Tag Archive for: Mexico

Silver for Canadian ice dancers at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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MEXICO CITY –  Ice dancers Madeline Edwards of Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang of Burnaby, B.C., won the silver medal on Saturday to conclude the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. took the gold with 136.45 points staving off a strong challenge from Edwards and Pang in second at 134.02.  Sofia Edmokimova and Egor Bazin of Russia were third at 112.78.

Edwards and Pang posted the best score in Saturday’s free dance earning a personal best 80.56 for their routine performed to music from Les Miserables.  It was their third career junior Grand Prix medal.

‘’We are excited about this performance,’’ said Pang, 18, a year older than his partner.  ‘’’We prepared and trained  hard for this event because it was important for us to get the season off to a good start.’’

The team of Katie Desveaux of Toronto and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., did not compete this week due to an error in the submission of documents. They will be reassigned to a later ISU Junior Grand Prix event.

In the women’s final, Polina Edmunds of the U.S. was the winner with Natatia Ogoreltseva of Russia second and Mariah Bell of the U.S. third.

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., placed sixth and Sandrine Martin of Boucherville, Que., was ninth.

Séguin was again battling stomach problems and dizziness throughout the day.

‘’I really wanted to compete today and there was no question of withdrawing,’’ she said.  ‘’It didn’t go the way I wanted but I gave it everything I had.’’

Martin, 15, made her international debut.

‘’I was just happy to be here and represent Canada,’’ she said.  ‘’It was an amazing experience.’’

On Friday, Nam Nguyen of Toronto was fourth in men’s singles.

Louis Daignault

Canada’s Nam Nguyen fourth at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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MEXICO CITY – Fifteen-year-old Nam Nguyen of Toronto set a personal best score en route to a fourth place finish in men’s competition on Friday at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Nathan Chen of the U.S. took the gold with 218.62 points, Ryuju Hino of Japan was second at 199.64 and Daniel Samohin of Israel was third at 182.89.

Nguyen, a two time Junior Grand Prix medallist, followed closely at 181.04 setting personal bests for both his overall and short program program scores.  He has kept the same programs as last season.

‘’They are programs I feel comfortable with and I know I can improve them,’’ said Nguyen who is coached by Brian Orser.  ‘’My goal this year is to make the Junior Grand Prix final and I know I can do a lot better at my next event.’’

Nguyen fell on his first triple flip but recovered nicely to land seven jumps in his long program skated to music by Bach.

The short program was held in women’s singles and Julianne Seguin of Longueuil, Que., stands third and Sandrine Martin of Boucherville, Que., is 11th.

Seguin wasn’t sure she would compete after experiencing stomach issues which made her dizzy and forced her to miss morning practice. However she recovered in the afternoon and landed a triple Lutz and double and triple toe loops to finish with a personal best 50.98 score.

In Thursday’s ice dancing short program, Madeline Edwards of Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang of Burnaby, B.C., are in second place.

The women’s free skate and the free dance are on Saturday.

Louis Daignault

Figure Skaters Head to Mexico for ISU Junior Grand Prix Stop Number Two

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send seven skaters, for a total of five entries to the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit. The event will take place in Mexico City, Mexico, from September 4-7, 2013. Canada will be represented in men’s, ladies, and ice dance.

Nam Nguyen, 15, Burnaby, B.C., will be the sole Canadian entry in men’s. This is Nguyen’s third year competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. In two ISU Grand Prix assignments last season, he placed third in Turkey, and ninth in France. He also competed at the 2013 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, placing 12th, and the 2013 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships, placing sixth. Nguyen is coached by Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

Julianne Séguin, 16, Longueuil, Que., will be the one of two Canadian entries in ladies. Last season, she competed at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events, finishing tenth in Slovenia, and seventh in France. She also made her senior international debut at the ISU Four Continents Championships, finishing 11th. Julianne is coached by Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig at CPA Brossard.

Sandrine Martin, 15, Boucherville, Que., will be making her international debut, competing in the ladies category. Martin placed 10th at the 2013 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships in the junior category. She is coached by Annie Barabé and Yvan Desjardins in Contrecoeur, Que.

Madeline Edwards, 17, Port Moody, B.C. and Zhao Kai Pang, 18, Burnaby, B.C., are one of two teams representing Canada in ice dance. Edwards and Kai Pang competed at two ISU Junior Grand Prix events last season, winning bronze in both France and Turkey. The 2013 Canadian junior champions placed 12th at the 2013 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the BC Centre of Excellence.

Katie Desveaux, 16, Toronto, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs, 16, Ajax, Ont., are the second entry in ice dance for Canada. This is their first international assignment. Desveaux and Razgulajevs placed seventh in junior dance at the 2013 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Juris Razgulajevs and Carol Lane at Scarboro FSC.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will act as the team leader and Josiane Roberge from Sillery, Que., will be the team physiotherapist. Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., and Lorna Schroder of Georgetown, Ont., are the Canadian officials at the event.