The NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan continued Saturday with the Free Dance, Pairs and Ladies Free Skating Short Program. The NHK Trophy is the fourth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. 5 733 spectators followed the competition in the sold out Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo.
Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) claim dance gold
Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) pulled up from third to edge out Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje of Canada by 0.09 points for the gold medal. Russia's Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov earned the bronze.
Performing to “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade” by Glenn Miller, Shibutani/Shibutani
produced fast twizzles and strong lifts, earning a level four for five out of seven elements. The brother-and-sister team posted a new seasons best of 92.83 points which added up to 151.85 overall. “We are very happy with our performance today. We think it was a lot stronger than last week. Obviously it's still early in the season and we have a lot to build”, Maia Shibutani said. “This week we came here to skate for ourselves and all of the fans here. The result wasn't so important to us. It was a new experience to do two Grand Prix in a row”, Alex Shibutani added.
Weaver/Poje's dance to “Je suis malade” was highlighted by difficult lifts and a smooth footwork. The Skate Canada silver medallists picked up a level four for the lifts and the twizzles, but they had one-point deduction for an extended lift. The Canadians scored 91.69 points for the Free Dance and remained in second place at 151.76 points. “We felt great from the warm up this morning until this afternoon. We just were in the zone, ready to perform the program. We felt the passion and emotion of this free dance which is one of the most important aspects. We lost a few points technically and those things we'll review. We did lose one point for an extended lift which is still frustrating”, Weaver explained.
Overnight leaders Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov danced to a modern arrangement of “Ave Maria”. They, too, had level four for the four lifts and the twizzles, but there were a few shaky moments in the performance. With a free dance score of 87.65 they dropped to third at 149.48 points. “For me and Elena it was a really good beginning of the season. Yes, our free dance was not so good, but we know our goal and we know which way to go. So next time it will be much better”, Katsalapov noted.
Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi (GER) finished in fourth place with 136.12 points followed by Lorenza Alessandrini/Simone Vaturi (ITA) in fifth with 133.29 points.
Shibutani/Shibutani and Weaver/Poje also booked their tickets to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (RUS) skate to Pairs gold
Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov of Russia surged from fifth place to win the Pairs title. Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran of Japan claimed the silver while Germany's Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy settled for the bronze.
Kavaguti/Smirnov recovered from a faulty Short Program and produced a triple toe, triple twist, triple throw loop and Salchow in their routine to “Clair de Lune”. The 2010 European Champions scored 122.49 points, slightly improving their seasons best from last week and totaled 177.51 points. “We feel great about our performance today and I am glad that we were able to pull ourselves together after the unfortunate Short Program yesterday”, Smirnov said.
Takahashi/Tran's program to “Concerto de Québec” included a triple twist, level four-spins and lifts as well as a throw triple Salchow, but Takahashi underrotated both solo jumps. The two-time World Junior medallists earned 114.20 points and remained in second place at 172.09 points. “We were able to show some strong skating, but I know that there are errors that we want to fix. So I will work on those areas as the season progresses”, Takahashi commented.
Savchenko/Szolkowy opened their program to the soundtrack of “Pina” with a huge throw triple flip, but they made errors on the side by side jumps and aborted a lift. The three-time World Champions got 112.45 points and accumulated 171.68 overall. “We are not very happy. We wanted to skate better than yesterday, but it turned out the other way round. Sometimes there are days like that and it happened to us”, Szolkowy told the press.
Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek (ITA) slipped from third to fourth at 163.83 points and Caydee Denney/John Coughlin (USA) placed fifth (163.75 points).
Kavaguti/Smirnov and Savchenko/Szolkowy have qualified for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final
