The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2017 continued today in Gangneung, Korea, with the Pairs Short Program. The Four Continents Championships 2017 serve as a test event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) take Pairs Short Program
Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) take Pairs Short ProgramChina’s Wenjing Sui/Cong Han and Xiaoyu Yu/Hao Zhang finished first and second in the Pairs Short Program. Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford of Canada are currently ranked third.
Sui/Han’s performance to “Blues for Klook” was highlighted by side by side triple toes, a throw triple flip and triple twist. The two-time and reigning World silver medalists collected a level four for the twist, the death spiral, step sequence and reverse lasso lift to earn 80.75 points, just below their personal best of 80.85 points. “This is the first competition for us this season and while we enjoyed being back and feeling the vibe of the competition, we were a little nervous. So I think we could have skated better than we did”, Sui said.
Skating to “Fearless” and “Eternal Flame”, Yu/Jin completed a triple toe, triple twist, throw triple loop as well as four more level-four elements to score 75.20 points. “I think we showed our level today and skated better than I thought I would, because there were some mistakes in practice, especially the solo jump was not going so well and my condition was not so good. The atmosphere here helped me to do better in competition”, Yu explained.
Duhamel/Radford produced a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and three level-four elements in their routine to “Killer” by Seal, but Radford fell on the side by side triple Lutz. The two-time and reigning World Champions picked up 74.31 points. “I felt that our performance took up a step from our National Championships. It’s unfortunate about the Lutz, but it can’t be perfect all the time. They’ve been really, really good for me for the last month. As always I’ll learn from this, take that mistake and do better in the long program”, Radford shared.
Liubov Ilyushechkina/Dylan Moscovitch (CAN) placed fourth (73.04 points) followed by Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro (CAN) with 70.89 points and Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim (USA) at 69.10 points.
ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships continue today with the Ladies Short Program. For more information, full entry lists and results please see the event page. #4ContsFigure