| 2002 World Synchronized Skating Championships |
The third ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships concluded Saturday in Rouen, with the Free Program and the crowning of the World Champions. The top five teams were extremely close, with the level of skating at it's highest ever. The stands were full with an enthusiastic crowd.
In an exciting competition, Finland 1 (in second place after the Short) challenged Sweden 1's supremacy and it paid off. Skating to the theme of Dracula and wearing black and red, the top Finish team began their Free Program with a very unique opening with one of the girls lying on the legs of four others hovered over her and lifting up as if to open a coffin. They move into another unique move where half of the team lays on the back of the other while doing a spread eagle. This team showed great speed and fabulous blocks that were executed very close together. Finland 1 produced a clean and an incredible performance and, breaking tradition, the whole team came together at the end of the performance at center ice full of emotion. The judges awarded them marks ranging from 5.5 to 5.8 for technical merit and from 5.6 to 5.9 for presentation. Finland 1 captured the title. After their performance, the team captain said: "we thought earlier in the year that we had a good program but we really did not think it could win at that time, however, as the year went on it got better and then we started to think maybe it could win. Basically I am speechless to explain how we feel"
Going for their fourth straight World title Team Sweden 1 (in first place after the Short) were dressed in black and deep red, purple and green. Their Free Program showed their trademark choreography seen in their programs in previous years. They skated to strong drum rhythm with an aggressive style. The members of Sweden 1 are clearly all very strong skaters, yet there was a fall going through a transition into a circle, costing them the gold medal. "We are very proud of what we did out there today even though we made one small mistake", the team captain commented. Their marks ranged from 5.6 to 5.8 for technical merit and from 5.7 to 5.8 for presentation.
Dressed in a stunning shade of pink Canada 1 went into their Free with a medal on the line. At one point during the program, however, a part of a costume fell off and a spare skater had to go on a get it, yet this did not seem to hinder the team. Their Free Program set to a circus theme included a unique move. They did a very tight block while spinning, which was very effective. They picked up marks going up to 5.6 for technical merit and up to 5.7 for presentation to clinch the bronze medal. After the performance Canada 1's captain said: "even with our small mistake we had a blast out there tonight".
USA 1, seventh after the Short, moved up to fourth place with a strong program that included elements such as split jumps, flip jumps and even a small throw loop jump to their advantage without breaking the rules of the Synchronized Skating discipline and earning marks up to 5.5 for technical merit and up to 5.7 for presentation. Canada 2 finished in fifth place at their first World Championships, while Finland 2, in fourth after the Short and looking to be on the podium, ended up in sixth place after a bad fall going into a circle.
FINAL RANKING 1. FINLAND I 2. SWEDEN I 3. CANADA I 4. UNITED STATES I 5. CANADA II 6. FINLAND II 7. RUSSIA 8. GERMANY I 9. UNITED STATES II 10. JAPAN 11. FRANCE 12. CZECH REPUBLIC 13. ITALY 14. SWITZERLAND 15. SWEDEN II 16. GERMANY II 17. GREAT BRITAIN 18. ESTONIA 19. AUSTRALIA 20. CROATIA 21. NETHERLANDS 22. HUNGARY 23. ICELAND 24. BELGIUM FREE PROGRAM Saturday 13 April FINAL RESULTS 1. FINLAND I 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.6 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.9 / 5.6 / 5.7 2. SWEDEN I 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.6 / 5.7 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.8 3. CANADA I 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.3 5.7 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.7 / 5.4 / 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.5 4. UNITED STATES I 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.4 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.6 / 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.7 / 5.4 / 5.4 5. CANADA II 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 5.3 5.4 / 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.4 6. FINLAND II 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 5.1 / 5.3 / 5.5 / 5.2 / 5.2 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.3 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.6 / 5.2 / 5.3 7. RUSSIA 5.4 / 5.1 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 4.9 / 5.1 / 5.4 / 5.3 / 5.2 5.1 / 5.1 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.3 / 5.4 8. GERMANY I 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.2 / 5.0 / 5.2 / 5.0 / 5.2 / 5.0 5.5 / 5.3 / 5.1 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 5.1 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 5.3 9. UNITED STATES II 4.8 / 4.9 / 5.1 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 5.1 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.1 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.2 10. JAPAN 4.9 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 4.8 / 4.8 / 4.9 / 4.8 / 4.8 / 5.2 5.1 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 4.8 / 5.1 / 5.0 11. FRANCE 4.8 / 4.7 / 4.9 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.8 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 4.8 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 4.9 / 5.1 / 4.9 / 5.1 12. CZECH REPUBLIC 4.7 / 4.5 / 4.8 / 4.9 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.8 / 4.8 / 4.8 4.8 / 4.6 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 4.7 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 5.1 / 5.0 13. ITALY 4.5 / 4.7 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.9 / 4.6 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.7 4.7 / 4.8 / 4.6 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 4.7 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 4.9 14. SWITZERLAND 4.4 / 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.7 / 4.5 / 4.6 / 4.4 / 4.5 4.4 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.4 / 4.9 / 4.7 / 4.8 / 4.5 / 4.7 15. SWEDEN II 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.3 / 4.2 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.6 4.4 / 4.5 / 4.4 / 4.3 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.9 16. GERMANY II 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.3 / 4.5 / 4.4 / 4.3 / 4.4 4.3 / 4.1 / 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.6 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.5 17. GREAT BRITAIN 3.9 / 4.0 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 3.7 / 4.4 / 4.2 / 4.0 / 4.2 4.0 / 4.1 / 4.1 / 3.8 / 3.7 / 4.5 / 4.3 / 4.3 / 4.4 18. ESTONIA 4.1 / 3.9 / 4.0 / 4.0 / 3.6 / 4.0 / 4.5 / 4.2 / 4.1 4.0 / 3.8 / 4.0 / 4.1 / 3.7 / 4.3 / 4.7 / 4.3 / 4.3 19. AUSTRALIA 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.8 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 3.8 4.1 / 4.0 / 4.0 / 3.9 / 3.9 / 4.0 / 4.2 / 4.1 / 4.0 20. CROATIA 3.6 / 3.8 / 3.6 / 3.4 / 3.6 / 3.4 / 3.7 / 3.8 / 3.7 3.4 / 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.8 / 4.1 / 3.8 21. NETHERLANDS 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.7 / 3.6 / 3.9 / 3.7 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.5 3.8 / 3.7 / 3.6 / 3.8 / 4.0 / 3.9 / 3.7 / 3.9 / 3.6 22. HUNGARY 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.4 / 3.6 / 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.6 3.7 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.7 / 3.9 / 3.7 / 3.8 23. ICELAND 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.3 / 3.4 / 3.3 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 3.4 / 3.5 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.4 24. BELGIUM 2.9 / 2.8 / 3.0 / 3.1 / 2.9 / 2.6 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0 3.1 / 3.1 / 3.1 / 3.2 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.3 / 3.0 / 3.0 SHORT PROGRAM Friday 12 April FINAL STANDINGS 1. SWEDEN I 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.5 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.4 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.8 2. FINLAND I 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.7 / 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.7 / 5.7 5.9 / 5.6 / 5.8 / 5.8 / 5.7 / 5.4 / 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.7 3. CANADA I 5.4 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.5 / 5.0 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.7 5.5 / 5.7 / 5.6 / 5.6 / 5.1 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.5 / 5.8 4. FINLAND II 5.6 / 5.5 / 5.3 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.1 / 5.5 / 5.5 / 5.6 5.7 / 5.7 / 5.6 / 5.7 / 5.8 / 5.3 / 5.8 / 5.6 / 5.7 5. CANADA II 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.6 / 5.4 / 5.2 / 5.4 / 5.4 5.3 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 5.7 / 5.5 / 5.6 / 5.6 / 5.5 6. GERMANY I 5.4 / 4.9 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 4.8 / 5.2 / 5.4 / 5.2 / 5.1 5.4 / 5.1 / 5.4 / 5.4 / 4.8 / 5.2 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.1 7. UNITED STATES I 5.1 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 4.5 / 4.7 / 4.6 / 4.3 / 4.9 5.6 / 5.3 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.3 / 4.6 / 5.4 8. RUSSIA 4.9 / 4.7 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 5.3 / 4.3 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 4.9 5.1 / 5.1 / 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.6 / 4.8 / 5.5 / 5.4 / 5.2 9. UNITED STATES II 4.7 / 4.6 / 4.4 / 4.5 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.7 4.9 / 5.0 / 4.7 / 5.1 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 5.1 / 5.2 / 5.0 10. JAPAN 4.1 / 4.5 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.5 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.8 / 4.6 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 4.9 / 4.9 / 4.9 11. FRANCE 4.3 / 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.5 4.9 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 5.0 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.9 / 5.0 / 4.9 12. CZECH REPUBLIC 4.4 / 4.1 / 4.7 / 4.5 / 4.0 / 3.8 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.3 4.9 / 4.7 / 5.0 / 4.9 / 4.6 / 4.2 / 4.8 / 5.0 / 4.7 13. ITALY 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.7 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 4.3 4.6 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.7 / 4.9 / 4.5 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.3 14. SWEDEN II 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.2 / 4.4 / 4.6 / 4.6 / 4.2 / 4.4 / 4.8 4.3 / 4.5 / 4.3 / 4.4 / 4.9 / 4.8 / 4.5 / 4.8 / 4.8 15. SWITZERLAND 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.2 / 4.5 / 4.4 / 4.2 / 4.4 / 4.5 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.4 / 4.3 / 4.5 / 4.6 / 4.4 / 4.6 / 4.6 16. GERMANY II 4.3 / 4.2 / 4.1 / 4.0 / 4.1 / 4.4 / 4.0 / 3.4 / 3.8 4.5 / 4.2 / 4.3 / 4.1 / 4.3 / 4.5 / 4.2 / 3.5 / 4.0 17. ESTONIA 3.9 / 3.7 / 3.8 / 4.2 / 3.6 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 3.5 / 4.0 4.1 / 4.1 / 4.0 / 4.2 / 3.8 / 4.2 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 4.2 18. GREAT BRITAIN 3.8 / 4.1 / 3.8 / 4.1 / 3.8 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 4.0 / 3.8 3.9 / 4.4 / 3.9 / 4.1 / 3.9 / 4.4 / 3.9 / 4.2 / 4.1 19. CROATIA 3.2 / 3.3 / 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.9 / 3.8 / 3.6 / 3.3 / 3.3 3.5 / 3.8 / 3.8 / 3.6 / 4.0 / 3.9 / 3.7 / 3.1 / 3.4 20. NETHERLANDS 3.6 / 3.4 / 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.5 / 3.6 / 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.3 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.6 / 3.5 / 3.7 / 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.4 / 3.2 21. AUSTRALIA 3.2 / 3.3 / 3.2 / 3.1 / 3.5 / 3.4 / 3.3 / 3.1 / 3.6 3.9 / 3.9 / 3.8 / 3.7 / 4.1 / 4.0 / 3.7 / 3.5 / 4.2 22. HUNGARY 2.7 / 3.1 / 2.8 / 3.1 / 3.7 / 3.4 / 3.2 / 2.9 / 3.1 3.7 / 3.7 / 3.5 / 3.6 / 4.3 / 3.8 / 3.7 / 3.3 / 3.5 23. ICELAND 3.5 / 3.2 / 3.4 / 3.3 / 3.4 / 3.0 / 3.3 / 3.2 / 3.1 3.8 / 3.5 / 3.4 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.6 / 3.5 / 3.3 / 3.3 24. BELGIUM 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.0 / 3.4 / 2.6 / 3.2 / 3.0 / 2.8 3.5 / 3.2 / 3.2 / 3.4 / 3.7 / 3.3 / 3.4 / 3.1 / 3.1 For further information please contact: 2002 World Synchronized Skating Championships Aline Bussat Ingweresen, Michael Noyelle, ISU Media Coordinator Press Officer Tel: + 81 (0) 90 55 78 76 56 E-mail: bussat@isu.ch E-mail: presse-com@ffsg.org