Japan’s Mao Asada took over the No. 1 spot in ladies after her win at the Grand Prix Final in Goyang City, Republic of Korea; Chinese pairs teams Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang, and Qing Pang and Jian Tong closing the gap on No. 1 Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy; and U.S. ice dancing team Meryl Davis and Charlie White moving up three spots to No. 4 after earning the bronze in Korea.
Ladies
It was already firmly established that Asada and Korean Yu-Na Kim were the top ladies in the world heading into the Grand Prix Final, and the results at that competition only confirmed it. Asada narrowly defeated Kim, 188.55-186.35, and no one in the rest of the field came within 18 points of either. Asada’s triumph allowed her to leapfrog Kim and assume the No. 1
position in the rankings. The only other change is countrywomen Yukari Nakano and Miki Ando switching places, with Nakano moving up to No. 5 and Ando dropping to No. 6.
Pairs
The surprising results in Goyang City didn’t so much shake up the top of the rankings as condense them. The top three remained the same, with Savchenko and Szolkowy, Zhang and Zhang, and Pang and Tong remaining at Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively. But whereas last week the difference between No. 1 and No. 3 was more than 100 points, now those teams are separated by fewer than 50 points. Winning the title at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final elevated Russians Lubov Iliushechkina and Nodari Maisuradze two notches to No. 9, while Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists Yue Zhang and Lei Wang of China rose three places to No. 13.
