| 2002 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships: Day Two |
The 2002 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships continued on Friday in Jeonju City, South Korea, with the Original Dance, the Pairs Free Skating and the Ladies Short Program. Full results attached and also available on ww2.isu.org .
Ice Dancing, Original Dances
Day Two started with the Original Dance, the Spanish Medley.
Reigning Four Continents silver medallists Naomi Lang/Peter Tchernyshev (USA) defended their lead after the Compulsory Dances and stayed ahead of their teammates, Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto. Megan Wing/Aaron Lowe of Canada are standing in third place after the second part of the event.
Lang/Tchernyshev skated first of the leading couples and delivered an expressive dance set to rhythms from "Carmen". The program highlighted Lang's grace and Tchernyshev's temperament. It contained an interesting side by side footwork line, consisting of mirror-moves. However, the team looked a little tired and did not seem to perform the dance to its full potential. The Judges awarded them marks ranging from 5.3 to 5.6 for composition and from 5.6 to 5.7 for presentation. "I wouldn't have thought it would be that hard!" an exhausted Lang said. "Peter has been sick in the past week before this (competition) after (US) Nationals. Coming here we felt pretty confident. It's just the jetlag making it a little bit harder. I felt really excited to do this program even though my legs weren't quite there. Expression-wise I really like this program, so it's fun to do for us."
Belbin/Agosto came in a strong second, producing an intricate Flamenco and Tango. The current World Junior silver medallists showed off their deep edges, excellent twizzles and danced with a lot of flow, but they had some minor wobbles in the side by side footwork. The young couple received marks up to 5.4 for composition and up to 5.5 for presentation. "Unfortunately, it wasn't our best skate, but I think we cleaned up where we had missed a few steps in the side by side footwork", Belbin commented. "We think we hold the program together quite well after that. It was just a few little bobbles, off balance, that's all it takes. I don't think nerves got to us. The best part about it was that we really recovered quite quickly, which is something that we've been trying to work on, because in the past it hold us back. It's difficult footwork."
Wing/Lowe also turned in a good OD, performing a crisp Flamenco and a passionate Tango that featured interesting lifts. With marks ranging from 5.0 to 5.3 for composition and from 5.3 to 5.5 for presentation; the Canadians were a clear third. "We did the Tango before, and we really enjoyed that rhythm. The Flamenco was something new, so we thought we try something different", Wing said about their choice of rhythms.
Pairs, Free Skating
The Pairs event concluded with the Free Skating. China's Qing Pang/Jian Tong defended their overnight lead to win their first title and medal at an ISU Championships. Annabelle Langlois/ Patrice Archetto took the silver medal, while another Chinese team, Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang captured the bronze.
Skating first in the final flight, Pang/Tong opened with a double Axel-triple toeloop sequence, but she doubled the toeloop. This was the only major glitch in the performance to Sergei Rachmaninov's second piano concerto, as the couple produced a triple twist, triple throw Salchow and triple throw loop. The marks went up to 5.5 for technical merit and up to 5.6 for presentation.
The Canadians, who stood in second after yesterday's Short Program, delivered a solid program that contained a triple throw Salchow, side by side double Axles, a triple twist, a triple throw toeloop and difficult lifts. However, the pair had a little trouble with their other side by side jumps, as Langlois just saved the landing of the triple toeloop and Archetto singled the Salchow. The Judges awarded the National bronze medallist 5.3s for technical merit and marks from 5.3 to 5.6 for presentation of their routine set to "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".
Next up were the current World Junior Champions, Zhang/Zhang. They too delivered a strong program, although Hao Zhang had been sick with a severe cold and even went to hospital for treatment. Because of his health problems, the couple decided against attempting their spectacular quadruple twist and settled for an impressive triple instead. The Chinese also completed side by side triple toeloops, a triple throw Salchow, triple throw loop, a side by side double Axel and good lifts in their technically demanding program. The only mistake came when Dan Zhang touched down on the ice with her hand on the side by side triple Salchow. With marks as high as 5.5 for technical merit and 5.3 for presentation, Zhang/Zhang moved up one spot to claim the bronze medal in their first international senior competition.
"Jeonju is a lucky place for us", Tong commented. "We participated at the Asian Championships here and also won. We are happy to have skated well today, and very glad to have won our first gold medal at an ISU Championships. We are part of the younger generation, and we regard this competition as a preparation for the Olympic Games. For us, it was important to do our best so that people get to know us." It was also the first ISU Championships medal for Langlois/Archetto, who had finished in sixth place last year at the Four Continents. "We had a good skate today. It wasn't excellent, it was good", Langlois told the press. "There were some mistakes that we can improve on. It was a big step for us, because at Nationals, our long program didn't go well at all. Skating here was building up for the next competition."
Zhang/Zhang were pleased to have medalled at their first senior event. "Our free program wasn't bad, although we had a mistake on one element", Hao Zhang said. "But the right spirit was there, although I have been sick the last three days with fever up to 39 (Celsius). In juniors, it's enough to do all your elements, whereas in seniors the presentation counts more. So we really want to improve our presentation."
Stephanie Kalesavich/Aaron Parchem (USA), who stood in third place following the Short Program, dropped to fifth place overall after they made errors on their side by side jumps. Canada's Valerie Marcoux/Bruno Marcotte moved up to fourth place with a solid performance.
Ladies, Short Program
Today's competition ended with the Ladies' Short Program. Two Japanese skaters, Yoshie Onda and Shizuka Arakawa currently top the standings. 2000 World Junior Champion Jennifer Kirk (USA) finished in third place.
Onda took the lead with a dynamic performance set to drum music. The 2001 Four Continents bronze medallist hit a high triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel. She also impressed with fast spins. Onda's marks ranged from 5.3 to 5.7 for required elements and from 5.0 to 5.5 for presentation. She received four first place ordinals. "I was nervous, although I already have qualified for the Olympic Games, but I always want to go out and skate my best", Onda revealed. "I'll definitely try the triple Axel in the free program on Sunday. I landed it in practice here twice, so I'm confident."
Skating to a Tango by Astor Piazzolla, Arakawa opened her program with a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, followed by a triple flip. With marks up to 5.6 for both required elements and for presentation, the 20-year-old lost to her teammate on a split of five to four Judges. "I'm happy with my performance. I knew that many others made mistakes, but I stayed focused on myself", Arakawa commented.
Kirk landed a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, a triple flip and had nice spins, but her double Axel was low and she seemed to lack energy.
"It was really late here, so I was tired" Kirk explained. "I still think I skated well, although technically it wasn't the best. I could have had more speed and my flying camel was kind of bad. I'm happy with my consistency. No matter, where you are, you have to skate well. A short program is a short program." She added that she injured her groin in practice earlier this week, but she still wants to attempt a triple toeloop-triple toeloop combination in Sunday's Free Skating.
2001 World Junior silver medallist Ann-Patrice McDonough (USA) stepped out of the landing of the double Axel to finish in fourth place. 1999 Four Continents Champion, Tatjana Malinina of Uzbekistan, missed two elements and is currently in seventh place.
The Four Continents Championships continue tomorrow with the Free Dance and the Men's Free Skating.
Results Ice Dance FPl. Name Nat. Points C1 C2 OD FD 1 Naomi LANG / Peter TCHERNYSHEV USA 1.0 1 1 1 2 Tanith BELBIN / Benjamin AGOSTO USA 2.0 2 2 2 3 Megan WING / Aaron LOWE CAN 3.0 3 3 3 4 Beata HANDRA / Charles SINEK USA 4.0 4 4 4 5 Josee PICHE / Pascal DENIS CAN 5.0 5 5 5 6 Weina ZHANG / Xianming CAO CHN 6.0 6 6 6 7 Tae-Hwa YANG / Chuen-Gun LEE KOR 7.0 7 7 7 8 Rie ARIKAWA / Kenji MIYAMOTO JPN 8.2 8 9 8 9 Nozomi WATANABE / Akiyuki KIDO JPN 8.8 9 8 9 10 Jia QI / Xu SUN CHN 10.4 11 11 10 11 Ru FAN / Bin SUO CHN 10.6 10 10 11 12 Julia KLOCHKO / Ramil SARKULOV UZB 12.2 13 12 12 13 Natalie BUCK / Trent NELSON-BOND AUS 12.8 12 13 13 14 Aimee HARTOG / Daniel PRICE AUS 14.2 14 15 14 15 Kirstie KETTLETON / Trevor SIEDERS AUS 14.8 15 14 15 Pairs FPl. Name Nat. Points SP FS 1 Qing PANG / Jian TONG CHN 1.5 1 1 2 Anabelle LANGLOIS / Patrice ARCHETTO CAN 3.0 2 2 3 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG CHN 5.0 4 3 4 Valerie MARCOUX / Bruno MARCOTTE CAN 6.5 5 4 5 Stephanie KALESAVICH / Aaron PARCHEM USA 6.5 3 5 6 Jacinthe LARIVIÈRE / Lenny FAUSTINO CAN 9.5 7 6 7 Rena INOUE / John BALDWIN JR. USA 10.0 6 7 8 Yang DING / Zongfei REN CHN 12.0 8 8 9 Yuko KAWAGUCHI / Alexander MARKUNTSOV JPN 14.0 10 9 10 Kathryn ORSCHER / Garrett LUCASH USA 14.5 9 10 Ladies FPl. Name Nat. Points SP FS 1 Yoshie ONDA JPN 0.5 1 2 Shizuka ARAKAWA JPN 1.0 2 3 Jennifer KIRK USA 1.5 3 4 Ann Patrice MCDONOUGH USA 2.0 4 5 Jennifer ROBINSON CAN 2.5 5 6 Annie BELLEMARE CAN 3.0 6 7 Tatiana MALININA UZB 3.5 7 8 Dan FANG CHN 4.0 8 9 Joanne CARTER AUS 4.5 9 10 Joannie ROCHETTE CAN 5.0 10 11 Andrea GARDINER USA 5.5 11 12 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 6.0 12 13 Miriam MANZANO AUS 6.5 13 14 Anastasia GIMAZETDINOVA UZB 7.0 14 15 Jenna-Ann BUYS RSA 7.5 15 16 Qingyun WANG CHN 8.0 16 17 Christine LEE HKG 8.5 17 18 Shirene HUMAN RSA 9.0 18 19 Bit-Na PARK KOR 9.5 19 20 Gladys OROZCO MEX 10.0 20 21 Yea-Ji SHIN KOR 10.5 21 22 Diane CHEN TPE 11.0 22 23 Rocio SALAS MEX 11.5 23 24 Sarah-Yvonne PRYTULA AUS 12.0 24 25 Quinn WILMANS RSA 25 26 Helena GARCIA MEX 26 27 Imelda-Rose HEGERTY NZL 27 28 Anny HOU TPE 28 R Young-Eun CHOI KOR For further information please contact: 2002 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Aline Bussat Ingwersen, Kim Tae Wan, ISU Media Coordinator Press Officer Tel: +41 21 612 6666 Tel: +82 63 224 1276 or Fax: +41 21 612 6677 +82 63 224 1380 E-mail: bussat@isu.ch