Tag Archive for: 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix Final

Virtue and Moir add Grand Prix Final champions to their laurels

MARSEILLES, France – Canadian Olympic and world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ended their Grand Prix Final gold medal drought on Saturday with the victory in ice dancing at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

It was the Canadian couples sixth appearance at the event and the first time they’ve earned gold. They’ve been runner-up four times.

Virtue and Moir, skating to emotional music by Coeur de Pirate and Sam Smith, totalled 197.22 points. World champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were second at 192.81 and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani third at 189.60.

‘’For us a Grand Prix title is pretty huge,’’ said Moir from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’It’s a great finish to the first half of the season and we are really pleased with the work we’ve done so far.’’

While the performance appeared flawless, Moir admitted there is still some polish to add.

‘’We are excited because when you’re off a little bit and have the training we have we are still able to come through with a good performance and get the marks that we did,’’ he said.

In women’s competition, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., making her Grand Prix Final debut, produced a clean program but still dropped from second to fourth overall with a personal best 212.45 points. She was less than six points from the silver medal position.

World champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia took the gold with 227.66, Satoko Miyahara of Japan was second at 218.33 and Anna Pogorilaya of Russia third at 216.47.

‘’Obviously I’m really happy with the free program,’’ said Osmond. ‘’The few mistakes that I did were really silly ones for me and wish I could take them back. Still there’s a lot for me to be proud of in that skate.’’

On the men’s side it was a day to forget for Toronto’s Patrick Chan as he fell three times and placed fifth. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan won the gold, Nathan Chen of the U.S. was second and Shoma Uno of Japan third.

Full results: 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

Duhamel and Radford win bronze/ world record for Virtue and Moir

MARSEILLES, France – Canadian world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won the bronze medal Friday in pairs at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition. The medal followed a world record performance in the short dance for Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

In pairs, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morosov of Russia won the gold medal with 213.85 points. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China were second at 206.71 and Duhamel and Radford remained third at 205.99.

‘’We struggled with our side-by-side jumps and those are normally our strengths,’’ said Radford from Balmertown, Ont. ‘’We can’t afford missing them because it costs us too many points. We need to find the proper focus for those elements because everything else was really good.’’

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., climbed to fifth with 186.85.

‘’Today was really great after a hard performance in the short,’’ said Séguin. ‘’We had a good connection and everything flowed perfectly for us.’’

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir improved their world record short dance score from 79.47 cracking the 80-point barrier to 80.50 to stand in first place. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are second at 77.97 and Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are third at 77.86.

‘’It was a great skate for us,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We were able to bring the energy up in our performance in a pressure situation We were able to be in the moment at a big competition and had a ton of fun in the process.’’

Virtue, from London, Ont.,  says the reason the couple returned to competition this season is to experience those moments once again.

‘’We’re embracing the nerves, the pressure, the challenge,’’ she said. ‘’That was a great part of the appeal for us. Now with the lead we can’t be cautious. We have to attack the free dance tomorrow.’’

There was more good news for Canada in women’s competition as Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., is second after the short program scoring a personal best 75.54. Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia leads at 79.21and Satoko Miyahara of Japan is third at 74.64.

‘’To get another clean program is really exciting,’’ said Osmond, who landed a triple-triple combo, triple Lutz and double Axel. ‘’It is so rewarding for me to be at the Grand Prix Final for the first time in my career. Every time out I improve something and hope that tendency continues for the free skate.’’

The men’s and women’s free skates and free dance are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU Grand Prix Final

 

Chan and Duhamel/Radford in medal hunt at ISU Grand Prix Final

MARSEILLES, France –  Canadians Patrick Chan and pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are in position to chase a gold medal after Thursday’s short programs at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

In the men’s short, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan holds the lead with 106.53 points followed by Chan with a personal best 99.76 and world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain third at 91.76.

‘’It’s the best I’ve skated this season in competition,’’ said Chan, a three-time world champion, who executed a clean skate featuring a quad-triple combo and triple Axel. ‘’It’s a good feeling to have again and super to do that against all the top men here. I feel I’m progressing through the season properly.’’

In pairs, Evegenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia are in first place with 78.60. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China are second at 75.34 while Duhamel and Radford are third at 71.44.

The Canadian two-time world champs had a fall on their throw and Duhamel touched her hand down on the side-by-side jumps.

‘’The throw Axel has been right there in practice,’’ said Radford. ‘’It’s just unfortunate that it went very haywire in the program. We haven’t done one like that in awhile.’’

‘’It’s actually our most consistent throw,’’ added Duhamel. ‘’We land it way more than the other throws in practice. So we are a bit shell-shocked and disappointed. In the end we need to do clean short programs.’’

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are sixth at 60.86.

‘’Even though we missed some technical elements we really enjoyed the program,’’ said Séguin. ‘’We really have to trust ourselves for the free program and I think we will do well.’’

The pairs free skate is on Friday along with the women’s short program and short dance. The men’s free skate is on Saturday.

Full results: ISU Grand Prix Final

Biggest Canadian team in history headed to ISU Grand Prix Final

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is sending its largest team ever – five entries, for a total of eight skaters – to the ISU Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France. The event takes place from December 8-11, 2016, at the Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand-Est. This is the first time that Canada has qualified a skater in every discipline. The event includes both the ISU Senior Grand Prix Final and the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, however Canada did not qualify any entries for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in men. This season, Chan won the silver medal at the Finlandia Trophy, and gold medals at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China. He is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns in Canton, MI, USA.

Kaetlyn Osmond, 21, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., is the Canadian representative in the ladies category. Osmond won the gold medal at the Finlandia Trophy, and earned the silver medal at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China this season. She is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in the pairs discipline. Duhamel and Radford won gold at all of their events thus far this season: the Finlandia Trophy, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. They are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte and Sylvie Fullum in St. Leonard, Que.

Julianne Séguin, 20, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the second Canadian pairs team at the event. This season, the duo won gold at Autumn Classic International and Skate America and placed fifth at the Rostelecom Cup. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. This season, Virtue and Moir won gold at each of their events: Autumn Classic International, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. Virtue and Moir are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will travel with the team as team leader. Dr. Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medial staff onsite. Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Bowie, Skate Canada Communications Manager, will be the Canadian media contact. She can be reached onsite at [email protected] or 613-914-2607.

For results and full entries please click here.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016-2017 ISU GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Senior Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Senior Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 21 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Senior Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Senior Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 20/23 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Senior Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal / Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon

Skate Canada qualifies five entries for ISU Grand Prix Final

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada has qualified five entries for a total of eight skaters for the ISU Grand Prix Final taking place in Marseille, France, from December 8-11, 2016. This is the first time that Canada has qualified a skater in every discipline and will be the biggest team Skate Canada has ever sent to the Final. The ISU Senior Grand Prix Final will be held jointly with the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

In senior men, Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., qualified in second. Chan won the gold medal at Skate Canada International and at the Cup of China.

Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., qualified fourth in senior ladies, having earned the silver medal at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China.

Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., qualified in first in the senior pairs discipline. Duhamel and Radford won gold at both Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy.

Also in senior pairs, Julianne Séguin, 20, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que., qualified sixth. Séguin and Bilodeau won gold at Skate America and placed fifth at the Rostelecom Cup.

Senior ice dancers Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., qualified in first place. Virtue and Moir won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy.

The ISU Senior Grand Prix Final is the concluding event of the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit. The series hosts six stops: United States (Skate America), Canada (Skate Canada International), Russia (Rostelecom Cup), France (Trophée de France), China (Cup of China), and Japan (NHK Trophy). Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their assigned events and the top six in each of the four disciplines advance to the final.

Canada did not qualify any entries for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

For results and full entries please click here.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016 ISU GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Senior Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Senior Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Senior Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Senior Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 20/23 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Senior Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal / Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon