Skate Canada Ladies Short Program Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Gracie GOLD	USA	69.45	38.53		30.92	7.61	7.54	7.79	7.82	7.89	0.00	#7
2	Julia LIPNITSKAIA	RUS	66.89	37.95		28.94	7.25	6.96	7.32	7.43	7.21	0.00	#8
3	Akiko SUZUKI	JPN	65.76	33.19		32.57	8.25	7.86	8.18	8.18	8.25	0.00	#9
4	Christina GAO	USA	62.82	33.96		28.86	7.07	7.04	7.29	7.29	7.39	0.00	#6
5	Kaetlyn OSMOND	CAN	60.32	32.49		28.83	7.04	7.18	7.14	7.36	7.32	1.00	#3
6	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	59.13	32.10		27.03	6.79	6.36	6.93	6.82	6.89	0.00	#5
7	Natalia POPOVA	UKR	52.36	27.96		24.40	6.14	5.82	6.29	6.25	6.00	0.00	#4
8	Veronik MALLET	CAN	50.71	27.31		24.40	6.21	5.89	6.07	6.21	6.11	1.00	#1
9	Courtney HICKS	USA	50.70	26.67		24.03	6.18	5.82	6.00	6.07	5.96	0.00	#2

Cup of China Ladies Free Skate

Group 1
Ying Zhang, CHN
Sofia Biryukova, RUS
Joshi Helgesson, SWE: 38.16 TES + 47.60 PCS -1.00 = 84.76  Total: 134.43 and into 1st place

• Fall on her opening triple flip
• Nice triple salchow
• Good height on her triple loop 
• Nice flexibility in her catch foot position in the camel spin
• Awkward music cut
• She seems a bit slow today 
• A lot of ice spray on some of these edges in her step sequence which means her edge changes weren't clean and not a lot of upper body movement
• Spiral into triple lutz
• Double salchow + double toe
• Choreographic step sequence into a double axel
• Flying entry to a camel spin with a flying change to a sit spin into a nice haircutter but losing a lot of speed in the Biellman
• Double axel turnout double toe
• She needs more stretch and toe point in her sit spin but nice upright catch foot

Amelie Lacoste, CAN: 31.06 TES + 48.97 PCS -2.00 = 78.03 Total: 135.46 and into 1st

• Fall on her opening triple lutz
• Really fought for the landing on that triple flip--almost in a lunge
• Spiral into a triple loop--again almost a lunge in the landing
• Flying sit spin with nice positions
• I think this music with her elegant style will be great when she hits the program but it seems to overwhelm her when she's struggling on the jumps
• Nice illusions in the camel spin
• Triple salchow a little huched over on the landing and a turn out
• Triple loop fall
• Double salchow
• I almost wonder if she's putting so much pressure on herself to achieve the minimum technical score in the free skate for Worlds that it's affecting her programs
• Lovely choreography in her step sequence but it is lacking a bit of speed and power as well as energy and commitment
• She needs to fix her arm position in her layback but a nice haircutter

Group 2
Zijun Li, CHN: 51.58 TES + 51.27 PCS -2.00 = 100.85 Total: 160.06 and into 1st place

• Nice opening triple flip + triple toe
• Good double axel + triple toe
• Triple lutz a little two footed on the landing and she can't hang on and falls
• Beautiful camel spin into a nice donut and catch foot which picks up speed
• This music suits her very well as it compliments her light and airy style on teh ice
• Gorgeous positions in her combination spin but running out of speed by the end
• Triple salchow + double toe +double loop very tight on the end
• Triple flip fall
• Nice triple loop
• Nice difficulty and variety in her step sequence with good use of her full body
• Double axel 
• Losing her balance a bit at the end of her spiral but she hangs on 
• Beautiful layback spin into a nice one arm Biellman

Kiira Korpi, FIN: 51.03 TES + 59.14 PCS = 110.17 Total: 169.86 and into 1st place

• Good speed in the triple toe + triple toe combination
• Triple lutz
• Single salchow--she had no speed and was too close to the boards to pull it off
• Nice positions in her sit spin with a nice transition out of the spin
• Good triple loop + double toe
• Triple salchow turnout + double toe + double loop--a bit of a mess and underrotated
• Single loop
• Nice layback positions but no haircutter or Biellman features
• Great interpretation of the music on her step sequence with good variety and use of her whole body
• Nice spread eagle highlight on the music
• Losing speed after the change of foot in her final spin and she needs more stretch through her sit spin position

Mirai Nagasu, USA: 45.89 TES + 57.81 PCS = 103.70 Total: 163.46 and into 2nd place

• Her dress is just stunning and she looks very mature on the ice
• Nice opening triple lutz
• Good height on the double axel but a little tight on the triple toe landing (underrotated)
• Triple flip
• Nice feel for the music in her step sequence
• Flying camel spin with good variations--not a lot of speed but consistent throughout
• Triple flip + double toe + double loop nicely done
• Nice triple loop + double toe
• Spiral into a double axel
• Arabesque spiral into triple loop
• Good speed and positions in the combination spin but a bit of a bobble on the exit
• Gorgeous Ina Bauer in the choreographic step sequence
• Nice layback spin into a good Biellman
• That's the program she's been looking for for the last several years
• She's going to get hit on some under-rotation calls though

Mao Asada, JPN: 54.53 TES + 64.34 PCS = 118.87 Total: 181.76 and into 1st place

• Beautiful toe point and height in her opening triple loop
• Double axel + triple toe likely two footed
• Good triple flip
• Popped that lutz into a double
• Nice speed and flexibility in her combination spin with good centering
• Triple salchow
• Triple loop + double loop
• Good extension and speed in her Biellman
• Triple flip + double loop + double loop close to the boards but she pulls it off
• Nice freedom in her step sequence but not a lot of ice coverage
• Beautiful spirals

Julia Lipnitskaia, RUS: 57.43 TES + 57.43 PCS = 114.86 Total: 177.92 and into 2nd place

• Really fights for that triple lutz + triple toe
• Double axel + triple toe hands down--not a lot of height on the axel
• Double axel again not a lot of height
• Triple loop
• Good camel spin picking up speed through the donut and catch foot
• I feel like she's just skating through this music and it could be any piece of music that she's skating to
• Triple lutz + double toe
• Triple flip
• Nice triple salchow
• Not a lot of speed through her step sequence and she's not fully using her body to help her get across the ice
• Gorgeous flexibility in her spiral
• A little bobble on her camel spin but interesting position variations showcasing her flexibility but no real transition out of the spin
• Gorgeous Bielmann

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Mao ASADA	JPN	118.87	54.53		64.34	8.14	7.75	7.96	8.11	8.25	0.00	#9
2	Julia LIPNITSKAIA	RUS	114.86	57.43		57.43	7.21	7.00	7.32	7.25	7.11	0.00	#10
3	Kiira KORPI	FIN	110.17	51.03		59.14	7.43	7.04	7.32	7.54	7.64	0.00	#7
4	Mirai NAGASU	USA	103.70	45.89		57.81	7.39	6.96	7.25	7.32	7.21	0.00	#8
5	Zijun LI	CHN	100.85	51.58		51.27	6.61	6.21	6.32	6.54	6.36	2.00	#6
6	Ying ZHANG	CHN	87.27	46.97		42.30	5.61	4.96	5.36	5.29	5.21	2.00	#2
7	Joshi HELGESSON	SWE	84.76	38.16		47.60	6.04	5.64	6.04	6.04	6.00	1.00	#4
8	Sofia BIRYUKOVA	RUS	82.97	37.07		45.90	6.21	5.50	5.50	5.86	5.61	0.00	#3
9	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	78.03	31.06		48.97	6.46	6.11	5.71	6.25	6.07	2.00	#5
WD	Bingwa GENG	CHN											#1

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Mao ASADA	JPN	181.76	2	1
2	Julia LIPNITSKAIA	RUS	177.92	1	2
3	Kiira KORPI	FIN	169.86	4	3
4	Mirai NAGASU	USA	163.46	3	4
5	Zijun LI	CHN	160.06	5	5
6	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	135.46	6	9
7	Joshi HELGESSON	SWE	134.43	7	7
8	Ying ZHANG	CHN	130.65	9	6
9	Sofia BIRYUKOVA	RUS	127.36	8	8

Cup of China Ladies Short Program Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Julia LIPNITSKAIA	RUS	63.06	35.35		27.71	6.86	6.64	7.21	6.96	6.96	0.00	#4
2	Mao ASADA	JPN	62.89	31.83		31.06	7.93	7.32	7.82	7.86	7.89	0.00	#9
3	Mirai NAGASU	USA	59.76	31.04		28.72	7.29	6.86	7.25	7.25	7.25	0.00	#8
4	Kiira KORPI	FIN	59.69	29.26		30.43	7.64	7.36	7.61	7.71	7.71	0.00	#10
5	Zijun LI	CHN	59.21	33.79		25.42	6.46	6.14	6.50	6.43	6.25	0.00	#5
6	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	57.43	30.25		27.18	6.86	6.61	6.96	6.79	6.75	0.00	#7
7	Joshi HELGESSON	SWE	49.67	25.93		24.74	6.18	5.89	6.18	6.36	6.32	1.00	#6
8	Sofia BIRYUKOVA	RUS	44.39	21.42		23.97	6.21	5.75	6.07	6.04	5.89	1.00	#2
9	Ying ZHANG	CHN	43.38	22.95		21.43	5.79	5.04	5.36	5.43	5.18	1.00	#1
10	Bingwa GENG	CHN	36.53	16.27		21.26	5.54	5.07	5.29	5.29	5.39	1.00	#3

Skate Canada Ladies Preview

This event features lots of young talent as well as some seasoned competitors.  Fresh off her first World medal, Akiko Suzuki will be looking to keep the momentum going with a medal finish here.  She has such lightness and joy in her skating and is wonderful to watch.  She's also fairly consistent with her jumps and she's more likely to pop then fall but a fall on a fully rotated jump can will gain you more points than a clean single.

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva took the Grand Prix by storm last season becoming the first lady to win gold in her debut event and backed it up with a 2nd gold medal.  She faltered at the Grand Prix Final and failed to make the podium but came back to win gold at the Youth Olympic Games.  She sat out the rest of the season and chose not to go for a Junior World title so she hasn't competed since January.  She was working on triple axels during the off-season but thought about pulling out of this event due to some stress and growing injuries.  I don't think we'll see the triple axel but I also think her team is looking to downplay expectations.

Gracie Gold is the new darling in U.S. figure skating with a U.S. Junior title and a World Junior medal under her belt.  She's already debuted as a senior at the World Team Trophy and U.S. Figure Skating Classic.  Her jumps are her strong suit and she's practiced some unbelievable combinations.  If she can land her jumps she has a great shot at the podium.

Another young skater making her Grand Prix debut is Kaetlyn Osmond.  She did well at Canadian nationals and Junior Worlds but surprised with a gold medal finish at Nebelhorn Trophy over Adelina Sotnikova.

Other skaters in the mix include Kanako Murakami who struggled with consistency last season and putting together two clean programs, Amelie Lacoste who missed the Worlds free skate minimum by .01 at the USFSC, Four Continents Bronze Medalist Caroline Zhang and Russian Polina Shelepen in her Grand Prix debut.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Akiko Suzuki
Silver: Elizaveta Tuktamisheva
Bronze: Gracie Gold

Bios of the competitors:
Amelie Lacoste, CAN: She finished 16th at Worlds and 7th at Four Continents.  She placed 6th at Skate Canada and 8th at Rostelecom Cup last season.  Her personal best is 157.26.  She is 23 years old.

Kaetlyn Osmond, CAN: She placed 10th at Junior Worlds.  Her personal best is 146.25.  She is 16 years old.

Elene Gedevanishvilli, GEO: She finished 10th at Worlds and is the reigning European Bronze Medalist.  She placed 7th at Skate America and 5th at NHK Trophy last season.  She is the 2010 European Bronze Medalist.  Her personal best is 165.93.  She is 22 years old.

Kanako Murakami, JPN: She placed 5th at Worlds and 4th at Four Continents.  She finished 6th at Cup of China and 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard last season.  She is the 2010 World Junior Champion.  Her personal best is 178.59.  She is 17 years old.

Akiko Suzuki, JPN: She is the reigning World Bronze Medalist.   She won silver at Skate Canada and gold at NHK Trophy last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where she won silver.  She is the 2010 Four Continents Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 187.79.  She is 27 years old.

Ksenia Makarova, RUS: She placed 9th at Worlds and 6th at Europeans.  She placed 5th at Skate America and 7th at Cup of China last season.  Her personal best is 171.91.  She is 19 years old.

Polina Shelepen, RUS: She placed 6^th at Junior Worlds last season.  She won gold at JGP Latvia and JGP Romania last season to qualify for the JGP Final where she won silver.  Her personal best is 162.34.  She is 17 years old. 

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, RUS: She won gold at Skate Canada and Trophee Eric Bompard last season to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where she finished 4th.  She is the 2011 World Junior Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 182.89.  She is 15 years old.

Gracie Gold, USA: She is the reigning World Junior Silver Medalist.  She won gold at JGP Estonia last season.  Her personal best is 172.69.  She is 17 years old.

Caroline Zhang, USA: She is the reigning Four Continents Bronze Medalist.  She finished 6th at Skate America last season.  She is the 2010 Four Continents Bronze Medalist, 2007 World Junior Champion and 2008 and 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 176.48.  She is 19 years old.

U.S. Figure Skating Classic Ladies Short Program Results

Place	Start No.	Name	Score
1	10	Agnes ZAWADZKI, USA	65.24
2	9	Gracie GOLD, USA	59.37
3	6	Amelie LACOSTE, CAN	59.14
4	17	Elena GLEBOVA, EST	54.82
5	11	Melinda WANG, TPE	46.86
6	13	Karina Sinding JOHNSON, DEN	41.06
7	2	Isadora WILLIAMS, BRA	39.45
8	4	Melissa BULANHAGUI, PHI	38.19
9	18	Mimi Tanasorn CHINDASOOK, THA	36.06
10	12	Kai-Jing LEONG, SIN	34.98
11	14	Crystal KIANG, TPE	34.14
12	16	Tiffany PACKARD YU, HGK	33.72
13	5	Ana Cantu FELIX, MEX	33.57
14	7	Ami PAREKH, IND	31.11
15	15	Stephanie RIGLEY, GBR	30.28
16	1	Georgia GLASTRIS, GRE	30.09
17	8	Clara PETERS, IRL	29.57
18	3	Yamada SUMIKA, HGK	28.50

Four Continents Ladies Preview

After a rough season last year in which she relearned her jump technique, Mao Asada is on the comeback trail and has shown she can be competitive without the triple axel that has become her trademark.  She took home the silver medal at home at the NHK Trophy and improved to a gold medal at Rostelecom Cup.  She had to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final after her mother took ill and passed away but she was back on competitive ice soon after, reclaiming her national title.  This will be her first major competition back and she'll want to set herself up for a return to the World podium.  She has the 3rd best short program, best free skate and 3rd best total score of the season.

Ashley Wagner has made it clear that this is her year and has backed up her words with her first national title.  She is one of the only U.S. ladies with a 7 triple free skate planned and her training and confidence has shown through, especially in her Black Swan free skate.  If she avoid mistakes in her short program, she puts herself in a great position to do well in the free skate and land on the medal stand.  She has the 10th best free skate score of the season.

Kanako Murakami made a big splash last season, winning the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final in her senior debut season.  While her programs this season show maturity and an improved artistry, her jumps have been noticeably less consistent.  Her best finish on the Grand Prix this year was 4th.   

Kexin Zhang was one of the big surprises on the Grand Prix this season, showcasing a slew of triple jumps and missing the podium at Cup of China by just 6 points (behind Russian phenom Adelina Sotnikova).  She doesn't have the artistry and performance skills of the top skaters but can really capitalize if they make mistakes on their jumps.

Haruka Imai is a young Japanese talent that is training in the U.S. under the same coaches as Adam Rippon, Alissa Czisny and Jeremy Abbott.  Her best finish on the Grand Prix was 4th and while she has lovely elements, choreography and spins, she doesn't seem to have the confidence just yet to go out and attack all the jumps in her programs.

Amelie Lacoste is coming to this event with her first Canadian national title under her belt.  She'll have something to prove here as Skate Canada has not assigned the ladies event at Worlds and will await the outcome of this event to determine who will get the lone Canadian entry. 

Agnes Zawadzki struggled with her jumps throughout the Grand Prix but put out a stellar short progam at U.S. Nationals and followed it up with a solid free skate to claim her first bronze medal.  She's shown that she has all the talent including good artistry and triple + triple combinations to compete with the best and was noticeably disappointed after her third place finish at nationals which should give her some extra fire to compete here.  She also had the pressure of skating last as the leader at U.S. nationals which gave her valuable experience competing under pressure.  One of her biggest advantages here is that she trains in Colorado Springs, so she'll be used to the difficult of competing at altitude.

Caroline Zhang is also making a comeback after spending three years reworking all of her jump technique and reclaiming a spot on the U.S. National program.  She has a triple loop + triple loop combination in her short program that gives her a technical edge and her spins including her signature pearl are among the top in the world.  If she can put out another performance like nationals, she'll be in the running for a medal.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Mao Asada
Silver: Ashley Wagner
Bronze: Kanako Murakami

Bios of the competitors:
Chantelle Kerry, AUS: She placed 13th at JGP Australia and 24th at JGP Estonia.  Her personal best is 103.05.  She is 15 years old.

Jaimee Nobbs, AUS:  She placed 20th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 20th at JGP Australia.  Her personal best is 90.83.  She is 16 years old.

Zara Pasfield, AUS:  She placed 29th at JGP Austria.  Her personal best is 74.10.  She is 16 years old.

Amelie Lacoste, CAN: She placed 9th at Four Continents last season.  She finished 16th at Worlds.  She placed 6th at Skate Canada and 8th at Rostelecom Cup.  Her personal best is 157.26.  She is 23 years old.

Alexandra Najarro, CAN: She finished 25th at Junior Worlds.  She placed 11th at JGP Australia.  Her personal best is 136.41.  She is 18 years old.

Cynthia Phaneuf, CAN: She finished 6th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 13th at Worlds.  She finished 7th at Skate Canada and 9th at NHK Trophy.  Her personal best is 177.54.  She is 24 years old.

Bingwa Geng, CHN: She finished 13th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 18th at Worlds.  She placed 8th at Cup of China.  Her personal best is 142.48.  She is 18 years old.

Kexin Zhang, CHN: She placed 4th at Cup of China.  Her personal best is 153.32.  She is 16 years old.

Qiuying Zhu, CHN: She finished 14th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 10th at Cup of China.  Her personal best is 108.57.  She is 17 years old.

Crystal Kiang, TPE: She finished 21st at Four Continents last season.  Her personal best is 96.16.  She is 21 years old.

Chaochih Liu, TPE: She finished 24th at Four Continents last season.  Her personal best is 112.49.  She is 18 years old.

Melinda Wang, TPE: She placed 18th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 20th in the preliminary round at Worlds.  Her personal best is 100.23.  She is 21 years old.

Mao Asada, JPN: She is the reigning Four Continents Silver Medalist.  She placed 6th at Worlds.  She won silver at NHK Trophy and gold at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.  She is the 2010 Olympic Silver Medalist, 2008 and 2010 World Champion, 2007 World Silver Medalist, 2008 and 2010 Four Continents Champion, 2009 Four Continents Bronze Medalist, 2005 World Junior Champion and 2006 World Junior Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 205.50.  She is 21 years old.

Haruka Imai, JPN: She placed 4th at Skate America and 6th at Rostelecom Cup.  Her personal best is 155.29.  She is 18 years old.

Kanako Murakami, JPN: She placed 8th at Worlds.  She finished 6th at Cup of China and 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  She is the 2010 World Junior Champion.  Her personal best is 178.59.  She is 17 years old.

Reyna Hamui, MEX: She placed 28th at Four Continents last season.  She finished 24th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She placed 16th at JGP Australia.  Her personal best is 92.03.  She is 18 years old.

Zhaira Costiniano, PHI: She placed 18th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  Her personal best is 96.61.  She is 16 years old.

Mericien Venzon, PHI: She placed 22nd at Four Continents last season.  She placed 17th in the preliminary round at Worlds.  Her personal best is 84.17.  She is 20 years old.

Victoria Muniz, PUR: She placed 17th at Four Continents last season.  Her personal best is 99.40.  She is 23 years old.

Min-Jeong Kwak, KOR: She finished 8th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 15th in the preliminary round at Worlds.  Her personal best is 155.53.  She is 18 years old.

Chae-Yeon Shur, KOR:

Yea-Ji Yun, KOR: She placed 12th at Four Continents last season.  Her personal best is 111.86.  She is 17 years old.

Brittany Lau, SIN: She placed 26th at Four Continents last season.  She finished 29th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She placed 21st at JGP Poland.  Her personal best is 87.10.  She is 17 years old.

Lejeanne Marais, RSA: She placed 15th at Four Continents last season.  She finished 18th in the preliminary round at Worlds.  Her personal best is 103.03.  She is 22 years old.

Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook, THA: She finished 19th at Four Continents last season.  She placed 22nd in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She finished 19th at JGP Italy.  Her personal best is 91.54.  She is 17 years old.

Sandra Kophon, THA: She placed 14th at JGP Australia.  Her personal best is 96.66.  She is 18 years old.

Melanie Swang, THA: She placed 23rd at Four Continents last season.  She finished 15th at JGP Romania.  Her personal best is 97.53.  She is 17 years old.

Ashley Wagner, USA: She won bronze at Skate Canada and finished 4th at NHK Trophy.  She is the 2007 and 2009 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  Her personal best is 167.02.  She is 20 years old.

Agnes Zawadzki, USA: She is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  She finished 8th at NHK Trophy and 7th at Rostelecom Cup.  She is the 2010 World Junior Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 161.07.  She is 17 years old.

Caroline Zhang, USA: She finished 6th at Skate America.  She is the 2010 Four Continents Bronze Medalist, 2007 World Junior Champion and 2008 and 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  Her personal best is 176.48.  She is 18 years old.

Canadian Nationals Ladies Results

Senior Women

Rank	Competitor(s)	Section	SP	FP	Points
1	Amelie Lacoste	QC	52.43	107.08	159.51
2	Cynthia Phaneuf	QC	49.66	108.28	157.94
3	Kaetlyn Osmond	AB/NT/NU	56.94	98.53	155.47
4	Alexandra Najarro	CO	52.34	99.22	151.56
5	Adriana DeSanctis	CO	46.05	96.61	142.66
6	Kate Charbonneau	MB	45.54	96.52	142.06
7	Vanessa Grenier	QC	47.49	88.56	136.05
8	Roxanne Rheault	QC	47.58	84.63	132.21
9	Alaine Chartrand	EO	39.45	89.32	128.77
10	Alexandra Gagnon	QC	41.46	83.24	124.70
11	Sarah Jourdain	QC	43.45	80.32	123.77
12	Kaleigh Hole	MB	37.50	80.85	118.35
13	Devon Neuls	AB/NT/NU	42.74	67.05	109.79
14	Christina Yan	CO	42.46	66.73	109.19
15	Rachel Gendron	QC	40.73	68.27	109.00
16	Cambria Little	BC/YT	39.62	68.77	108.39
17	Alexie Gélinas	QC	39.34	66.26	105.60
18	Izabel Valiquette	QC	39.35	62.34	101.69

Skate Canada Ladies Free Skate

The officials are being announced and warmup should begin shortly.

Group 1

Sarah Hecken, GER: 43.48 TES + 42.73 PCS = 86.21 Total 130.71

• She is wearing a very pretty blue and green dress.  
• Opens with a triple toe + double toe
• Nice triple salchow
• Very nice backwards arabesque line for her spiral
• Very nice triple right into her flying camel spin with good speed into her donut position but the catchfoot position could use more flexibility
• With some more flexibility through her layback spin she could earn more points by increasing her levels and GOE
• Good triple toe
• Turn out of her triple salchow
• Solid double axel
• Nice double axel + double toe + double toe combination
• Lots of turns in her one foot section of her step sequence but she needs more stretch through her free leg and the intensity she's giving doesn't quite match the music
• Nice positions in her final spin

Adriana DeSanctis, CAN: 42.03 TES + 41.31 PCS -1.00 = 82.34 Total: 129.48 and into 2nd place

• She needs to put a lot more into her choreography at the top of the program--she's just going through the motions
• Turn out of her opening triple but no speed going into it
• Nice triple salchow + double toe
• Fall on her next triple--it looks like she just doesn't have the fight in her to land these jumps
• Pretty positions in her layback spin but not Biellman
• Nice triple toe triple toe sequence
• She took some tough falls in warmup and it's written all over her body language that she's not going to fight for these jumps
• Popped a jump
• Nice triple salchow
• Single axel + double axel sequence
• She needs more stretch through all her positions in this combination spin
• I'd like to see more tango flair in this step sequence as there are no arm motions or steps that coincide with the feel of the program
• She struggles to get a hold of her blade in her final spin

Cynthia Phaneuf, CAN: 42.48 TES + 50.52 PCS -1.00 = 92.00 Total: 140.70 and into 1st place

• Solid triple lutz to open her program
• Nice triple toe + double toe
• Double toe--the only thing I don't like about her jumps is that she takes a long time setting up for them
• Nice layback spin but she's leaving a lot of points on the table by not doing the Biellman or a catchfoot position
• Double salchow
• Nice arabesque line in her spiral but I 'd like to see a little more strength in the leg so it doesn't lower when she changes edges
• Triple toe + double toe 
• Fall on her triple loop
• Turnout of a double axel
• Nice low sit spin with a good stretched leg and a seamless exit
• Nice use of her upper body through the step sequence and she is putting some power behind her movements 
• She could use more stretch through her bottom leg in her upright position but she has a nice broken leg sit position 
• She finishes just a beat behind the music

Alena Leonova, RUS: 50.35 TES + 52.12 PCS = 102.47  Total: 152.22 and into 1st place

• I'm really glad she grew her hair back out as the short bob didn't look as elegant on her
• Lot of speed on her triple toe + triple toe but it looked like the second jump might have been a little two footed
• A turn out of her triple loop but she manages to keep the free leg up
• Nice triple
• Good speed in her camel spin with good positions and she maintains the speed through the change of foot
• Even though I don't always love her programs she always commits to every movement and really performs every second of the program
• Triple salchow + double toe + double toe--tight on the landings at the end but she ekes it out
• Possibly another two footed landing on her triple
• Singles her axel
• I love the attack in this step sequence and she is really leaving everything out on the ice, but knowing her she has the potential to give even more
• She needs a lot more stretch and flexibility through the illusions in her final combination spin

Amelie Lacoste, CAN: 43.22 TES + 52.58 PCS = 95.80  Total: 146.40 and into 2nd place

• Amelie is such a beautiful skater and her packaging is spot on
• Very solid triple loop to open her program and her arabesque line when she lands is gorgeous
• Popped into a double
• Triple salchow + double loop combo is tight but she makes the landing
• Very nice layback spin; she does the haircutter but no Bielmann
• I really like her musicality through her step sequence and the effortless feel she gives off
• Popped another jump
• Nice triple loop + double toe
• Great low sit position in her spin
• Nice arabesque spiral well timed with the music
• Step out and hand down on her double axel
• Double salchow
• Nice positions in her final combination spin with consistent speed and finished just after the music

Group 2

Mirai Nagasu, USA: 50.07 TES + 48.92 PCS = 98.99 Total: 151.72 and into 2nd place

• Some technical difficulties made me miss most of her program.  Her spins at the end looked slow and she reportedly had errors on several of her jumps

Akiko Suzuki, JPN: 63.84 TES + 55.60 PCS = 119.44 Total: 172.26 and into 1st place

• She is using the same music as Davis and White
• Opens with a beautiful triple lutz
• Single axel + triple toe
• Turn out of her triple flip
• Good positions and speed in her combination spin
• I don't love her broken leg position in her camel spin 
• Nice stretched out position in her spiral skating backwards in her arabesque position
• Triple loop + double toe + double loop
• Free leg down on the landing of her triple flip
• Very nice triple lutz 
• Good triple salchow
• I'd like to see her go a little bigger in this step sequence as the music is so big and really fills the room
• Nice speed in her final combination spin

Rachael Flatt, USA: 29.33 TES + PCS = 73.99 Total: 128.22 and into 8th place

• Nice triple loop right on the music to start her program
• Hand down and turn out on the triple lutz
• Doubled her flip
• She could use a lot more stretch through her back in the catch foot position on her camel spin and more speed
• Those illusions in her camel spin don't look very nice and don't achieve the right amount of split position--she could get more points with a different variation
• Triple loop + double toe right in front of the judges
• Fall on her triple salchow
• Good stretch and extension through her spiral
• Not the best landing on her triple lutz but she keeps the free leg up
• Nice Ina Bauer
• Fall on her double axel and she just sat down and didn't fight for it
• It looks like she's running low on energy going into her footwork and I want to see her really go for this and skate it with the same passion as her short program

Ashley Wagner, USA: 56.50 TES + 55.48 PCS -1.00 = 110.98 Total: 165.48 and into 2nd place

• Love this Black Swan costume on her.  Very elegant and very Ashley.
• Solid triple + double toe with a two arm variation to open her program
• She is so fluid on the ice with great edgework
• Great ice coverage on her double axel + double toe
• She looks really relaxed out there on the ice today
• Another nice triple
• Great speed through her sit spin
• Beautiful arabesque spiral position into a nice scorpion position
• Very nice layback spin with a beautiful Biellmann position
• Her feet got caught up under her on the triple lutz and she takes a fall
• Nice triple salchow on the music
• Good triple loop
• Another solid triple and she is on tonight!
• Seamless step sequence
• Beautiful positions and speed in the camel and a nice broken leg position in her sit spin

Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, RUS: 64.21 TES + 53.60 PCS = 117.81  Total: 177.38 and into 1st place

• This red dress is really pretty on her and really pops against the ice
• For being in her senior Grand Prix debut, 14 years old and the leader, she looks remarkably calm
• Gorgeous triple lutz + triple toe combination with so much height
• Beautiful triple flip
• Another nice triple--she has such nice flow out of her jumps
• Double axel + double toe
• I'd like to see her stretch more through her free leg through the step sequence and push through it a little harder
• Nice triple loop
• Nice scorpion position in her spiral but she needs to get into the position a little quicker
• More stretch through the free leg in her sit spin, but good speed
• I like the use of her arms through the broken leg variation in her sit spin
• Triple salchow + double toe + double loop
• Double axel with one arm over her head
• What a debut!

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Akiko SUZUKI	JPN	119.44	63.84		55.60	7.32	6.50	7.14	6.93	6.86	0.00	#7
2	Elizaveta TUKTAMISHEVA	RUS	117.81	64.21		53.60	6.89	6.21	7.00	6.86	6.54	0.00	#10
3	Ashley WAGNER	USA	110.98	56.50		55.48	7.04	6.32	7.32	6.82	7.18	1.00	#9
4	Alena LEONOVA	RUS	102.47	50.35		52.12	6.68	6.21	6.50	6.57	6.61	0.00	#4
5	Mirai NAGASU	USA	98.99	50.07		48.92	6.61	5.96	5.93	6.18	5.89	0.00	#6
6	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	95.80	43.22		52.58	6.68	6.21	6.36	6.82	6.79	0.00	#5
7	Cynthia PHANEUF	CAN	92.00	42.48		50.52	6.68	5.82	6.25	6.36	6.46	1.00	#3
8	Sarah HECKEN	GER	86.21	43.48		42.73	5.71	4.96	5.50	5.21	5.32	0.00	#1
9	Adriana DESANCTIS	CAN	82.34	42.03		41.31	5.57	4.71	5.32	5.18	5.04	1.00	#2
10	Rachael FLATT	USA	73.99	29.33		46.66	6.14	5.39	5.64	6.11	5.89	2.00	#8

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Elizaveta TUKTAMISHEVA	RUS	177.38	1	2
2	Akiko SUZUKI	JPN	172.26	4	1
3	Ashley WAGNER	USA	165.48	2	3
4	Alena LEONOVA	RUS	152.22	7	4
5	Mirai NAGASU	USA	151.72	5	5
6	Amelie LACOSTE	CAN	146.40	6	6
7	Cynthia PHANEUF	CAN	140.70	8	7
8	Sarah HECKEN	GER	130.71	10	8
9	Adriana DESANCTIS	CAN	129.48	9	9
10	Rachael FLATT	USA	128.22	3	10