Tag Archive for: Kaetlyn Osmond

Kaetlyn Osmond Named Athlete Ambassador for 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON: One of Canada’s figure skating sweethearts makes her return to the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Skate Canada is pleased to announce that 2018 world champion, Kaetlyn Osmond, will serve as the official Athlete Ambassador for the 106th edition of the national championships. The event will take place in Mississauga, ON, from January 13-19, 2020 at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.

“It truly is an honour to serve as Athlete Ambassador for the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships,” says Osmond. “This sport will always have a special place in my heart, and it is a privilege to represent all athletes competing in Mississauga and to interact with the fans who joined me in an unforgettable journey throughout my competitive career.”

Osmond is Canada’s most decorated female singles skater. She began her success winning her first international title in 2012 at Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany and later went on to win her first senior national title at the 2013 Canadian Championships, and subsequently won two more titles in 2014 and 2017. She competed in two Winter Olympic Games, the first being in 2014, where she won silver for the team event, and the second in 2018, winning bronze in the individual women’s event and gold in the team event. On the ISU Grand Prix Circuit, she won four medals, qualifying for the ISU Grand Prix Final in 2016 and won a bronze medal in 2017. In addition, she won two world championship medals, gold in 2018 and silver in 2017. In 2018, Osmond became the first Canadian woman to win the World Championship title in 45 years.

As Athlete Ambassador, Osmond will handle speaking engagements, media interviews, make appearances on behalf of competing athletes and, of course, make time for fans attending the event.

“We are excited to have Kaetlyn as our Athlete Ambassador for this event. We know Kaetlyn will do an exceptional job at inspiring the fans at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre,” says Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “Kaetlyn is an excellent role model for all Canadians and has made significant contributions this sport. With a world title and three Olympic medals she knows what it takes to stand on the podium and we hope fans in Mississauga enjoy engaging with Kaetlyn during the event.”

Taking a step back from competitive skating in 2018, Osmond entertained skating fans in a multitude of shows in Canada and internationally, including the cross-country “Thank you Canada” tour. In 2018, Osmond was honoured with both the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and having in the highway from Red Harbour N.L., to Marystown being renamed Osmond Way. Osmond announced her retirement in 2019.

TICKET INFO
Tickets for Thursday’s Senior practice are $16.00 ($10 ticket + $6 venue fee) and includes Novice Pairs Free and Junior Pairs Free. Single session tickets for Seniors begin on Friday at $38.65 ($30 tickets + $8.65 venue fee) and pricing varies by session and seating level. Ticket prices for the Novice and Junior competition fall earlier in the week and are $28.35 per day ($20 ticket +$8.35 venue fee). Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 905-615-3200 x2814 or in person at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre Box Office.

EVENT
Having previously hosted the Canadian National Skating Championships in 2013, this will be the second time that Mississauga will welcome Canada’s best skaters. The city has also hosted four Skate Canada International competitions (2000, 2003, 2011, 2016) and the 2017 World Junior Synchro Championships.

The pre-eminent all-Canadian competition will see athletes vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, the 2020 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships and the 2020 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive event and ticket information for the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

World & Olympic Champion Kaetlyn Osmond Retires from Competitive Skating

OTTAWA, ON: 2018 world champion, Kaetlyn Osmond, 23, Marystown, N.L./Edmonton, Alta., announced her retirement from competitive figure skating today.  Osmond is Canada’s most decorated female singles skater with three Olympic medals, two world championships medals and three national titles.

“Competition has been such a rewarding part of my life. Having a purpose and accomplishing goals beyond my wildest dreams has been incredibly fulfilling. No words will ever describe the emotions competitions carry,” said Osmond. “I would like to thank my coaches, family, friends, and Skate Canada for all the support they have given me over the years. Leaving competition is terrifying, but I am excited to see what else life has to offer.”

Osmond won her first Canadian title in 2013 and would go on to win two more in 2014 and 2017. Over the course of her decorated career, Osmond would compete at two Olympic Games in 2014 and 2018. At the 2014 Olympics she won the silver medal for the team event. In 2018 she added two more Olympic medals to her collection, a bronze in the individual women’s event and gold in the team event.

“It was truly a pleasure to have had a skater like Kaetlyn represent Canada. Kaetlyn brought energy to our Canadian team and inspired many young women around the world with her talent,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “Kaetlyn’s accomplishments on the ice are only matched by her outgoing and kind personality and Skate Canada wishes Kaetlyn the very best in the next chapter of her life.”

During her senior career, Osmond won two world championship medals, winning gold in 2018 and a silver in 2017. In 2018 she became the first Canadian woman to win the world championship title in 45 years. On the ISU Grand Prix circuit, she picked up four medals and would go on to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final in 2016 and 2017, earning a bronze medal in 2017.

“It has been a pleasure to be a part of Kaetlyn’s amazing journey. She has done so much for skating in Canada and her dedication to the sport led her to three Olympic medals and a world championship title. Skate Canada is incredibly proud and grateful for Kaetlyn’s contribution to our national team and we wish her the best in her future endeavours,” said Mike Slipchuk, High Performance Director, Skate Canada.

For her work on the ice, Osmond received the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018 and the highway from Red Harbour, N.L., to Marystown was officially renamed as Osmond Way. Osmond currently resides in Brantford, Ont., where she continues to perform in skating shows in Canada and internationally.

Kaetlyn Osmond to take off 2018-2019 Competitive Season

OTTAWA, ON: World champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 22, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will not compete during the 2018-2019 skating season. In June, Osmond announced that she would sit out the ISU Grand Prix Circuit but ultimately decided to take the entire season off.

“I have had some time to reflect this summer on my future and believe taking this year off to evaluate my next steps is important in making the best personal decision,” said Osmond. “I am excited to be travelling across the country performing for my fans on the Thank You Canada Tour this autumn and look forward to pursing other opportunities during my time away from competition.”
In 2018, Osmond became the first Canadian woman to win the world championship title in 45 years. Osmond also won gold in the team event and bronze in women’s singles at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. She is a three-time Canadian champion and is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Kaetlyn Osmond to skip ISU Grand Prix events

OTTAWA, ON: World champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 22, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will skip the ISU Grand Prix circuit this year.

“For the past years, my focus has been on the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and I worked really hard to achieve my goals. The 2017-2018 season went far beyond any of my own expectations and now I need time to refocus and evaluate the next steps in my career,” said Osmond. “While I still love competing and performing, I will be exploring other exciting opportunities during this time. I wish all the skaters competing on the ISU Grand Prix circuit the best of luck.”

In 2018, Osmond became the first Canadian woman to win the world championship title in 45 years. Osmond also won gold in the team event and bronze in women’s singles at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang. She is a three-time Canadian champion and is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond wins world figure skating title

MILAN, Italy – Kaetlyn Osmond won the gold medal in women’s competition on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. It is Canada’s first women’s world figure skating crown in 45 years.

‘’This feels unbelievable for me,’’ said Osmond. ‘’Being world champion is something I never expected. I was fighting to skate clean and fighting to hit the podium.’’

The 22-year-old Olympic bronze medallist from Marystown, N.L., was the first skater in the final flight of six and put down a free skate that couldn’t be matched. She scored 150.50 points for her Black Swan routine to finish with 223.23 points overall, and in the process, climbed from fourth after Wednesday’s short program.

The last time a Canadian woman was golden at worlds was Karen Magnussen in 1973. Osmond is the fourth Canadian woman to ever win a world title. Petra Burka took gold in 1965 and Barbara Ann Scott scored back-to-back wins in 1947 and 1948.

‘’Canada has such a strong history of competitors in all disciplines,’’ said Osmond. ‘’Just that gold medal was always a fight for the ladies. Hopefully now we’ll be able to be champions a lot more.’’

Osmond’s jammed packed routine opened with two combos, a triple flip – triple toe and double Axel-triple toe. Those were followed by a triple Lutz, triple loop, triple flip, triple Salchow-double toe-double loop combo and another double Axel.

‘’It took a lot of mental focus today to do that, it’s been a really long year,’’ said Osmond. ‘’I wanted to show that my bronze at the Olympics wasn’t a fluke.’’

Wakaba Higuchi of Japan was second at 210.90 and her compatriot Satoko Miyahara third at 210.08.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was seventh.

In ice dancing, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., set a personal best score in their short dance to stand third with 78.31. Olympic silver medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France lead with 83.73 and Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue sit second at 80.42.

‘’We’ve struggled with the short program this season so we are happy and pleased to deliver one that we are proud of,’’ said Poje.

The couple, two-time worlds medallists, is coming off a self-described disappointing seventh place performance at the Olympics.

‘’We were discouraged and exhausted after the Games,’’ said Weaver. ‘’But we knew how hard we worked and how good our product is and we prepared ourselves to arrive here with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.’’

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto also set a new personal best and are sixth at 74.51. Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver are 11th.

‘’It was a physically hard skate for both of us being the end of the season,’’ said Poirier. ‘’The Olympics took a lot out of us. We reorganized the short dance so we could skate a little bit freer and that really paid off especially with a stronger technical score.’’

Soucisse and Firus are in their worlds debut.

‘’We went out there and enjoyed the moment,’’ said Soucisse.

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and the men’s free skate.

Full results: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018

Osmond wins bronze in PyeongChang as Canada breaks Olympic medal record

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Kaetlyn Osmond put an exclamation point on a memorable run for Canadian figure skaters with a stunning bronze medal performance Friday at the Olympic Winter Games.

She also helped make a little history at the same time.

The three-time Canadian champion and reigning world silver medallist claimed her first individual Olympic medal, scoring 152.15   in an exquisite free skate for a 231.02 combined total. Alina Zagitova, representing the Olympic Athlete from Russia team, took gold with 239.57 points, while teammate Evgenia Medvedeva claimed silver.

It was Osmond’s second medal of these Games after helping Canada to gold in the team event.  The medal was also Canada’s 27th at these Winter Olympics to set a new Canadian record, eclipsing the 26 won in Vancouver eight years ago.

“These Olympics have been incredible, starting with the team event,” said Osmond. “When I hit my ending position, I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to enjoy every minute of it.

Osmond now has three medals – one of each colour – in two Olympic Winter Games (2014, 2018).  She is the sixth Canadian women’s skater to win an individual medal in figure skating, and the first since Joannie Rochette’s memorable bronze in Vancouver in 2010.

“To make it to the podium is something I never thought I would do,” said Osmond. “I remember watching Joannie Rochette back in 2010 when she made the podium, and I said that was incredible, that’s something I am never going to be able to do. It’s exciting.”

Just seven months after the 2014 Sochi Games, Osmond broke the fibula in her right leg in two places and underwent two surgeries.  Osmond almost called it a career but slowly, with the support of coach Ravi Walia, she began the slow, often painful, journey back.

On Friday, that journey culminated on the women’s Olympic podium.

“To think I almost hung up my skates then and called it quits, it’s amazing,” said Osmond. “But I don’t think I would have been able to perform the way I did today without the injury. I regrouped and almost became a new person afterwards.”

PHOTO: Greg Kolz

It was an remarkable showing for Canadian figure skaters in PyeongChang, with four medals. In addition to Osmond’s bronze and the gold in the team event, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took gold in ice dance while Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won bronze in pairs.

Two-time Canadian women’s champion Gabrielle Daleman struggled in her free program and finished 15th. Like Osmond, the reigning world bronze medallist was also part of the gold medal-winning Canadian team.

A tearful Daleman tried to keep things in perspective after a difficult skate.

“On warmup I felt fine, and it was about two minutes before my program started that I started to feel the nerves,” said Daleman. “I tried to get in my zone, tried to get in my bubble. Unfortunately, it’s sport; we all have good days, we have bad days. Today wasn’t my day.”

After her free program, Daleman received a consoling text, followed by a phone call, from her idol Rochette.

“She just said ‘You’re strong,’” said Daleman, choking up. “She can’t even explain what happened and that it’s happened to her, but she said that I was really strong at nationals and the team event. That’s what I’m going to remember about these Olympics.”

PyeongChang 2018 Figure Skating Schedule & Results

Olympic Spotlight : Kaetlyn Osmond

The reigning world silver medallist came up just short in her bid for a fourth national crown at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, winning silver to earn a berth on the Olympic team.

Kaetlyn Osmond, who hails from Marystown, Nfld. and now trains and lives in Edmonton, Alb., exhibits a combination of strength and power in her programs. She will be making her second appearance at the Olympics, four years after helping Canada to a silver medal in the inaugural team event at the Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

At the 2017 world championships, Osmond and fellow Canadian Gabrielle Daleman won silver and bronze, respectively, marking the first time two Canadian women found themselves on the same world championships podium.

Five years after winning gold in her ISU Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada International in 2012, Osmond once again won SCI in 2017 before going on to capture bronze at the ISU Grand Prix Final in December, becoming the first Canadian women’s skater to win a medal at the event since Joannie Rochette during the 2004-05 season.  In 2017, she also placed third at the ISU Grand Prix stop in France.

Osmond still has strong ties to her native Marystown, Nfld., where she holds a key to the town and has an arena named after her.

Three medals for Canada at ISU Grand Prix Final

NAGOYA, Japan – Canadians won three medals on Saturday at the ISU Grand Prix Final, the last major international figure skating event before the Olympic Winter Games in February.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took the silver in ice dancing while Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford added a bronze in pairs and Kaetlyn Osmond was also third in women’s competition.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir lost for the first time since their return to competition last season.

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the gold with 202.16 points. Virtue and Moir followed at 199.86 and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. were third at 188.00.

‘’We made a couple of uncharacteristic glitches that we don’t even make in training that often,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We don’t like not winning competitions but in the grand scheme of things it was still a performance we were proud of.’’

The three-time world champions are pleased with their progress towards the Olympics.

‘’We’re on track,’’ said Virtue, from London, Ont. ‘’We’ve had an extremely successful season and we just have to continue taking care of the little details and making the tweaks so our programs are at their best come February.’’

In women’s competition, Osmond made a couple of mistakes in her Black Swan skate including a fall on her triple Salchow to drop from first after the short program to third with 215.16 points.

‘’The mistakes that I made were silly ones and they won’t happen again,’’ said Osmond, from Marystown, N.L. ‘’I made a lot of changes to my program since my last competition and I did those well.’’

It was a 1-2 Russian finish with Alina Zagitova first at 223.30 and Maria Sotskova second at 216.28.

In pairs, it was a comeback medal for Duhamel and Radford who climbed from fifth place after the short program to the medal position earning 210.83. Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany were first at 236.68 and world champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han second at 230.89.

‘’We took a nice step here and continued to build,’’ said Radford. ‘’We want to take another step up at the national championships (in January) get some more levels and hit that big peak at the Olympic Games.’’

In junior ice dancing, Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., were sixth.

‘’It was a nice experience,’’ said Lagha. ‘’It was cool to skate at a big event like that.’’

Full results: Grand Prix Final 2017 Senior and Junior

Historic silver and bronze for Osmond and Daleman / World record for Virtue and Moir

HELSINKI –Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., took the silver and bronze medal in women’s competition on Friday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

It is the first time in world championship history two Canadians reach the podium in the women’s event. It is also Canada’s first medal in women’s competition at worlds since Joannie Rochette won silver in 2009.

With those performances Canada is guaranteed three spots in the women’s event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and 2018 ISU World Championships.

“To have Kaetlyn on the podium with me and have three spots for the Olympics is just an unbelievable feeling,’’ said the 19-year-old Daleman, competing at her fourth straight worlds. She was ninth last year. ‘’And I’ve wanted to be like Joannie since I was a little girl. I’m just star struck.’’

Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia successfully defended her world crown with a world record 233.41 points. Osmond followed at 218.13 and Daleman was third at 213.52, both personal bests. No other skaters reached the 200-point plateau.

Daleman and Osmond were the last two skaters of the competition. They were also second and third after the short on Wednesday.

‘’That’s the way that I’ve wanted to compete my long program all season long,’’ said Osmond, 21. ‘’I did everything I possibly could at the best of my ability. I trusted myself and trusted my training and it paid off.’’

It was Osmond’s first worlds since 2014. She missed the 2014-15 season due to a broken leg.

‘’After that injury I never thought I would be skating again, let alone get on a worlds podium’’ she said. ‘’I had to relearn everything, there was a lot of doubt last season and finally this year those doubts have washed away.’’

Both Canadians executed seven jump sequences including three combination jumps.

‘’I honestly have no words to describe how I am feeling,’’ said Daleman. ‘’I just went out there feeling more comfortable, staying calm and doing my job. As soon as I got into my starting position I said to myself to take it and skate with my heart.’’

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir broke their own world record with 82.43 points to lead after the short dance. Defending world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are second at 76.89 and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are third at 76.53.

Virtue and Moir are enjoying remarkable success in their first season since winning the silver medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. They have won all five events they’ve entered including the ISU Grand Prix Final in December producing many record performances along the way.

“That was a great skate,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We worked hard, we prepared, but we felt the pressure today. We knew we had to bring our best, and that’s why we came back.”

“Technically we really try to raise the level of our skating and we needed to because the level of competition is so stiff and so strong,’’ added Virtue, from London, Ont. ‘’It’s nice to be at a world championships and get your best score. We knew we couldn’t have possibly prepared more for this moment.’’

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in sixth place with 74.84 points while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in ninth with 72.83.

‘’We’ve been really up and down with some of the elements in our short dance this year,’’ said Poje. ‘’We felt today we took a step in the right direction, we were comfortable and we had a performance we were proud of.’’

‘’We are really excited to delve into the free dance tomorrow and share it with this incredible crowd,’’ added Weaver. ‘’There are some small changes into the transitions and it has some new unique elements.’’

Gilles and Poirier have also struggled with their short program this season.

‘’We’ve been trying a bit too hard, trying to prove ourselves,’’ said Poirier. ‘’So we fall short because of mistakes. Today wasn’t the skate of our lives but we came out and entertained the people and delivered a clean skate.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and men’s free skate.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm

Strong start for Canadian women at ISU World Figure Skating Championships

HELSINKI – Canadians Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman are in medal positions after Wednesday’s women’s short program which opened the 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Defending champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia stands first with 79.01 points followed by Osmond in second with a personal best 75.98 and Daleman is third at 72.19.

It’s the first time Canada has two skaters in the top three after the women’s short program at worlds.

Both Canadians displayed bright smiles after the completion of their programs, flawlessly executing their required seven elements. Osmond inserted her three jumps (triple combo, triple Lutz and double Axel) in her first four elements before finishing with her spins and step sequences.

“I was just trying to stay calm, just stay over my feet,” said Osmond of Marystown, N.L., at her first worlds since 2014. “I’ve worked hard this year at loving that feeling to compete and perform in front of a crowd. I’ve had a lot of personal bests with this program this year and that’s a great way to finish the season with it.”

Daleman, from Newmarket, Ont., also opened with her triple toe-triple toe combo with her Lutz and Axel as her fourth and fifth elements.

“You can always improve on the quality of the spins, jumps, footwork and everything in between,” said Daleman, ninth at the worlds last season. “I’m always determined to find the little details where I can improve more. I’ve gained a lot of confidence and I knew just what I wanted to do, completely enjoyed myself and just stayed in the moment.’’

In pairs, Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto, Ont., are the top Canadians in sixth with 73.14. Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are seventh at 72.67 and Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are 12th.

Radford is battling a hip injury which struck last week and which he described as “extremely frustrating.” However they went out there and produced a clean skate and expected a better placement. They are just over six points from third place.

“We were a bit surprised with how low the score was,” said Radford. “We anticipated it would be higher after a performance like that. Still it builds confidence for us for the long program.”

Radford said he has never experienced competing while injured.

“It still doesn’t feel 100 percent,” said Radford about the hip. “I was going in with a lot ‘what ifs’ in my head but I thought the way we skated was excellent for the condition I was in.”

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are first at 81.23, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany second at 79.84 and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia third at 79.37.

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch, competing at their third straight worlds, are looking to improve on last year’s seventh place finish. They are only five points back from third.

“We did exactly what we trained to do and came here to do,” said Moscovitch. “We continue to improve every time out. It’s a program we enjoy and it’s great to end it with a season’s best score.”

Seguin and Bilodeau competed for the first time since the Grand Prix Final in December where they placed fifth. Séguin had been dealing with a concussion in the new calendar year.

“We have an overall good feeling about our performance even though there were mistakes,” said Bilodeau. “The short program is more difficult for us right now and we are confident we can manage our free skate a lot better tomorrow (Thursday).”

Competition continues Thursday with the pairs’ free skate and men’s short program. The ladies’ free skate is Friday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1617/wc2017/index.htm.

Three medals for Canada at ISU Four Continents

GANGNEUNG, South Korea – World champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., and Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto won silver and bronze in pairs and Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., added a silver in women’s singles on Saturday at the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

In pairs, Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China took the gold with 225.03 points. Duhamel and Radford followed at 212.23 and Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch were third at 205.31.

Duhamel and Radford started their free skate with an impressive triple twist but their side-by-side, throw quad Salchow and throw triple Lutz were not as smooth.

‘’It was one of those fighting skates for us which has been a theme for us this season,’’ said Radford. ‘’But considering how we were feeling coming into this long program we are both very proud of ourselves and did some pretty good things.

‘’It’s always an up and down through the season and we’ll take this as a step up towards the world championships in March.’’

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch were on fire in their free skate landing a triple twist, side-by-side triple toe-double toe, side-by-side triple Salchow and throw triple flip. The only glaring mishap was Ilyushechkina falling on a throw triple loop near the end of the program.

‘’It got rough near the end and some spots were sticky but we got through it,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’Each event this season we have been improving and we’ve worked very hard to keep moving in the right direction.’’

Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., were seventh.

In women’s competition, Mai Mihara of Japan moved from fourth after the short program to top spot with 200.85. Daleman followed in second – a career-best international result – at 196.91, Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. was third at 194.95 and Kaetlyn Osmond of Maystown, N.L. fourth at 184.17.

Daleman produced a strong start and ending with a little blip in the middle on which she stepped out of a jump and put her hand down after landing a double Axel.

‘’I’d never been at a big championship leading after the short so it was a whole new experience,’’ said Daleman. ‘’It’s wasn’t my best skate at all but I’m happy to be leaving here with an international medal.’’

Daleman and Osmond were 1-2 after Thursday’s short program. In her free skate, Osmond struggled after opening with a powerful triple flip-triple toe and double Axel-triple toe combos.

‘’The beginning went super well,’’ she said. ‘’I’ve been getting a lot better and being able to refocus after I miss an element and today that just didn’t happen.’’

Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., climbed from 14th to 11th after producing the eighth best free skate.

Competition ends Sunday morning with the men’s free program (9 p.m. Saturday evening EST on cbc.ca)

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2017

National records for Osmond and Virtue/Moir at 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

OTTAWA – Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., and ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir broke Canadian records in their respective short programs Friday at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

In women’s competition, Osmond landed three triple jumps, including two in her opening combo, and earned a Canadian record 81.01 points. Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., is second after collecting 75.04 and defending champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., is third 67.41 points.

‘’The crowd was phenomenal, I’m glad they enjoyed it as much as I did,’’ said Osmond. ‘’I was able to get a clean program and enjoy every moment of it. The short program is one that’s been given me confidence all season long.’’

In ice dancing, 2010 Olympic champions Tessa Scott of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., topped the field after the short dance with a Canadian record 84.36. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are second at 78.92 just ahead of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto in third at 78.15.

“Every competition is different and this is a special part of our journey because we decided to come back (to competition),” said Moir, who returned to competition this season with his partner after a two-year absence. “This is on our shoulders. We have a different perspective, but the pressure seems to be higher. But we kind of welcome that.”

In the pairs short, two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., tabulated 80.72. Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are second at 72.19 and Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are third at 70.69.

‘’This is a moment to savour for us,’’ said Duhamel. ‘’We came here to nail that short program and we did that. I was hoping to come here and find some balance with the program and I did.’’

In the men’s short program, eight-time Canadian champion Patrick Chan of Toronto is first at 91.50, Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., second at 81.76 and Elladj Baldé of Pierrefonds, Que., third at 77.45.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships Results