ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2007 Day Four
The 2007 World Figure Skating Championships continued in
Tokyo, Japan, with the Ladies Short Program and the Free Dance.
The Toyko Metropolitan Gymnasium was once again sold out.
Ladies, Short Program
The 45 entries in the Ladies event were divided into two groups
for the Short Program. The first half skated in the morning
and the second in the evening. The Free Dance took place in
between.
Yu-Na Kim (KOR) captured the lead with Japan’s Miki
Ando and Carolina Kostner of Italy following in second and
third. All three set a new personal best for themselves.
Kim put out a dazzling performance to “Tango de Roxanne”
from the “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack, hitting a
big triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Lutz,
a high double Axel and beautiful spins, earning a level four
for the combination spin and the layback spin. The 16-year-old
had just one shaky moment in her spiral sequence but completed
it well and got another level four for it. The 2006 World
Junior Champion posted a new personal best of 71.95 points,
setting a new record and beating the former record set by
Sasha Cohen’s Short Program score of 71.12 points from
Skate Canada 2003. Kim’s element score was 41.49 and
the program component score was 30.46. She beat her previous
personal best of 65.22 points clearly. When the marks came
up, the skater hardly could believe it. “I was surprised
with such a high score, but I don’t know what will happen
tomorrow. I made a small mistake on the spiral sequence, but
I’m happy that I had a good score”, Kim said.
She also was asked about her back injury that affected her
preparation for Worlds. “When I arrived in Japan I still
had pain, but little by little my practice improved. Today
during the performance I felt no pain, so I was feeling better
and was able to skate in a very confident manner”, she
explained.
Ando nailed a triple Lutz-triple loop, a triple flip, a double
Axel and got a level four for her spiral sequence and the
flying sit spin but only a level two for the layback. The
2004 World Junior Champion was awarded 67.98 points (38.67/29.32)
and slightly improved her previous personal best. “This
World Championship is in my home country, Japan, and I did
my best performance in front of the Japanese audience, so
I’m very happy. Of course, I was very nervous, but I
was able to perform well, so I hope to have a good momentum
going into tomorrow’s free program”, Ando told
the post-event press conference.
Kostner’s routine to “Canon” by Pachebel
included a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple
Lutz, a double Axel as well as a level-four combination spin
and flying camel spin as well as a level-three straight line
sequence. The European Champion picked up 67.15 points (38.38/28.77),
surpassing her previous personal best of 60.82 points. “It
was good for me to skate clean and I want to keep this feeling
for tomorrow. Today I was a lot more nervous (than at the
European championships), just because of the environment and
atmosphere. I knew everybody here is strong and well prepared,
and I had lost two months of my preparation (due to her injury
in the fall). It’s just good now to do a good competition
here. That was important to me”, the 20-year-old Italian
said.
Reigning World Champion Kimmie Meissner (USA) is currently
standing in fourth place. She landed a triple Lutz-triple
toeloop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel in her
program, but received only a level one for her layback spin
(64.67 points/personal best). Mao Asada (JPN) completed a
triple Lutz but then crumbled under the pressure, popping
the second jump end of her planned triple flip-triple loop
combination into a single. She finished fifth at 61.32 points.
Emily Hughes (USA) placed sixth. Her routine included a triple
flip-double toeloop combination, a triple Lutz and strong
spins (60.88 points).
Ice Dancing, Free Dance
The Ice Dancing event concluded with an exciting Free Dance.
Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria danced off with
the gold medal, their second consecutive title. Canada’s
Marie-France Dubreuil/ Patrice Lauzon earned the silver medal,
and Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto (USA) captured the bronze.
It was an exact repetition of last year’s podium at
the World Championships.
Denkova/Staviski delivered an emotional and powerful performance
to a modern arrangement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s
requiem and “O Verona” from the “Romeo and
Juliet” soundtrack. The theme of their program was “Seven
Deadly Sins”. The Grand Prix Final Champions completed
excellent twizzles, difficult footwork and innovative lifts,
receiving a level four for all elements but the spin that
was graded a level three. Denkova/Staviski scored 102.09 points
(53.22/48.87) and accumulated a total of 201.61 points.
Dubreuil/Lauzon’s romantic program to “At Last”
by Etta James was highlighted by their spectacular lifts and
effortless looking yet difficult steps. The Canadians were
awarded a level four for all lifts, the twizzles and the circular
footwork and collected 100.96 points (52.54/48.42) for this
performance, which added up to a total of 200.46 points.
Performing to the “Amelie” soundtrack, Belbin/Agosto
had opted for a playful routine with a melancholic touch.
They produced level-four step sequences and interesting lifts
including a curve lift with him skating in a spread eagle
while she bent backwards and a serpentine lift with changes
of position, but Belbin stumbled on the opening set of twizzles.
The Americans also received a one point deduction for an extended
lift. The Olympic silver medalists got 96.41 points (50.61/46.80)
and were ranked fourth in the Free Dance, but overall held
on to third place at 195.43 points.
Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder gave a strong performance
of their innovative “Bonnie and Clyde” routine
and finished third in the Free Dance. They moved up from fifth
to fourth and missed the bronze medal by just 0.24 points
(195.19 total score). Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin (RUS)
skated their powerful “Polovetsian Dances” also
very well but both their step sequences and the spin were
graded a level three only and they slipped from fourth to
fifth (193.44). The 2006 World Junior Champions Tessa Virtue/Scott
Moir (CAN) and the 2006 World Junior bronze medalists Meryl
Davis/Charlie White (USA) had an impressive debut at the World
Championships by coming in sixth and seventh.
“It is wonderful us to be here and to have won the
second gold medal. I never thought this is possible. We’ve
fought for it since the beginning of the season. We were strong
in practices here, we fought every moment. Last year, I didn’t
understand what happened and that we were first. We had a
great response back home in Bulgaria. This year I understand
each step I make on the ice. I understand that I fight for
it. I feel happier than last year”, Denkova revealed.
The couple had said earlier that they intend to retire from
competition but now didn’t want to announce immediate
retirement. “I want to have a rest. But she’s
the president. She decides. I’m just a skater”,
Staviski grinned, referring to the fact that his partner was
elected president of the Bulgarian Skating Federation last
fall.
“We kind of had the gold medal in the corner of our
mind and we trained and tried to be the best we can be”,
Dubreuil said. “Last year the Worlds were in Canada.
It added to the pressure. After the accident in Torino (at
the Olympic Games) my body was not 100 percent and to get
back on that ice after Torino; it was overwhelming and was
very hard to skate. When it was all finished, it was like
a big dream. We were so happy to be on the world podium for
the first time. This year we wanted to be on the podium again.
We skated this competition very well with no pain and much
less stress. I think I’ll remember more what happened
this year than last”, she continued.
“Obviously we would have liked to have done a better
job here today, but we’re very happy to put an end to
what feels like a two-year season, because one year led into
another”, Belbin commented. “Unfortunately it’s
very much in our track record to be low in the compulsories,
pull up in the OD and hang on to it in the free dance. That
seems to be our routine that we follow, but today I just didn’t
attack the program with enough confidence, and that’s
where mistakes happen. I think the rollercoaster is finally
at a stop, and we’re really looking forward to having
a nice summer to train and finally get our basic skating to
another level. I really expect more from us in the future,
and I think that we can really step it up from this point
forward”, she added.
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