilah featured a triple toe loop-triple toe, triple flip, and double Axel, and the 17-year-old finished third with 53.16 points.

In her  long program to Swan Lake (96.22), the student from Nagoya received an edge call on her opening triple Lutz and later fell on a triple loop, but otherwise landed four clean triples including a double Axel-triple toe. With 149.38 points in total, she was able to move up to second place overall.

Titushkina had a good start placing second in her short (53.62) program to music from Teheran 43 which featured a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple flip, and double Axel. She also displayed a good level four layback spin, but lost a bit of speed on the flying camel.

The 13-year-old had a sub par performance in her long, underrotating several triple jumps, falling on a loop, and a receiving a time violation deduction. The teen from St. Petersburg placed fourth in the long (90.30) and third overall (143.92).

USA’s Vanessa Lam finished in fourth place overall (140.89), followed by teammate Ashley Cain (136.51).

MEN

Boyang Jin of China placed first in both the short and long program for a lock on the gold with nearly 10 points to spare. USA’s Jason Brown came from third place after the short to capture the silver, while Japan’s Ryuju Hino slipped from second to third to settle for the bronze.

Jin’s upbeat short program (62.98) to Chambermaid Swing featured a very good triple Axel, as well as a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip.

In his long routine (131.15) to Charlie Chaplin, the 14-year-old impressed with a quadruple toe and triple Axel-double toe, and his only errors were an underrotated double toe (in combination with a triple Lutz-triple toe) and a step-out on a triple Lutz.

Brown opened his short program with a solid double Axel for his opening jump, however, the current JGP Final champion received an edge call on a triple Lutz (in combination with a triple toe) and two-footed the landing of his triple flip. Despite the errors, he presented a very good footwork sequence which earned a level four and mostly +2s for GOEs. He placed third with 59.33 points.

In his long to Liebestraum, the reigning World Junior bronze medalist underrotated several jumps and received an edge call on both triple Lutzes. Once again, however, he displayed good footwork and spins, and placed second with 126.48 points. With a total score of 185.81 points, the 17-year-old was able to move up to second overall to win the silver.

Hino stepped out of his opening triple Axel in his short program to music by Kodo, and also received an edge call on a triple flip, but otherwise landed a triple Lutz-triple toe and displayed good spins and footwork to place second (59.70).

The Japanese junior champion was off to good start in his long to Robin Hood in which he opened with a solid triple Axel-toe, but he later fell on a triple Lutz and received an edge call on a triple flip again. The 17-year-old placed third in the long (121.91) and overall with 181.61 points.

USA’s Harrison Choate placed fourth overall (169.70), followed by Alexander Petrov of Russia (159.68) who placed sixth in both the long and short program.

From left to right: Jason Brown (USA), Boyang Jin (CHN), & Ryuju Hino (JPN)

ICE DANCE

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France overcame a second place finish in the short dance to win the gold, while Russia’s Valeria Zenkova and Valerie Sinitsin slipped from first to second overall for the silver. Madeline Edwards and Zhao Kai Pang of Canada placed third overall for the bronze.

Papadakis and Cizeron put out a good Blues/Swing dance which was highlighted by level three twizzles, a level four straight line lift, and a solid level two midline step sequence. The team also earned a level three on sequence two of their blues pattern, and placed second with 52.25 points.

In their free dance to a Pink Floyd medley, the French team showed strong level four lifts and a dance spin, as well as a very good level three diagonal step sequence. They placed first in the free dance (78.88), and with a total score of 131.13, won the gold.

Zenkova and Sinitsin were nearly solid in their Blues/Swing routine which featured the only level four in the Blues Pattern section of all the dance teams. The team also put out a good level one midline step sequence and level four rotational lift which earned positive GOEs from the judges.

The Russian junior bronze medalists did well in their free dance to music from the Cats musical. The routine was highlighted by a level four curve lift and level three circular steps and twizzles. They earned 72.03 points for second place, but with a total score of 124.94, slipped to second overall.

Edwards and Pang produced a level four straight line lift and twizzle sequence, as well as a level three on sequence one of their blues pattern in their Blues/Swing short dance, and placed third with 46.53 points.

Performing to music from The Artist soundtrack for the free dance, the Canadian junior silver medalists delivered two level four lifts, level three twizzles, and a level four combination dance spin. They placed third (67.20) and maintained third overall with 113.73 points.

Ukrainians Daria Korotitskaia and Maksim Spodirev came in fourth overall (111.23), followed by Russia’s Sofia Evdokimova and Egor Bazin (110.91).

The JGP circuit continues next Thursday in Lake Placid, New York.

From left to right: Valeria Zenkova and Valerie Sinitsin (RUS), Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron (FRA), & Madeline Edwards and Zhao Kai Pang (CAN)

• Full Results
• ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube Channel
• JGP Standings: Men | Pairs | Ladies | Ice Dance

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