Skate Canada International, Day Two

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Nathan Chen (USA), Kamila Valieva (RUS), Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) and Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) struck gold as competition wrapped up at Skate Canada International in Vancouver Saturday with the Free Skating and the Free Dance. Skate Canada International was the second of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series 2021-22.

Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) skate off with first Skate Canada gold

Two-time ISU World Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China scored a runaway victory in the Pairs event, winning with 31 points to spare. Russia’s Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin claimed the silver medal while Ashley Cain/ Timothy Leduc (USA) rose from sixth to take the bronze.

Skating to “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Sui/Han landed a triple twist, triple toe-double toe-double toe, big throw triple flip and Salchow. The only glitch came when Sui fell on the triple Salchow. The 2018 Olympic silver medalists earned 145.11 points and totaled 224.05 points.

“Our performance was not bad. We had some misses, and we missed a level on a lift and spin. We can improve on this and we will try to fix all of it,” Sui said. “This is our first win at Skate Canada, so it is really exciting.”

Sui/Han competed at Skate Canada International three times before and finished second each time.

Pavliuchenko/Khodykin produced a somewhat shaky triple toe-triple toe-double toe combination (slightly underrotated the second jump), a throw triple loop, triple twist and difficult lifts during their program to “Black Swan”. However, Pavliuchenko missed the triple Salchow and touched down on the throw triple flip. The 2018 ISU World Junior Champions ranked third in the Free Skating with 123.62 points, but remained in second place at 193.08 points.

“Today’s free skating was bad. We know it and we know what we need to do to improve,” Khodykin said. “This is the beginning of the season and it is normal that we are not yet in top shape.”

Cain/LeDuc put out a strong performance to the “W.E.” soundtrack that was highlighted by a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and Salchow. Their side by side triple loop and Salchow were a little underrotated. The 2018 ISU Four Continents silver medalists achieved a season’s best in the Free Skating with 128.22 points to pull up four spots at 189.90 points overall.

“We are very happy with the program today. We had a solid skate, which is really good for our confidence. That is really what we wanted from this competition,” Cain said.

“We worked so hard this season so far and going into this competition. To feel like it paid off is really awesome,” LeDuc said.

Vanessa James/Eric Radford (CAN) moved up to fourth place in their first ISU Grand Prix as a team (187.92 points). Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nolan Seegert (GER) slipped from third to fifth at 186.82 points). Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro (CAN) dropped to sixth after missing two lifts (180.25 points).

Sui/Han collected 15 points toward the Grand Prix standings and will compete next week in Italy again. Pavliuchenko/Khodykin (13 points) are scheduled for Rostelecom Cup at the end of November and Cain/LeDuc’s (11 points) next event is the NHK Trophy in Japan.

Chen (USA) crushes competition at Skate Canada

Nathan Chen (USA) crushed the competition at Skate Canada International, winning with almost 50 points advantage over teammate Jason Brown and Russia’s Evgeni Semenenko.

Skating last to a Mozart compilation with an interesting modern twist, Chen delivered again, reeling off a quad Salchow, quad flip-triple toe, quad toe-Euler-triple flip, quad toe-double toe as well as a triple Axel and two more triple jumps. The three-time and reigning World Champion scored 200.46 points and racked up 307.18 points overall to win the eighth ISU Grand Prix event gold medal of his career.

“I definitely did have better outings here than I did in Skate America, so I think this is a good step forward. In all the competitions I want to push myself a little bit forward,” Chen said. “The programs weren't perfect but overall I'm happy with where I am this season and looking forward to going back and trying to clean things up.”

Brown’s emotional performance to “Schindler’s List” featured a triple Axel-double toe and five more triples, but he fell on a triple Axel and his quadruple Salchow was two-footed and downgraded. The 2020 ISU Four Continents silver medalist scored 165.55 points and 259.55 overall.

“Overall, I am a little disappointed with my free skate today. That being said, the Grand Prix season is all about the opportunity to learn, to figure out what works, what doesn't and use it as a platform moving forward,” Brown said.

Semenenko nailed a quad toe-double toe, quad Salchow, quad toe and five more clean triples in his dramatic program to “The Master and Margarita”. He only stepped out of his second triple Axel. The Russian Junior Champion ranked second in the Free Skating with 168.30 points and moved up from fifth to capture the first Grand Prix medal of his career.

“I think I skated well. This is my Grand Prix debut. Last season the Grand Prix (in Russia) was mostly with Russian skaters. It is a big honor for me to skate with such great athletes as Nathan Chen,” the 18-year-old said.

Makar Ignatov (RUS) remained in fourth place at 244.17 points. Keegan Messing (CAN) dropped from third to fifth after some errors (238.34 points) while Morisi Kvitelashivili (GEO) pulled up from 12th to sixth place at 232.87 points.

Chen is the first skater to have completed two Grand Prix events. He has 26 points and will have to wait and see if this is enough to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Brown (13 points) will compete again at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble while Semenenko is slated for Rostelecom Cup in Sochi (RUS).

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier (CAN) dance off with second Skate Canada title

Canadians Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier triumphed on home ice, claiming their second Skate Canada title of their career. Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri of Italy danced to the silver medal while Spain’s Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz secured the bronze, their first ISU Grand Prix medal.

Dancing to “The Long and Winding Road” by Paul McCartney in a specially arranged version, Gilles/Poirier impressed with a fluid performance and difficult lifts. The Canadian Champions collected a level four for the lifts, combination spin and twizzles. The diagonal step sequence was rated a level two and the one-foot step sequence was a level two for her and a level one for him. The 2021 World bronze medalists scored 125.32 points for the Free Dance and totaled 210.97 points, a season’s best score.

“We are very proud of what we did today. It wasn't our best skate, but again we were trying to work on our nerves. We are not used to skating last in the Free Dance and being first after the Short Program,” Gilles said. “It is kind of nice that we are not skating perfect right now in the beginning of the season. It definitely gives us room to grow.”

Guignard/Fabbri’s touching dance to “Atonement” was highlighted by beautiful lifts and smooth footwork. The 2019 European bronze medalists collected a level four for the combination spin, lifts and her twizzles. The one-foot step sequence garnered a level one only. The Italian Champions netted 121.23 points and accumulated 200.05 points overall.

“We are very proud of what we did. It was not super easy with the jet lag for us. But it was better than yesterday and the scores were more rewarding,” Fabbri said. “For our next competitions, we will work on every single aspect, especially on the Rhythm Dance, but also this Free Dance could be better.”

Smart/Diaz put out a dynamic performance to “The Mask of Zorro”, picking up a level four for three elements. The Spaniards scored 115.96 points and set a new personal best for their total score with 192.93 points.

“We are very happy to take our first Grand Prix medal and keep the ball rolling,” Smart told the press. “It was a good performance, but we left a few points on the table technically.”

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (USA) placed fourth with an avant-garde dance to “Eso Concerto” and “The Mind on the (Re) Wind” (186.51 points). Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin (RUS) moved up from seventh to fifth with their dance to “Moulin Rouge” (180.57 points). Majorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) finished sixth (179.07 points).

Gilles/Poirier pocketed 15 points and will compete again in three weeks at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble. Guignard/Fabbri have 13 points. Their next event is the Rostelecom Cup at the end of November. Smart/Diaz, who competed at Skate America, collected 20 points.

Record-breaking Kamila Valieva (RUS) storms to Skate Canada gold

Kamila Valieva of Russia stormed to gold setting new record scores. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in second and Alena Kostornaia in third completed a Russian sweep of the Women’s podium in Vancouver.

Valieva opened her “Bolero” program with a quad Salchow and reeled off a quad toe-triple toe, quad toe-Euler-triple Salchow as well as four more triples and only stepped out of her triple Axel. The 2020 ISU World Junior Champion broke her own record score in Free Skating with 180.89 points and racked up 265.08 overall, another new highest score in Women’s Figure Skating to win gold in her senior-level Grand Prix debut.

“I am very happy to skate here at Skate Canada and that I did my job. There were some errors, but they were small,” the 15-year-old said. “I did everything what I had planned in my program and that is the most important for me. I am very excited about my score and I will strive to do even better.”

Tuktamysheva entertained the crowd from the first seconds in her Arabia-themed program, hitting a triple Axel-double toe, triple Axel as well as five other triple jumps, only a triple flip was slightly underrotated (q). The 2021 ISU World silver medalist earned 151.64 points and 232.88 points overall.

“I am crazily happy that I was able to put out a good quality performance. When I went out to skate, I was not at a 100 percent, but I was able to overcome myself and to finish on such a positive note,” the 2015 ISU World Champion said.

Skating to “lovely” by Billie Eilish, Kostornaia stepped out of her underrotated triple Axel, but made up for it with five clean triple jumps. The 2020 European Champion was ranked fourth in the Free Skating with 138.96 points, but held on to third place at 214.54 points.

“I am pleased I could overcome myself and show my program. Some mistakes added up, but I am very happy with my result. I competed with these programs for the first time,” the 18-year-old said.

2017 ISU Four Continents Champion Mai Mihara (JPN) moved up to fourth place at 210.01 points with a clean performance to “The Fairy of the Forest”. Alysa Liu (USA) fell on her triple Axel and slipped from fourth to fifth at 206.53 points. 2018 World silver medalist Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) came sixth on 205.27 points.

Valieva has 15 points and Tuktamysheva got 13 points and they will meet again at Rostelecom Cup in Sochi (RUS). Kostornaia (11 points) will compete at the Internationaux de France for her second Grand Prix.

Skate Canada International concludes Sunday with the Exhibition Gala. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series continues next week with the Gran Premio d’Italia in Turin (ITA).