ISU

Russia’s Alexandra Trusova edged teammate Alena Kostornaia to secure a narrow lead in the Junior Ladies Short Program as competition at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 resumed in Sofia (BUL) on Friday. Mako Yamashita of Japan is currently ranked third.

In 1893 the first ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships took place on the Museum Square in Amsterdam (NED). Exactly 125 years later the prestigious Championships return to Amsterdam and will be held outdoors for the first time since 2001.

This year’s ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships will be held at the superfast high-altitude Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City. The skaters have had enough time to familiarize with the track, because the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating final was held on the same oval last week. In the ladies’ World Junior Championships Jutta Leerdam (NED) will defend her Allround title and in the men’s tournament Chris Huizinga’s Allround title is up for grabs since the Dutchman went to the senior ranks after last season.

Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin led the Russian pairs to the first podium sweep in 32 years at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 in Sofia (BUL) on Thursday. Polina Kostiukovich/Dmitrii Ialin edged Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galiamov to take the silver medal. Russian pairs had swept the podium twice before at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 1985 and 1986.

ISU Grand Prix Final Champion Alexei Krasnozhon (USA) justified his status as favorite and claimed the Junior Men’s Short Program at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia (BUL) Thursday. Russia’s Alexey Erokhov trails the leader by almost four points in second place, while Mitsuko Sumoto of Japan is third.

Arianna Fontana (ITA) finally won her first gold medal in her fourth Olympic Winter Games, when she seized the ladies’ 500m gold. The 27-year-old Italian dominated the race from start to finish, sitting at the front and guarding her position all the way.

The ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships returns to its place of birth. 125 years ago Dutchman Jaap Eden won the first official ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Amsterdam. 

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin of Russia skated to the lead in the Junior Pairs Short Program at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 in Sofia (BUL) on Wednesday. Russia’s Polina Kostiukovich/Dmitrii Ialin came second while 2017 World Junior bronze medalists Yumeng Gao/Zhong Xie of China are currently ranked third.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions Anastasia Skoptcova/Kirill Aleshin of Russia took a commanding lead as the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 opened Wednesday in Sofia (BUL) with the Short Dance. Canada’s Majorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha are currently ranked second, followed by Arina Ushakova/Maxim Nekrasov of Russia.

When Julian Zhi Jie Yee tagged along with his mother and older brothers to a mall ice rink in Malaysia years ago he had no clue that one day he would become the first Malaysian figure skater to compete at Olympic Winter Games. Yee and Alpine skier Jeffrey Webb are even the first athletes to represent Malaysia at Olympic Winter Games in history.

At age 34 Mika Poutala competed at his fourth Olympics Games at PyeongChang 2018, and what an Olympian he proved to be. On February 19, he missed the 500m podium by just 0.2 seconds.

The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2018 will open in Sofia, Bulgaria on March 7. The city will host this event for the fifth time after doing so in 2001, 2008, 2009 and 2014.

As the excitement of the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games settles, Short Track fans were given a glimpse into the future of the sport as the planet’s best young racers competed at the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2018 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland.

Jorien ter Mors (NED) and Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) were crowned World Sprint Champions in Changchun on Sunday. Ter Mors took gold after defending champion Nao Kodaira (JPN) withdrew from the final 1000m, and Lorentzen kept Dutchmen Kjeld Nuis and Kai Verbij at bay at the 49th ISU World Sprint Championships.

The battle is on at the ISU World Sprint Championships in Changchun. In both the ladies’ and the men’s tournament the Olympic 500m and 1000m champions are engaged in a close fight for the title. After the first day in the ladies’ competition, 500m champion Nao Kodaira (JPN) is in the lead with a small margin over 1000m champion Jorien ter Mors (NED). In the men’s tournament Olympic 500m champion Håvard Holmefjord Lorentzen (NOR) is on top, with defending World Sprint champion Kai Verbij (NED) and Olympic 1000m champion Kjeld Nuis (NED) at his heels.