Reigning ISU World silver medalists Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara of Japan took the lead in the Pairs Short Program as the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023 continued Friday in Colorado Springs (USA).
Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps lie second and Emily Chan/Spencer Akira Howe (USA) are currently ranked third.
Performing to “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, Miura/Kihara completed a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and level-four lift, spin, footwork and death spiral. However, Miura crashed on the triple toe attempt which was downgraded. The ISU Grand Prix Final Champions scored 71.19 points to take the lead.
Nerves led to a mistake on a triple toe attempt but Miura/Kihara (JPN) still scored above 70 points to take the lead © ISU
“I was nervous and therefore I made the mistake. I will try to switch my mindset for tomorrow,” Miura said.
“Although I made a mistake we were able to score higher than 70 points. That shows what we’ve been accumulating in the past and I think it’s a proof of how we grew,” she continued.
Kihara added: “This is not the last competition of the season, so it is another learning experience.”
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps opened their characteristic Tango routine with a triple twist and followed up with a side-by-side triple toe and a difficult reverse lasso lift. The only glitch came when Stellato-Dudek stepped out of the throw triple loop. The Canadian Champions earned 68.39 points.
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) were a little disappointed with their Tango routine but it was good enough for second place © ISU
“A little disappointing: some things were good, some things were not so good,” Stellato-Dudek commented.
“We've worked a lot on that side-by-side spin that really didn't show today so that's disappointing. And the throw [triple loop] usually goes well but it was a bit off.”
Their preparations were disrupted by Stellato-Dudek suffering a bad bout of flu, but she recovered in good time for the pair to be competitive in Colorado Springs.
“We had three weeks in between Nationals and here. Then when I started to feel better last week - Monday, before we left so - there was a big step up [especially] the five last days of training before we left,” she explained.
Chan/Howe’s Flamenco program to “Nyah” was highlighted by a triple twist and throw triple loop, but he missed the triple toe. The 2022 ISU Four Continents silver medalists picked up 66.96 points.
“We came straight to Colorado after Nationals to transition to the altitude. Each time we go for either of our programs, our goal is to get deeper into the characters and into the story,” Chan said.
Taking time to acclimatise to Colorado Springs's altitude paid off for Chan/Howe (USA) who lie third after the Short Program © ISU
Howe added: “Every time we come out to these competitions, we don’t have a lot of expectations for medals. When we are awarded with those, it’s a bonus for us. Really we’re out here to just better ourselves and give more and more to the audience.”
The new team of Lia Pereira and 2022 Four Continents bronze medallist Trennt Michaud (CAN) placed fourth on 65.16 points with a clean performance, while Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (USA) came fifth with 60.07 points.
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Thursday, February 9: Women’s & Men’s Short Programs
Friday, February 10: Pairs Short Program, Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, February 11: Pairs & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, February 12: Free Dance & Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #4ContsFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2023:
The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
.png)
