The rhythm is gonna get you: Fournier Beaudry/Soerensen (CAN) take a narrow lead into Saturday's Free Dance. © ISU
Canada’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Soerensen snatched a slim lead over favorites Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) in the Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy in Sapporo (JPN) on Friday. But with only 0.66 points between the top two teams, everything is still to play for in the Free Dance on Saturday. Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (USA) finished third.
Fournier Beaudry/Soerensen put out a smooth performance to three songs by Gloria Estefan, picking up a level four for the twizzles, their stationary lift and the pattern dance type step sequence, while their midline steps were rated a level three. The Grand Prix de France silver medalists improved their personal best by more than three points with their score of 85.66 and for the first time top the standings in a segment at a Grand Prix event.
“I was surprised,” Soerensen said. “I walked out and saw our name on top and I couldn’t really believe it. But we've set really high goals for this year and worked really hard to realize those goals.
“We came out after the Olympics to recalibrate the way we train, the way we think, really do everything for the purpose. So we're just really happy that we were able to go out there and skate every competition, one after the next and then it bears fruit with the first place here today.”
“We had our first Grand Prix in France one week ago, so we had one week of training in between and we had a very good week which led to a good performance in the Rhythm Dance today,” Fournier Beaudry added.
Chock/Bates entertained the crowd in the arena used for the 1972 Winter Olympics with “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie and showed great unison. The three-time ISU World medalists collected a level four for their twizzles and the curve lift, but had to settle for second place after Chock’s part of the midline step sequence merited only a level one. Nevertheless, the Skate America Champions set a season’s best with 85.00.
Let's Dance: Chock/Bates (USA) narrowly miss out on top spot with their David Bowie-inspired program. © ISU
“A level one on my midline step, two small errors, but obvious nonetheless and that's costly in any competition,” Chock acknowledged. “We’ll just be looking to clean that up and continue pushing our performance because we had a great time out there and the audience was fantastic.”
“We are really happy with this David Bowie Remix,” Bates agreed. “We actually changed it a bit from Skate America, so this current version that we just skate is really up tempo, I felt like the audience was clapping almost immediately through the whole program.”
Green/Parsons’ Samba and Rhumba included two level-four elements and the 2022 ISU Four Continents Champions posted a season’s best of 77.00 points.
A season's best took Caroline Green and Michael Parsons (USA) into third place. © ISU
“We're very proud of how we skated,” Parsons told the post-event press conference. “This season for us has been about our constant improvement and the last two weeks we've been really happy with how we’ve trained after Skate Canada and it's cumulated into this Rhythm Dance today.”
Alison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) are less than two points behind in fourth place on 75.23 points followed by Japan’s 2022 ISU Four Continents silver medalists Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi (75.10) and Grand Prix de France bronze medalists Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA, 72.84).
Schedule of the event
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, November 18: Pairs & Women’s Short Programs, Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program
Saturday, November 19: Pairs & Women’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 20: Exhibition Gala
The NHK Trophy in Sapporo (JPN) November 18-20, 2022, is the fifth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.
More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the Series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
Selection Criteria
In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
Grand Prix Standings
Men Women Ice Dance Pair Skating
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
21 - 23 Oct, 2022 Skate America, Norwood (USA)
28 – 30 Oct, 2022 Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)
04 - 06 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
11 - 13 Nov, 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)
18 - 20 Nov, 2022 NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)
25 - 27 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
08 - 11 Dec, 2022 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
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