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Post by Admin on Nov 18, 2019 21:28:33 GMT
The final competition of this season’s Grand Prix Series, 2019 NHK Trophy, plays out in Sapporo, Japan, Nov. 22-24. There will not be an empty seat in the house, so expect to see a lot of Pooh Bears raining down from the stands as Yuzuru Hanyu takes his bows. The 24-year-old is without challenge at this competition and, given the level he is skating at this season, the final result in the men′s event could be a repeat of the runaway victory he achieved at Skate Canada International in late October. The highlight of the men′s competition will be the battle for silver and bronze — and the last berths available at the Grand Prix Final. That showdown could be between Jason Brown, second at Skate America (13 points), Kevin Aymoz, third at Skate Canada (11 points), and Makar Ignatov, third at Rostelecom Cup (11 points). If Brown wins that contest he will head to the Final. CBC LIVE STREAM (TBA) The battle for gold in the ladies event will be between Russia’s Alena Kostornaia, Alina Zagitova and Japan’s Rika Kihira. The two Russian ladies went one-two in France, while Kihira finished second at Skate Canada International. If this trio captures the three steps of the podium they will all earn a place at the Grand Prix Final. China′s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han headline the pairs field and are sure bets to win this competition. Who will capture silver and bronze will be the highlight of this event. Two teams are in the running: Canada′s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro (second at Skate Canada), will go up against Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov of Russia (first at Internationaux de France). In ice dance, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France will have no challengers in Sapporo. Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, second at Skate America, are best bets to take the silver and join the French team at the Final. Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy could take the bronze.
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Post by Admin on Nov 19, 2019 21:34:31 GMT
Let’s examine what scenarios need to play out at NHK Trophy in order for skaters like Olympic champions Alina Zagitova and Yuzuru Hanyu to clinch spots at the event. The Final is Dec. 5-8 in Torino, Italy, site of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
Ladies
Two skaters have clinched spots prior to NHK Trophy: Alexandra Trusova (won Skate Canada and Rostelecom Cup), 15, from Russia Anna Shcherbakova (won Skate America and Cup of China), 15, from Russia
They train together in Moscow under coach Eteri Tutberidze and are both in their first season on the senior Grand Prix circuit. Along with Alena Kostornaia, this young trio are capable of some of the most difficult jumps being performed in women’s skating today. The ladies’ standings can be found here.
American Bradie Tennell currently sits third in the standings. She is as close to clinching a berth as one can get without technically doing so. Forcing Tennell out of the Grand Prix Final at this point would require a series of unlikely scenarios to take place this weekend at NHK Trophy.
Tennell would be the first American woman in a Grand Prix Final since Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold competed in the 2015 Grand Prix Final.
American Mariah Bell ended up with the same number of points in the standings as Tennell. However, Tennell wins over Bell on a tiebreak due to her second and fourth place Grand Prix series finishes, compared to Bell’s two bronze medals this season. The first tiebreak procedure is based on highest placement on the Grand Prix series.
Tennell also beats Satoko Miyahara of Japan on a tiebreak, because Tennell’s total combined score is higher than Miyahara’s. They both have a silver medal and a fourth place finish on the series, so the next criteria looks at total scores from both Grand Prix events. Miyahara had appeared in every Grand Prix Final since 2015 and this would’ve been her fifth straight appearance.
The remainder of the six-skater field should be decided at NHK Trophy, where reigning Olympic and world champion Alina Zagitova is skating, as is Japan’s Rika Kihira and Grand Prix France champion Kostornaia (16, and also in her first senior Grand Prix season).
Kostornaia will make the Grand Prix Final with a fifth-place finish or higher, while Zagitova and Kihira just need to land on the podium to earn a spot in Torino.
Another note: Four out of the six women’s skaters in the Grand Prix Final field are Russian. Last year, three Russians and three Japanese skaters made up the field. This year, there is likely a little more variety with as many as four Russians, a Japanese skater and an American.
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Post by Admin on Nov 20, 2019 0:41:58 GMT
Men
Two skaters have clinched spots before NHK Trophy:
Nathan Chen (won Skate America and Grand Prix France) from the U.S. Alexander Samarin (silver at Grand Prix France and won Rostelecom Cup) from Russia Chen has appeared in the last three consecutive Finals, earning a silver in 2016 followed by winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. The men’s standings can be found here.
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu skates this weekend at home in Japan and needs to place inside the top four to clinch a spot in the Grand Prix Final. Hanyu won the Grand Prix Final four straight times in 2013, ’14, ’15 and ’16, but withdrew last year from the Final after qualifying due to injury. In 2017, he couldn’t qualify for the Final due to his withdrawal from NHK Trophy. This will be the first Hanyu-Chen head-to-head since the world championships in March, where Chen earned gold to Hanyu’s silver.
American Jason Brown needs to place second at NHK Trophy to clinch a Grand Prix Final berth, but is very likely qualified even if he places third.
France’s Kevin Aymoz and Russia’s Makar Ignatov would need to win NHK Trophy to clinch a Grand Prix Final berth, and if they earn silver medals they’ll end up in a tie-break scenario with Russian Dmitri Aliev (currently third in the standings; almost certainly guaranteed a Grand Prix Final spot at this point with a bronze at Skate America and a silver at Rostelecom Cup).
Other notes: France’s last men’s representative in a Grand Prix Final was Florent Amodio, who finished sixth in 2010.
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Post by Admin on Nov 20, 2019 22:00:35 GMT
Reigning Olympic and world champion Alina Zagitova of Russia is in a similar situation this weekend at NHK Trophy, needing to finish on the podium to clinch a berth in the Final. She faces Moscow-based training partner Alena Kostornaia (who needs to finish fifth or better to make the Final) and Japan’s Rika Kihira (must earn a medal of any color), among others such as 2019 European champion Sofia Samodurova of Russia and 2017 U.S. national champion Karen Chen. Three teams in the pairs’ field at NHK Trophy can earn spots in the Grand Prix Final. Two-time world pair champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China and Russia’s Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov need a medal of any color to clinch, while Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro need silver to clinch, but could win with a bronze and a high score. See the breakdown here for details. In ice dance, four-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are favorites at NHK Trophy. They have appeared in three Grand Prix Finals and own a medal of each color, including a win at their most recent appearance in 2017. (The duo withdrew from a regular-series Grand Prix event last season and were unable to qualify for the Final.) The most likely NHK Trophy scenario is that Papadakis and Cizeron win NHK Trophy, and Russia’s Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin finish second – and if that happens, Papadakis and Cizeron, Stepanova and Bukin and Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates (currently on the cusp of an entry) all make the Final. NHK Trophy Broadcast Schedule Day Time (ET) Event Network Thursday 10:30 p.m. Rhythm Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK Friday 12 a.m. Pairs’ Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK 2:30 a.m. Women’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK 5 a.m. Men’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK 10 p.m. Free Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK Saturday 12:30 a.m. Pairs’ Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK 2:30 a.m. Women’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK 5 a.m. Men’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK Sunday 4 p.m. Highlights NBC | STREAM LINK
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Post by Admin on Nov 21, 2019 19:53:58 GMT
Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu is setting a high target for himself at this week's ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating NHK Trophy, the double Olympic men's champion said Thursday. Hanyu, who set a career high of 322.59 points in winning Skate Canada, the second event in this year's Grand Prix series, is looking to improve on that in the sixth meet in Sapporo. "I'm confident having posted the highest score this season. I need to surpass that," he said at Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena. "I'm in really good condition." In his official practice, Hanyu landed three different quad jumps, a loop, a salchow and a toe loop. Rika Kihira, who was second among the women at Skate Canada, nailed one of the quad salchows she attempted, but declined to promise she would attempt it in her program. "I can't afford mistakes," she said. "I want high-percentage jumps. I'll make a final decision about it after I check the condition of the ice." Both Hanyu and Kihira are looking to the NHK Trophy to earn their spots among the six skaters in their respective competitions at December's Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy.
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