Torino, Italy (March 26, 2010) – Below please find flash quotes from the U.S. ice dancers following the free dance at the 2010 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Tornio, Italy.
Emily SAMUELSON and Evan BATES (finished 9th / score 168.77)
Bates: “I think in terms of the big picture of the season, I think our best performances came during the Olympics. But, that was our goal – we wanted to peak at the Olympic Games. Here, we did really well. Not quite as well as we were skating about a month ago but, at the same time, I think considering we’re coming down off that Olympic high, I think we’re pretty pleased with our performance here.”
Samuelson: “We had the Olympics in mind when we chose the music for this program. We played a bunch of different styles of music while we were on the ice, and this one just seemed to fill up the entire rink and we thought ‘wow, that could be a really amazing Olympic performance’.” It worked out well that it’s an Italian opera piece and that Worlds are here in Italy. We hope the audience enjoyed the program.”
Samuelson: “The Olympic experience was great to get under our belt. I think it will definitely help us prepare for 2014 in Sochi (Russia). We’re going to go back and take a little bit of a break and start preparing for next season.”
Kim NAVARRO and Brent BOMMENTRE (finished 14th / score 159.68)
Bommentre: “It was a great performance and we’re really happy with it. We got out there on the ice and we just kind of let the moment take over. We do such a good job relating to one another and skating with one another, that part comes naturally. It’s one of the things that are so great and effective about our partnership.”
Navarro: “The program has always had special meaning for us. It’s about our partnership and how special that is, and how you have to become one to get through it.”
Bommentre: “I thought that it was maybe a little bit weaker than it was at nationals. I’ve had a hard time since I injured my thumb (injury to left thumb occurred during training at home rink).
Navarro: “Since he injured his hand, we were less worried about whether or not we were getting the levels and whether or not he would be actually able to perform the lifts.”
Navarro: “It was tough. Really tough.”
Bommentre: “Challenging. Tough to motivate and train for this. At nationals we had such an emotional performance and really put it all out there on the table. So, to come here and try to put out a performance of that level again was difficult.”
Bommentre: “In the immediate future, we’re going to go out and enjoy everything that Italy has to offer: wine, cheese, pasta, culture, art. We’re taking a week here to enjoy ourselves, and then we’ll head back home and regroup.”
Meryl DAVIS and Charlie WHITE (finished 2nd / score 223.03 )
WHITE: “We really left everything out on the ice for this last competition of the year. We wanted to go out and attack every element and that’s exactly what we did.”
WHITE: “I wasn’t thinking anything. I was really tired and my body had just taken over at that point. I was just doing the program to the best of my ability, but my mind was completely clear.”
WHITE: “We got a season’s best (score), so it was a very high score for us, so we’re really happy with that.”
DAVIS: “When we finished, it was such a sense of relief. We’ve been working so hard this season. It’s been a really successful season for us, so to finish up the World Championships with another round of clean performances is amazing.”
DAVIS: “I think we learned a little bit from the Olympics. It’s such a difficult competition, with all the pressure. So we were able to step it up a notch for this competition. We’ve been putting in a tremendous amount of work this year and it’s been very successful for us.”
WHITE: “We have been doing the best that we can in terms of emotional readiness after the Olympic Games. Also, just physically, we’ve been trying to ensure that we’re in top shape. We feel really good about where we were coming into this competition, and I think we can be really proud of ourselves going home.”
WHITE: “It’s a complete step up from last year, where we were just off the podium. Last year we were disappointed, but, tonight, we really put out a great performance and we were very pleased with it.”
DAVIS: “The sport of ice dancing has really changed over the past several years. It’s really a different field that we’re stepping into when we step out onto the ice. In addition to that, Scott and Tessa and Charlie and I have amazing coaches – they’re a tremendous duo.”
DAVIS: “We’re actually going on tour for the next couple of months and then we’ll take a holiday after that.”
WHITE: “We’re looking forward to getting out there and doing some shows out in front of some amazing audiences who will hopefully support us a lot. And, then, hopefully, we’ll get a break after that.”
U.S Figure Skating
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of more than 763 member clubs and Basic Skills Programs representing approximately 179,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.
