ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2008
Day Two
The 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships continued
Wednesday in the Scandinavium Arena in Gothenburg, Sweden
with the Ladies Short Program and the Pairs Free Skating.
Ladies, Short Program
The competition kicked off with the Ladies Short Program.
Carolina Kostner of Italy grabbed the lead ahead of Japan’s
Mao Asada and Yukari Nakano. The top eight Ladies are separated
by 5.07 points only which promises an exciting Free Skating
final tomorrow.
Kostner opened her program to “Riders on the Storm”
with a huge triple flip-triple toe combination, but then stepped
out of her triple Lutz. She recovered to land a double Axel
and received a level three for her step sequence, a level
four for the spiral sequence and a level three for two spins
and the step sequence. The Italian scored a new seasons best
score of 64.28 points (36.34 element score/27.94) to win the
Short Program at Worlds for the first time. She edged out
Asada only by 0.18 points. “I am very happy about my
personal (seasons) best. I have tried the whole season to
top my last season’s best, and here was my last chance
to do it”, Kostner told the post event press conference.
“I feel quite honored to be in this position. But I
tell myself that there is always a first time, so I just try
to stay calm and enjoy skating. I felt very good here (today),
the crowd was great. I have great memories of my first Europeans
here in Sweden, when I had a great time (in Malmö 2003,
she finished 4th) and it all came back to me when I skated
today”, she added.
Asada’s lyrical routine to “Fantasy for Violin
and Orchestra” by Jean-Claude Petit included a solid
triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel and a triple
Lutz. The reigning World silver medallist was awarded a level
three for the flying sit spin and the straight line footwork,
but the spiral sequence was graded a level one and the combination
spin and layback spin were a level two. The 17-year-old earned
64.10 points (35.22/28.88), which was a new season best for
her.
Nakano delivered a solid performance to “Fantaisie
Impromptu” by Frederic Chopin, hitting a triple flip-double
toeloop combination, a triple Lutz and a double Axel. She
produced fine spins and earned a level four for the flying
camel spin and a level three for the combination and the layback.
The Japanese picked up a new personal best of 61.10 points
(34.83/26.27).
Pairs, Free Skating
In what was an exciting Pairs Free Skating, Aliona Savchenko/Robin
Szolkowy of Germany skated to the gold medal. China’s
Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang earned the silver medal and Canadians
Jessica Dubé/ Bryce Davison captured the bronze.
Savchenko/Szolkowy opened their performance to “L’Oiseau”
from “Cirque du Soleil” with a throw triple flip
and a triple toe-triple toe sequence, but he stepped out of
the second jump. The European Champions went on to reel off
a triple twist, and a difficult one armed Lasso lift and a
throw triple Salchow in the last seconds of the program. However,
Szolkowy fell on the side by side triple Salchow while she
stumbled out of it. The Germans were awarded a level four
for both their spins, the death spiral and the spiral sequence
and a level three for the straight line footwork. They scored
130.86 points (68.77 element score/63.09 program component
score) and racked up a total of 202.86 points to take the
title. It was their second medal at Worlds after they won
the bronze last year and it was the first World title for
Germany in 11 years. Their coach Ingo Steuer had won the 1997
World Championships with partner Mandy Wötzel. “First
of all, our title means a lot to us, but also to our home
town and German figure skating as a whole”, Szolkowy
told the post event news conference. “To 30% I was surprised
that I fell as it (the Salchow) felt quite good in the air.
Then for a second I thought “there went our medal chance”,
but then I remembered what we’ve learned in training,
that we can catch up for smaller mistakes – well, that
was a major mistake – but that we can catch up with
the other elements”, he explained. “The last two
days were very hard, but I knew that we could do it. The title
is the first step towards the Olympic Games, claiming it this
year was both a dream and a goal”, Savchenko said.
Skating to “The Myth”, a Chinese movie soundtrack,
Zhang/Zhang produced a huge triple twist, a big throw triple
loop and Salchow as well difficult one armed lifts. The 2006
Olympic silver medalists earned a level four for all three
of them and a level three for their spirals and the side by
side spin, but Dan Zhang struggled with the solo jumps. She
singled the Axel in the double Axel-triple toe combination
and touched down with her hand on the triple Salchow. The
Chinese couple collected 123.46 points (64.15/59.31) for this
performance and were ranked third in the Free Skating. Overall
they slipped from first to second at 197.82 points. It was
their third medal at Worlds after a silver in 2006 and a bronze
in 2005.
Dubé/Davison, who stood in fourth place after the
Short Program, turned in an inspiring performance to “The
Blower’s Daughter” soundtrack. The Canadians completed
a double twist, a side by side double Axel-double Axel sequence
and a triple Salchow as well as smooth lifts with changes
of positions. Their spins and spirals were all graded a level
four. Dubé/Davison earned 124.12 points (66.92/57.20)
and improved their previous personal best by almost ten points.
Overall their score added up to 192.76 points and they moved
up from fourth to third to claim their first medal at the
World Championships.
The ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2008 continue
tomorrow with the Original Dance and the Ladies Free Skating.
An extended version of this report will be available later
tonight on the website.
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