In ice dancing and pairs skating controversial decisions in the past, this was cause for concern that the judging might not be clean.
But at this year’s World Championship Figure Skating competition, which was missing the 2010 Olympic Champions, there didn’t seem to be anyone disputing the champion pair’s victory.
In standard form, 16 of the original 25 pairs advanced to the finals. Here is how the top ten skated.
Qing Pang & Jian Tong
With a long program choreographed by ice dancer Shae Lyn Bourne to “Impossible Dream,” this team’s talent mixed with the power of the music to carry the audience to heightened emotion. It’s no wonder the 2006 World Champions and Olympic Silver Medalists led the pack from start to finish. Behind them there was only slight jostling for better final positions.
This Chinese duo has never placed lower than 5th in every major international figure skating competition they’ve entered since 2002 – although double jumps in this competition puzzled some and had to be offset by bonus points earned from completing other major elements during the back half of their program.
At this year’s World Championships, Pang and Tong were 1st in both the short program and free skate, and ended the night with a total of 211.39 points.
Aliona Savchenko & Robin Szolkowy
This Russian pair has a style all their own. She is soulful and reflective while he, well, his hobbies include his “motorcycle, sports, and his girlfriend.”
Reflecting their personalities, their short program was to “Send in the Clowns,” and their free skate was to the Out of Africa soundtrack.
The two-time world champions and Olympic bronze medalists placed 3rd in the short program and 2nd in the long, which gave them just enough points to steal the silver. They ended the night with 204.74 total.
Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov
This Russian pair is powered by determination, especially Yuko’s. After skating for Japan and the USA, not even a broken ankle could keep her from seeking a venue to pursue her dreams.
During the free skate, their attempted throws gave them problems, one a quad Salchow, and the other a triple loop. But level 4’s on most of their lesser elements, and other jumps executed late in the program kept them on the podium.
She and partner Alexander are in good hands now with Tamara Moskvina maximizing their efforts. It’s no wonder this season has been filled with personal best scores. Here at Worlds, Kavaguti and Smirnov gave the 2nd place performance in the short, the 3rd place program in the long, and repeated last year’s bronze medal win with 203.79 points.
Maria Mukhortova & Maxim Trankov
Mukhortova and Trankov could get more points by paying a little more attention to detail. For example, their back outside edge death spiral was only a level 2 and received GOE scores of 0s & 1s from most of the judges, while other teams received 1s and 2s.
Still, these 2005 World Junior Champions placed 4th in both programs and overall, which was their highest finish at Worlds to date, with 197.39 points total for this Russian team.
Dan Zhang & Hao Zhang
Being World and Olympic silver medalists, and having a quadruple throw Salchow and a quad twist in their repertoire, much is always expected of this team. Is there an excuse for them to have level 2’s & 3 spin elements in their internationally-competitive program?
Zhang and Zhang’s component score was lower than the other top teams, even though they enlisted the help of ice dance greats Igor Spilband and Marina Zueva to help choreograph their routines. Thus striving to sport a softer exhibition of their power, this Chinese team placed 5th in both programs, earning a total of 195.78.
Jessica Dube & Bryce Davison
The Canadian pair skated its way from an 8th place short program to a 6th place free skate and overall placement, with 177.07 points total in the end.
Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett
US team of Denny and Barrett had a 6th place short program but and 8th place freeskate. In the end, their total of 172.47 points was enough for them to split the difference. They finished 7th place over all.
Vera Bazarova & Yuri Larionov
This third Russian team rounded out a strong showing for their country by placing 8th overall after two 7th place rounds. Their points totaled 172.04.
Amanda Evora & Mark Ladwig
USA should be proud of Evora and Ladwig’s top-ten finish. The pair skating two solid 9th place programs, and that is where they ended up, with 165.96 points.
Anabelle Langlois & Cody Hay
This Canadian pair moved up from their 12th place short program to skate a 10th place free skate. They placed 10th over all with a total of 154.72 points.
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