ISU Grand Prix Final 2008/9 Spoilers
Vick444
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SPOILERS
Day 1 highlights (AFP/AP) -
ISU Grand Prix Final 2008/9 Spoilers
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jeA8c8mq0heZt_qMK1JWCwCVO65A
GOYANG, South Korea (AFP) - South Korean starlet Kim Yu-Na took first
place in the ladies short programme at the ISU Grand Prix Friday, held
in Goyang on the outskirts of Seoul.
In front of a huge home crowd, Kim scored 65.94 points to take top
ranking despite making one mistake in her routine.
After nailing her opening jump combination of triple flip and triple
toeloop, she botched the takeoff on her triple lutz, managing only a
single rotation in the air.
A solid skate in the remainder of her routine enabled Kim to narrowly
edge her Japanese rival Mao Asada, who is second at 65.38 points.
The 18-year-old, who was last out of six skaters to take to the ice,
admitted to suffering nerves while waiting her turn.
"I knew the fans would be behind me, but I was actually surprised at
how loud and raucous they were," Kim said of the cheering partisan
crowd that threw flowers and dolls onto the ice after Kim's programme.
"I was so wound up beforehand and when it was all finished, tears just
started flowing," she said.
Asada skated a cleaner programme and beat Kim in the technical element
score by 0.20 points. But the reigning world champion scored lower
than her Korean rival in programme component score.
"I am happy that I landed all jumps cleanly," Asada said. "I think
this is my best short programme so far."
Asada's compatriot Yukari Nakano ranked third at 62.08.
The defending pairs champions, Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of
Germany, lead after a planned programme which saw them score 70.14
points to edge out Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China on 68.34 points.
Another Chinese duo, Pang Qing and Tong Jian, finished third with
66.24.
Japan's Takahiko Kozuka took the lead in the men's competition with a
powerful, clean performance in the short programme.
Kozuka, competing in his first Grand Prix Final, scored 83.90 points
to take the lead over American Jeremy Abbott, in second place with
78.26 points, and former world champion Brian Joubert of France, in
third at 74.55.
"I am very happy I could land all the jumps, all spins, all the
steps," the Japanese skater said.
In the ice dancing competition, world champions Isabelle Delobel and
Olivier Schoenfelder of France scored 60.35 points in the original
dance to take a slim lead into Saturday's free dance.
The Russian duo of Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin were in second
place on 59.33 points. Italians Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali
finished in third with 57.89 points. Another Russian team, Jana
Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, withdrew from the competition due to
illness.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNiXJ61sELD5S7MshBklYiUUNpBwD951AFV80
GOYANG, South Korea (AP) - They call her Queen Yu-na in South Korea
and, returning home for her first international competition in her
native country, the two-time Grand Prix Finals champion did not
disappoint.
Kim Yu-na edged chief rival Mao Asada of Japan for the top score in
the short program Friday, putting the 18-year-old on course to make it
a three-peat. She can match Russia's Irina Slutskaya's record of three
straight Grand Prix finals titles if she wins Saturday's free skate.
Among the men, Japan's Takahiko Kozuka swept to the top of the
scoreboard with a stylish program set to jazz music that earned 83.90
points - a season's best for the teen.
Beloved at home, Kim carried the weight of a nation's pride on her
slim shoulders. The tension was palpable inside the Goyang Ice Arena,
which was packed to the rafters. Fans waved yellow banners declaring
Kim "YUNA QUEEN" and the South Korean flag, screaming out their
support as the teen took the ice.
She nailed her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination and the
double axel, but popped a triple axel. Fast and elegant, she skated
with grace and confidence, showing inventiveness with the required
elements in the short program and ending with her trademark spin. She
scored 65.94 points.
But Kim later admitted to nerves while warming up.
"There was such a big cheer from the audience during the warmup that
it made me nervous," she said.
She arrived at a post-competition news conference wiping away tears.
"Because I really wanted to do well in South Korea and because it was
my first international competition in Korea, I think I was really
nervous... I suppose I was really relieved when it all ended," said
Kim, who was forced out of the Four Continents championship in South
Korea last year because of a hip injury.
Kim faces stiff competition Saturday from Asada, the reigning world
champion, who skated a flawless short program with authority and
confidence and is only a half-point behind.
"I landed all my jumps, so I'm very satisfied," said Asada, who scored
65.38 points. "I'd like to skate well again tomorrow."
Trailing Kim and Asada are Yukari Nakano of Japan, Carolina Kostner of
Italy, Miki Ando of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada.
Kozuka said he was just glad to be in Goyang.
"My goal was to be among the final six. I'm just happy to make it to
the finals," he said.
Jeremy Abbott of the U.S. skated with ease and fluidity to nab second
place going into the free skate. But the rest of the men struggled
with consistency: Crowd pleaser Brian Joubert of France, the 2007
world champion, skated with flair but fell on the triple lutz. Johnny
Weir of the United States launched his program with a clean opening
jump combination, but fell on another jump.
Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic finished fifth after slipping on
his opening combination jump while a disappointed Patrick Chan of
Canada - the leader going into the competition - skated with style and
grace but fell on his opening triple axel and on the triple lutz.
Explosive and inventive, world champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin
Szolkowy of Germany scored a season's best 70.14 to easily take the
lead in the pairs field. Chasing them are two Chinese pairs, Zhang Dan
and Zhang Hao, and Pang Qing and Tong Jian.
Ice dance world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of
France lead after a sassy, 1940s-era original dance that had the crowd
clapping. Defending Grand Prix champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim
Shabalin of Russia were right behind them, wowing the crowd with a
waltz.
Federica Faiella and Massimo Scali of Italy were third, followed by
Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto - last year's silver
medalists - with a jazzy, lively tap dance.
Compatriots Meryl Davis and Charlie White made their Grand Prix finals
debut with an animated routine recalling the flappers of the 1920s.
Russian Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski withdrew from the
competition because of illness.
Competitors make it to the finals based on their point totals from six
Grand Prix events: Skate America, Skate Canada, Trophee Bompard, Cup
of China, the NHK Trophy and the Cup of Russia.
Vick444
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Nice to see the American team bouncing back...
Vick
SPOILERS
Final Day highlights (AP/CP/AFP) -
ISU Grand Prix Final 2008/9 Spoilers
Asada, Abbott win gold at Grand Prix finals
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNiXJ61sELD5S7MshBklYiUUNpBwD951TTC01
GOYANG, South Korea (AP) - World champion Mao Asada's skill with the
triple axel earned her a victory over longtime rival Kim Yu-na at the
Grand Prix of Figure Skating finals on Saturday.
Jeremy Abbott of the United States won after hitting every jump in the
free skate.
Asada's triple axels - two launched at the start of her free skate_
proved decisive as she won with a total of 188.55 points, just 2.2
ahead of South Korea's Kim at the Goyang Ice Arena north of Seoul.
"I am happy that I could land two triple axels in my program and that
I was able to win here in Korea," Asada said. "It is really special."
It was a particularly satisfying victory for Asada of Japan, who had
finished second to Kim at the last two Grand Prix finals.
Abbott breezed past Takahiko Kozuka of Japan for gold in his first
Grand Prix final. Abbott earned 237.72 points, while Kozuka had
224.63.
Ice dancing world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder
capped off a victorious Grand Prix season with gold, and Pang Qing and
Tong Jian of China rallied to win the pairs title.
But it was the showdown between Kim and Asada, rivals since their days
as juniors, that took center stage at the sellout event. Even South
Korea Prime Minister Han Seung-soo was in the audience.
Kim, the world bronze medalist, had won her last five consecutive
Grand Prix series events. Asada, the reigning world champion, won the
NHK Trophy but the finals title had eluded her.
Kim admitted to nerves Friday but pulled off a narrow, half-point lead
over Asada in the short program. Fans showed their love for "Queen Yu-
na" by throwing more than 550 stuffed animals and 500 flowers onto the
rink, organizers said.
Asada showed her competitive mettle Saturday by kicking off her free
skate with two triple axels, the only woman to perform such a feat.
She skated with assurance and elegance but later fell attempting
another triple jump, leaving room for Kim to claim the title.
The crowd waited for Kim's opening jump and erupted with cheers when
she landed the triple flip-triple loop combination. But without a
triple axel in her repertoire, a fall on a triple salchow guaranteed a
close finish.
In the end, Kim scored higher than Asada on artistic points but Asada
was nearly four points ahead on technical elements.
Kim said she felt tired and was fighting a cold, along with the
pressure of wanting to do well at home after wins at Skate America and
the Cup of China.
"It was wonderful to skate at home," Kim said. "I am a little
disappointed about my mistakes, but it's OK. I will do better next
time."
Reigning European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy skated away with
the bronze.
Smooth and relaxed, Cup of China winner Abbott performed with speed
and artistry Saturday.
"I was so nervous," he said. "So to be able to control my nerves and
to focus through that and put out the performance that I did was
definitely most satisfying."
Abbott easily topped short program winner Kozuka, who held onto his
opening quadruple loop but fell twice as his energy flagged. Still, it
was enough for silver overall, giving the Japanese men a fourth
straight medal finish at the Grand Prix finals.
Opening with a big combination jump, Johnny Weir came back from an
inconsistent short program to place second in the free skate and third
overall, putting two Americans on the podium. The 17-year-old Canadian
phenom Patrick Chan, the series leader going into the finals, finished
last.
Ice dancing world champions Delobel and Schoenfelder, winners at Skate
America and Trophee Bompard, capped off a victorious Grand Prix season
with gold at the finals. The duo - skating for the 19th season
together - moved with speed and flow to moody Pink Floyd.
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia took the silver while
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States won the bronze in
their first Grand Prix finals.
Two ice dancing pairs withdrew from the competition: American pair
Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto due to injury, and Jana Khokhlova
and Sergei Novitski of Russia due to illness. Delobel also said she
spent the afternoon fighting off a stomach ailment.
Chinese competitors topped the podium in the pairs competition, with
Pang and Jian winning gold and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao silver. World
champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany finished
third.
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Asada, Abbott win gold at Grand Prix, Canadians Rochette and Chan off
podium
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5ju8sBYoq_HpT7-ic9dAnPYv3lcHw
GOYANG, South Korea (CP) - World champion Mao Asada's skill with the
triple Axel earned the Japanese skater a nail-biting victory over
longtime rival Kim Yu-na at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating finals on
Saturday.
Asada's triple Axels - two of them launched at the start of her free
skate - proved decisive as she emerged with a total of 188.55 points,
just 2.2 ahead of South Korea's Kim at Goyang Ice Arena north of
Seoul.
It was a particularly satisfying victory for Asada, who had finished
second to Kim at the last two Grand Prix finals.
Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., sixth after Friday's disastrous
short program, nearly rallied her way to bronze, finishing at 166.36,
less than two points back of Italy's Carolina Kostner for the bronze
at 168.01.
Rochette posted the free skate's third best score.
"I'm proud with how I came back in the long program," said Rochette,
who earlier won Grand Prix events in Ottawa and Paris. "I wanted to
show that (Friday) was not me. ...
"I had been having trouble all week in practice and feeling tired. The
last part of my long program with the double Axel sequence was my best
all season."
Patrick Chan of Toronto couldn't make a similar comeback in the men's
event. The gold medallist at the Grand Prix stops in Ottawa and Paris,
he was sixth after the short and finished fifth at 205.16.
"The main concern for me in both programs was the triple Axel," said
the 17-year-old. "It gave me trouble and threw off the triple Lutz as
well. But still today with the mistakes I was able to keep it together
and I did not leave anything out.
"I was happy about that."
Jeremy Abbott of the United States won after nailing every one of his
jumps in the free skate, breezing past Japan's Takahiko Kozuka for
gold in his first Grand Prix final. Abbott earned 237.72 points, well
clear of Kozuka with 224.63.
Ice dancing world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder
capped off a victorious Grand Prix season with gold, and China's Pang
Qing and Tong Jian came from behind to win the pairs title.
But it was the showdown between Kim and Asada, rivals since their days
as juniors, that took centre stage at Saturday's sold-out event. Even
South Korea Prime Minister Han Seung-soo was in the audience.
Kim, the world bronze medallist, had won her last five consecutive
Grand Prix series events. Asada, the reigning world champion, won the
NHK Trophy but the finals title had eluded her.
Kim admitted to being wracked by nerves Friday but pulled off a
narrow, half-point lead over Asada in the short program. Fans showed
their love for "Queen Yu-na" by throwing more than 550 stuffed animals
and 500 flowers onto the rink, organizers said.
On Saturday, Asada showed her competitive mettle by kicking off her
free skate with not one but two triple Axels - the only woman to nail
the difficult jump. She skated with assurance and elegance but later
fell attempting another triple jump, leaving room for Kim to claim the
title.
The crowd held its breath for Kim's opening jump and erupted into
cheers when she landed the triple flip-triple loop combination. But
without a triple Axel in her repertoire, a fall on a triple Salchow
guaranteed a close finish.
In the end, Kim scored higher than Asada on artistic points but Asada
was nearly 4 points ahead of the South Korean on technical elements.
"I am happy that I could land two triple Axels in my program and that
I was able to win here in Korea," Asada said. "It is really special."
Kim said she felt tired and was fighting a cold on top of feeling the
pressure of wanting to do well at home after wins at Skate America and
the Cup of China.
"It was wonderful to skate at home," she said. "I am a little
disappointed about my mistakes, but it's OK. I will do better next
time."
Reigning European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy skated away with
the bronze.
Smooth and relaxed, Cup of China winner Abbott performed with speed
and artistry Saturday.
"I was so nervous," he said. "So to be able to control my nerves and
to focus through that and put out the performance that I did was
definitely most satisfying."
Abbott easily topped short program winner Kozuka, who held onto his
opening quadruple loop but fell twice as his energy flagged. Still, it
was enough for silver overall, giving the Japanese men a fourth
straight medal finish at the Grand Prix finals.
Opening with a big combination jump, Johnny Weir came back from an
inconsistent short program to place second in the free skate and third
overall, putting two Americans on the podium.
Ice dancing world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder,
winners at Skate America and Trophee Bompard, capped off a victorious
Grand Prix season with gold at the finals. The duo - skating for the
19th season together - moved with speed and flow to moody Pink Floyd.
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia took the silver while
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States won the bronze in
their first Grand Prix finals with a sweeping pas de deux.
Two ice dancing pairs withdrew from the competition: American pair
Tanith Belbin, who is originally from Kingston, Ont., and Benjamin
Agosto due to injury, and Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski of Russia
due to illness. Delobel also said she spent the afternoon fighting off
a stomach ailment.
Chinese competitors topped the podium in the pairs competition, with
Pang and Jian winning gold and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao silver. World
champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany finished
third after an unusually weak performance.
Competitors make it to the finals based on their point totals from six
Grand Prix events: Skate America, Skate Canada, Trophee Bompard, Cup
of China, the NHK Trophy and the Cup of Russia.
--------------------
Skating champion Asada wins Grand Prix
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ijCaZjLLtMXAU2V6QJQsv_ihrIDQ
GOYANG, South Korea (AFP) - Japanese star Mao Asada came from behind
to claim the women's title Saturday at the ISU Grand Prix finals in
Goyang, just northwest of Seoul.
Asada scored 123.17 points in free skating for 188.55 points overall,
edging past her South Korean rival Kim Yu-Na.
Kim ended in second place with 120.41 points in free skating and
186.35 overall.
Italy's Carolina Kostner finished third for the second straight year,
after scoring 112.13 points in free skating for a total of 168.01.
After Friday's short programme, Asada was behind Kim by 0.56 points.
The reigning world champion from Japan nailed the difficult triple
axel jumps twice early in her free skating, and overcame a botched
landing on a jump later in the programme.
It was Asada's first Grand Prix final title since 2005.
"I am very happy that I was able to do two triple axels," the 18-year-
old Asada said.
"But after landing my second one, I was only concentrating on my next
jumps. In the end, I had the feelings of accomplishment."
Kim, 18, started out cleanly, but then managed only a single rotation
on her triple lutz for the second straight day, and fell on her triple
salchow attempt on the next sequence.
"I am disappointed I made mistakes before the home fans. But this was
a great learning experience," said Kim, who failed to become only the
second female skater to win three straight Grand Prix finals.
In the day's last event, Pang Qing and Tong Jian of China leapfrogged
two teams to win the pairs title.
They scored 125.25 points in free skating and ended with 191.49 points
overall to claim their first Grand Prix finals victory after two third-
place finishes.
Compatriots Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao scored 119.88 in free skating and
finished runners-up with 188.22.
The overnight leaders and defending champions Aliona Savchenko and
Robin Szolkowy slipped to third after a mistake-riddled free skating
performance gave them only 114.95 points for an overall score of
185.09.
Earlier in the day, Jeremy Abbott of the US claimed his first men's
Grand Prix final title with a flawless free skating performance.
Abbott successfully executed all of his jumps to score 159.46 points
in free skating and 237.72 overall.
Takahiko Kozuka, who led after the short programme, fell twice in the
latter part of his free skating to manage only 140.73 points in free
skating and ended with a total of 224.63.
In ice dance, world champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier
Schoenfelder of France picked up their first ISU Grand Prix final
title with 156.10 points. They scored 95.75 points in Saturday's free
dance.
Russian duo Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who scored 93.62 points
in the free dance, were the runners-up with a total of 152.95.