Patrick Chan could be on the verge on some history at the world junior figure skating championships.
Chan won the short program today in Oberstdorf, Germany, posting a personal best score of 64.10 points. That's a little more than three points higher than he scored at the NHK Trophy senior Grand Prix series event in December.
He placed sixth in his world junior debut last year.
“I'm very happy with my program today,” said the Ottawa-born Chan, 16. “I'm keeping my cool. I can't celebrate yet because I still have the free skate, but I'm very grateful to have been able to accomplish such a feat in the short program.”
Chan, who is considered perhaps the brightest prospect in Canadian men's skating, holds a 2.43-point lead over China's Jinlin Guan (61.67), while Takahito Mura of Japan stands fourth (61.16).
Another Canadian, Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., stands fourth (59.52). Reynolds beat his old personal best by more than five points.
If both Canadians somehow wind up on the podium, it would be a stunning result. Since the junior worlds started 31 years ago, Canadian men have won only four medals. Three of them came in the first three years of the event, all of which were held in Megeve, France: Brian Pockar (bronze), 1976; Daniel Beland (gold), 1977; and Dennis Coi (gold), 1978.
The last Canadian man to win a medal in this event: Mark Ferland, who earned a silver medal in 1984 in Sapporo, Japan.
“This is one of the best results after a short program by Canadian men at a world junior championship,” said Skate Canada CEO William Thompson.
The third Canadian man in this year's event, Joey Russell of Labrador City, NL, stands 12th (53.89). He also notched a personal best score.
The free skate final is on Thursday.
Showing posts with label Ottawa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ottawa. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
A Pair With Heart
Sometime very soon, we’re thinking, the fates of figure skating just have to leave Jessica Dube alone.
Seems like the poor girl’s run of bad luck is never ending.
The latest — and perhaps scariest — evidence of that came Thursday night at the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs. The petite (she’s 4-foot-11) and sweet 19-year-old from St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., was cut badly when the skate blade of her partner, Bryce Davison, smacked her in the face (just below the eye) during side-by-side camel spins.
If you’ve seen the photos of Dube lying on the ice with a trail of blood beside her, you also no doubt noted the look of horror in Davison’s face.
Yes, it was that bad.
Dube was kept in local hospital overnight after undergoing surgery for the gash across her left cheek and nose. International Skating Union medical advisor Jane Moran called it a “significant laceration.”
Now the question becomes whether Dube and Davison, the newly crowned Canadian pairs champions, can recover physically and — perhaps more important — mentally in time to skate at the world championships in Tokyo next month.
Given their recent past, don’t bet against it.
Last season, Dube was involved in a serious car accident about six weeks before the Canadian championships in Ottawa. She suffered a sprained wrist that had the couple wondering whether they’d be able to be ready to skate at the Civic Centre (Dube’s knee injury had wrecked their chances at Canadians the season before. They withdrew after the short program).
But not only did they show up in the nation’s capital, they skated well enough to land Canada’s second pairs berth for the Turin Olympics. Then went out and posted the country’s top pairs finish (10th) in Italy.
Fast forward to the current season. Dube needed knee surgery back in September, which kept the couple off the ice for about a month and forced them to play catchup (again) for most of the fall.
Somehow, Dube and Davison got it together in time to go out and win their first Canadian senior title in Halifax.
The lesson in all of this: If you wager against these two, you’ll lose.
Big time.
Nothing, it would appear, can keep them down for long.
Seems like the poor girl’s run of bad luck is never ending.
The latest — and perhaps scariest — evidence of that came Thursday night at the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs. The petite (she’s 4-foot-11) and sweet 19-year-old from St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., was cut badly when the skate blade of her partner, Bryce Davison, smacked her in the face (just below the eye) during side-by-side camel spins.
If you’ve seen the photos of Dube lying on the ice with a trail of blood beside her, you also no doubt noted the look of horror in Davison’s face.
Yes, it was that bad.
Dube was kept in local hospital overnight after undergoing surgery for the gash across her left cheek and nose. International Skating Union medical advisor Jane Moran called it a “significant laceration.”
Now the question becomes whether Dube and Davison, the newly crowned Canadian pairs champions, can recover physically and — perhaps more important — mentally in time to skate at the world championships in Tokyo next month.
Given their recent past, don’t bet against it.
Last season, Dube was involved in a serious car accident about six weeks before the Canadian championships in Ottawa. She suffered a sprained wrist that had the couple wondering whether they’d be able to be ready to skate at the Civic Centre (Dube’s knee injury had wrecked their chances at Canadians the season before. They withdrew after the short program).
But not only did they show up in the nation’s capital, they skated well enough to land Canada’s second pairs berth for the Turin Olympics. Then went out and posted the country’s top pairs finish (10th) in Italy.
Fast forward to the current season. Dube needed knee surgery back in September, which kept the couple off the ice for about a month and forced them to play catchup (again) for most of the fall.
Somehow, Dube and Davison got it together in time to go out and win their first Canadian senior title in Halifax.
The lesson in all of this: If you wager against these two, you’ll lose.
Big time.
Nothing, it would appear, can keep them down for long.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Taking A Bow
Spotted at the Ottawa Sports Awards dinner on Thursday night — ice dancers Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno.
The reason? Hann-McCurdy, who spent five years training at the Gloucester Skating Club and still represents them, was on hand to receive the sport award for figure skating for 2006. The 19-year-old from Orleans earned the honour — which included a medal and certificate — in great part because of their efforts at last year’s Canadian championships in Ottawa (Coreno made the long drive from his home town of Delhi, Ont., to share the happy moment with his partner).
In only their second year together, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno won the junior ice dance crown (they’d been silver medallists the year before in London, Ont., the same season they reached the Junior Grand Prix final).
The awards circuit isn’t done yet for the promising duo, which finished eighth in their senior debut at the just-completed 2007 nationals in Halifax. On Feb.12, both will receive the B.C. Premier’s Athletic Award for their accomplishments during the 2005-06 season. Then they’ll be special guests at the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Countdown to 2010 luncheon.
Both skaters returned to their home towns — Hann-McCurdy to Ottawa, Coreno to Delhi — for some down time after the Halifax nationals. They tell me they’re headed back to Vancouver next week to begin planning for next season (they train at the B.C. Centre of Excellence in Burnaby under the tutelage of former world champ Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz), when their goal will be a top-five finish (and national team berth) at the 2008 Canadians. No road trip necessary for them: It’s right in Vancouver at Pacific National Exhibition, which will be the venue for the Olympic figure skating competition in 2010.
A stage, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno will tell you, they’d dearly love to dance upon in three years time.
The reason? Hann-McCurdy, who spent five years training at the Gloucester Skating Club and still represents them, was on hand to receive the sport award for figure skating for 2006. The 19-year-old from Orleans earned the honour — which included a medal and certificate — in great part because of their efforts at last year’s Canadian championships in Ottawa (Coreno made the long drive from his home town of Delhi, Ont., to share the happy moment with his partner).
In only their second year together, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno won the junior ice dance crown (they’d been silver medallists the year before in London, Ont., the same season they reached the Junior Grand Prix final).
The awards circuit isn’t done yet for the promising duo, which finished eighth in their senior debut at the just-completed 2007 nationals in Halifax. On Feb.12, both will receive the B.C. Premier’s Athletic Award for their accomplishments during the 2005-06 season. Then they’ll be special guests at the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Countdown to 2010 luncheon.
Both skaters returned to their home towns — Hann-McCurdy to Ottawa, Coreno to Delhi — for some down time after the Halifax nationals. They tell me they’re headed back to Vancouver next week to begin planning for next season (they train at the B.C. Centre of Excellence in Burnaby under the tutelage of former world champ Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz), when their goal will be a top-five finish (and national team berth) at the 2008 Canadians. No road trip necessary for them: It’s right in Vancouver at Pacific National Exhibition, which will be the venue for the Olympic figure skating competition in 2010.
A stage, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno will tell you, they’d dearly love to dance upon in three years time.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Junior Achievement
One of my favourite events that I've ever covered was the 2004 Skate Canada Junior Nationals, which were held at the Nepean Sportsplex right here in Ottawa.
It was truly a treat to see the real future of skating in our country, from the juvenile through novice levels. A couple of the medallists from that year — Diane Szmiett of Watford, Ont., and Vancouver's Jeremy Ten — have since gone on to bigger and better things, each having progressed to a Canadian junior title (Szmiett a year ago in Ottawa; Ten this year in Halifax).
The 2007 version of Junior Nationals gets under way today at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ont. There's only one event today — juvenile compulsory dance — but they'll keep two ice pads hopping from Thursday through Saturday.
If you're in the Brampton area, it's worth your time to give it a look.
*** Taking care of my own backyard ... here are the Ottawa-area entries at this week's junior nationals:
Juvenile — Elizabeth Comeau, Gloucester Skating Club, women; Sarah and Steven Clarke, Nepean Skating Club, ice dance; Hillary Desroches, Pembroke, and Spencer Yakaback, Renfrew, pairs.
Pre-Novice — Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia, Nepean, ice dance; Chelsi Fahrngruber and David Leenen, Nepean, pairs.
Novice — Paul Parkinson, Nepean, men.
It was truly a treat to see the real future of skating in our country, from the juvenile through novice levels. A couple of the medallists from that year — Diane Szmiett of Watford, Ont., and Vancouver's Jeremy Ten — have since gone on to bigger and better things, each having progressed to a Canadian junior title (Szmiett a year ago in Ottawa; Ten this year in Halifax).
The 2007 version of Junior Nationals gets under way today at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ont. There's only one event today — juvenile compulsory dance — but they'll keep two ice pads hopping from Thursday through Saturday.
If you're in the Brampton area, it's worth your time to give it a look.
*** Taking care of my own backyard ... here are the Ottawa-area entries at this week's junior nationals:
Juvenile — Elizabeth Comeau, Gloucester Skating Club, women; Sarah and Steven Clarke, Nepean Skating Club, ice dance; Hillary Desroches, Pembroke, and Spencer Yakaback, Renfrew, pairs.
Pre-Novice — Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia, Nepean, ice dance; Chelsi Fahrngruber and David Leenen, Nepean, pairs.
Novice — Paul Parkinson, Nepean, men.
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