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Post by Admin on Mar 19, 2019 17:37:29 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2019 6:26:43 GMT
In all of her international competitions this season, phenom Rika Kihira of Japan has gone undefeated. Her only loss was at Japan’s national championships, won by Kaori Sakamoto. Four-time Japanese national champion Satoko Miyahara claimed the bronze. All three will compete at the World Championships in Saitama, Japan from March 18-24 – home ice for the skaters in a country that loves skating like no other. Their biggest challenges will come from the Russian ladies, though the best that country has to offer may be among the juniors. The strongest of Russia’s three ladies this year seems to be newly-crowned European champion Sofia Samodurova, who will be joined at worlds by two former training partners, Olympic gold and silver medalists Alina Zagitova and Yevgenia Medvedeva.
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Post by Admin on Mar 21, 2019 3:31:46 GMT
Short program complete and a standing ovation surrounding her, Mariah Bell thrust her fists into the air not once but twice as she skated to take her bows at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, Wednesday night. “That’s good,” Bell, 22, offered minutes later, in the kiss and cry, upon receiving her score of 71.26. Good enough, actually, to place Bell in sixth and as part of the elite final group of competitors for the free skate. It was not as strong of a performance for 2018 U.S. champion Bradie Tennell, who was called for an under-rotation on her triple toe jump in combination, leaving her with a 69.50 and in 10th place. The U.S. needs to finish with a combined placement of 13 or below to qualify three women for the 2020 world championships, though that battle now appears to be a rather uphill one after the short program. Reigning Olympic champion Alina Zagitova of Russia leads the women’s event by over five points following a resurgent short program herself. Tennell and Bell qualified for worlds following their second- and third-place finishes at the U.S. championships earlier this year. Due to age-eligibility rules, 13-year-old champion Alysa Liu is not able to compete at the senior international level.
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Post by Admin on Mar 21, 2019 17:21:39 GMT
Japanese superstar Yuzuru Hanyu will have to come from behind if he is to win a third World Figure Skating Championships after finishing the men's short program Thursday behind Americans Nathan Chen and Jason Brown. Chen, the reigning world champion, will take a commanding lead into Saturday's free skate after scoring 107.40 for his short program on the opening day of the men's individual competition at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo. Brown scored 96.81 to finish the segment 1.94 points ahead of Hanyu in third place. Japan's Pyeongchang Olympic Games silver medalist Shoma Uno placed sixth with 91.40 points. Skating to Raul di Blasio's "Otonal," Hanyu made a costly error when he missed his opening quad salchow, turning it into a double.
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Post by Admin on Mar 22, 2019 18:03:12 GMT
Olympic champion Alina Zagitova won the free skate on Friday to capture her first title at the figure skating world championships. Skating to "Carmen," the 16-year-old Russian built on her lead from the short program with a strong free skate that included a triple-lutz, triple-toe loop combination in the first half of her program. She added five more triple jumps to finish with 237.50 points. "I realized that I needed a clean skate and I went into each jump determined to land it," said Zagitova, who also landed two double axels. "I was very nervous, but the experience from the Olympic Games helped me somehow." Elizabet Tursynbaeva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the world championships when she opened her routine with a quad salchow. The 19-year-old Kazakh finished second with 224.76 points.
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