Tag Archive for: 2015 NHK Trophy

Gold medal for Duhamel and Radford

NAGANO, Japan – Skating to Adele’s My Hometown Meaghan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won the gold medal in pairs on Saturday at the NHK Trophy, the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

Duhamel and Radford earned 202.72 points for their fifth straight victory on the circuit. They will easily qualify for the Grand Prix Final in two weeks in Barcelona. Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin of China were second at 191.02 and Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the U.S. third at 190.66.

The Canadians had two noticeable mistakes in their free skate but their loaded program remained superior to the rest of the competition.

“As was the case in the short program, we missed a few things we know we can do a lot better,” said Radford. “On the plus side, we got great execution on our pairs elements such as lifts, twists and spins.  So we have a lot of good things we can bring with us to the Grand Prix Final. We may change a couple of things so we can go for a cleaner skate which we will need to do to remain competitive with the other top teams.”

Duhamel agrees the program needs to show more polish.

“We need to go to Barcelona and do a clean short and clean long,” she said. “When we skate clean programs we are in control of our own destiny. That was the situation last year and we’ll do what it takes to achieve that again.”

Second-year partners Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were fifth with a personal best 180.63.

In men’s competition, Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., was 11th while Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. moved from eighth to sixth overall after her free skate in women’s singles.

Osmond was pleased to improve on her 11th place finish at Skate Canada last month.

“It was a long gap between here and Skate Canada,” she said. “For me I just really wanted to go out and compete after all the training.”

Canada had no entries in ice dancing.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/gpjpn2015/index.htm

 

Duhamel and Radford top pairs after short program

NAGANO, Japan – World champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are in first place after the pairs short program on Friday at the NHK Trophy, the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Duhamel and Radford earned 71.04 points in their short program skated to Elton John’s Your Song. They are looking for a fifth straight victory on the circuit. Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the U.S. are second at 68.43 and Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin of China third at 67.00.

“We had to fight through this,” said Duhamel. “Our strength and training really showed today. We know we can do this program a lot smoother and we know if we want to be first against all the top teams we have to be better.”

“There were a couple of little miscues that never happened before,” said Radford. “But some quick thinking and we still pulled off a decent program.”

Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are fifth at 63.80.

In men’s competition, Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., is 11th after the short program while Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. is eighth after the women’s short program.

The short dance and the free skates for men, women and pairs are on Saturday. The free dance is on Sunday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/gpjpn2015/index.htm

Canadian skaters prepared for final stop on ISU Grand Prix circuit

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of six skaters competing at the 2015 NHK Trophy in Nagano, Japan. Canada will have one entry in men’s and ladies, and two entries in pair at the event which takes place from November 26-29, 2015 at the Nagano Wakasato Tamokuteki Sports Arena.

Elladj Baldé, 25, Pierrefonds, Que., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s category. Last season, he placed sixth at this event. This season, the representative of CPA Anjou Kinsmen won gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy and placed 11th at the Cup of China. Baldé trains in Montreal, Que., with coaches Bruno Marcotte and Manon Perron.

Two-time Canadian champion and Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 19, Marystown, Nfld., will represent Canada in ladies. This will be her first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, she won gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy and placed 11th at Skate Canada International. She is coached by Ravi Walia and represents the Ice Palace Figure Skating Club.

World champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 29, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont., are the first of two Canadian pair entries. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard are the defending champions at this event. This season, they won gold at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International and Skate Canada International. The four-time Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, the representatives of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club placed fourth at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy and seventh at the Cup of China. The Canadian silver medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. John Philpott of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle, also of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jeff Lukasik of Calgary, Alta., and André-Marc Allain of Gatineau, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2015 NHK TROPHY

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Elladj Baldé 25 Pierrefonds, Que. CPA Anjou Kinsmen Bruno Marcotte / Manon Perron
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 19 Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alberta Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Pair Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 29/30 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/31 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson