Tag Archive for: 2017 NHK Trophy

Virtue and Moir soar to gold at NHK Trophy

OSAKA, Japan – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the gold medal in ice dancing Sunday at the NHK Trophy figure skating competition – the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

The Canadian couple earned 198.64 points for the gold with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. second at 188.35 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy third at 186.56.

‘’We really wanted to come out this week and have the speed and power come to us a bit more in both of our programs,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’I feel like we accomplished that.’’

Virtue/Moir delivered a confident, passionate performance to the ‘Moulin Rouge soundtrack, completing spectacular lifts, well-synchronized twizzles and smooth step sequences.

They earned six perfect 10.00s in the components – three of them for music interpretation and timing.

‘’There were a couple of technical errors in both programs and that cost us a couple of points,’’ added Moir. ‘’We’re not super happy about that.’’

The Canadians have been unbeatable since returning to the competitive scene last winter including five straight Grand Prix wins. They’ll return to Japan, in Nagoya, for the Grand Prix Final December 7-10.

The next Grand Prix competition is the Nov. 17-19 Grand Prix of France in Grenoble.

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2017

Classic Virtue and Moir take lead after short dance at NHK Trophy

OSAKA, Japan – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir came within two points of their world record score in the short dance on Saturday to grab an early lead at the NHK Trophy figure skating competition- the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

The Canadian couple gave another stirring performance of their routine to classic rock tunes tabulating 80.92 points. That was just off the 82.64 they skated two weeks ago at Skate Canada in Regina.

‘’We made a step forward today in a lot of our elements,’’ said Virtue. ‘’We were pleased with the attack we had and our technical proficiency. It’s always a joy to perform here in Japan and we try to relish it and take advantage of every moment.’’

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are second at 76.31 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy third at 75.87. The free dance is on Sunday.

The free skates in the other three events were held on Saturday.

In pairs, Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., continued to show improvement from a difficult season last winter moving from fifth to fourth with 194.37 points. Their clean program included two successful side-by-side triple jumps including one in combo and two triple throws.

World champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China won the gold over two Russian pairs. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov were second and Kristina Astakhova and Alexei Rogonov third.

In men’s competition, the top-three were Sergei Voronov of Russia first, Adam Rippon of the U.S. second and Alexei Bychenko of Israel third.

Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., remained fifth after a clean Charlie Chaplin themed program. Messing landed two triple Axels including one in a triple combination and was just slightly low on his quad toe landing.

In women’s competition, Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., took 11th. World champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia won the gold.

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2017

Messing, Seguin/Bilodeau fifth after short programs at NHK Trophy

OSAKA, Japan – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., and the pairs combo of Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., stand fifth after Friday’s short programs at the NHK Trophy figure skating competition – the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

In men’s competition, Sergei Voronov of Russia is first at 90.06 with Alexei Bychenko of Israel second at 85.52 and Jason Brown of the U.S. third at 85.36. Messing is still in the medal hunt at 80.13.

‘’My main goal for today was to go out there and have a blast,’’ said Messing. ‘’The crowd was very receptive to my performance. I was glad to land the quad triple-toe and it was the first time this week I’d fallen on my triple Axel.’’

Nam Nguyen of Toronto is 11th.

In pairs, world champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are first at 79.43 followed by two Russian teams. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov are second at 75.05 and Kristina Astakhova and Alexei Rogonov third at 70.47.

Séguin and Bilodeau totalled 63.98. They had trouble on the side-by-side jumps but looked strong on the triple twist lift and triple throw.

‘’It wasn’t a performance that shows what we can do,’’ said Séguin, who missed part of last season due to a concussion. ‘’Overall though we have a good feeling. It’s a work in progress.’’

In women’s competition, world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia tops the field. Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., is 12th.

Competition continues Saturday with the free skates for men, women and pairs and the short dance featuring Canadian world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. The free dance is Sunday.

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2017

Canadian skaters in Japan for fourth stop on 2017 ISU Grand Prix circuit

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have five entries, for a total of seven skaters competing at the 2017 NHK Trophy, the fourth event on the 2017 ISU Grand Prix circuit. Canada will have one entry per discipline in ladies, pairs and ice dance, and two entries in the men’s discipline. The event takes place from November 10-12, 2017, in Osaka, Japan.

Canadian bronze medallist Nam Nguyen, 19, Toronto, Ont., will be the first of two Canadian men’s entries. Last year, he came eighth at this event. Nguyen placed seventh at his first ISU Grand Prix assignment this season, the Rostelecom Cup. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Keegan Messing, 25, Girdwood, AK, USA, is the second Canadian men’s entry. This will be his first time competing at this event. Messing placed eighth at his first Grand Prix this season, Skate Canada International. He is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, AK, USA.

Canadian bronze medallist Alaine Chartrand, 21, Prescott, Ont., is the Canadian entry in ladies. She placed 10th at this event last year. Chartrand finished in 11th place at her first Grand Prix this season, Skate Canada International. She is coached by Michelle Leigh and Christy Krall.

Julianne Séguin, 21, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 24, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will represent Canada in pairs and will be competing at this event for the first time in their career. This season, they placed fifth at their first Grand Prix, the Rostelecom Cup. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Olympic champions and three-time world champions Tessa Virtue, 28, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 30, Ilderton, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. They are the defending champions at this event and also won the silver medal at this event in 2007. Virtue and Moir won the gold medal at Skate Canada International in their first Grand Prix this season. The seven-time Canadian champions are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, and Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta., will travel with the team as team leaders. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Leanna Caron of Timmins, Ont., and Sally Rehorick of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org or the official event website. For photos of Canadian entries, please contact [email protected].

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2017 NHK TROPHY

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nam Nguyen 19 Toronto, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Tracey Wainman / Gregor Filipowski
Men Keegan Messing 25 Girdwood, Alaska, USA Sherwood Park FSC Ralph Burghart
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 21 Prescott, Ont. Prescott FSC Michelle Leigh / Christy Krall
Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 21/24 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 28/30 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Montreal International Skating School / Montreal International Skating School Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Patrick Chan withdraws from NHK Trophy

OTTAWA, ON: Three-time World Champion Patrick Chan, 26, Toronto, Ont., has withdrawn from the NHK Trophy, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Chan finished fourth at Skate Canada International last week and has decided to focus on his training leading into the national championships in January.

Chan is a nine-time Canadian Champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, winning silver in the men’s and team event at the 2014 Olympic Games.