LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // How about that? Kim Yu-Na puts her skates on one foot at a time.

Banners around the rink at Skate America Sunday afternoon hearalded the much-anticipated coronation of the "Queen," who set a world record in the short program the previous day. Members of the Korean community, some of them arriving by charter bus from New York City, filled the seats and waved Korean flags.

But Kim's long program performance was anything but regal. She fell once and lurched from one element to another, showing none of the grace and style that marked her as the woman to beat at the Vancouver Olympics in February. Only three of her planned six triple jumps were clean.

However, on the strength of the short program, she carried the day with a final score of 187.98.

American Rachael Flatt took the long program by five points, landing seven clean triple jumps and faltering only in the final seconds when she botched a combination spin. Her final score was 174.91, good for the silver medal.

Hungary's Julia Sebestyen finished third, with a score of 159.03.

Returning to competition for the first time in more than a year, U.S. skater Emily Hughes finished 52 points behind the winner for seventh place. Teammate Alexe Gilles took 10th place.  

Continue reading "Kim Yu-Na still rules the kingdom" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 4:14 PM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // Kimmie Meissner will return to the ice for the first time since her August knee injury and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton will go head over heels on a pair of skates -- his signature trick -- in a live music ice show on Dec. 29.

For Hamilton, the Holiday Concert on Ice presented an opportunity to get back in skating shape since his retirement five years ago and return to the spotlight and audiences he missed.

For Meissner, the former national and world champion from Bel Air, the show was a way to work with one of her sports heroes.

"Any chance I get to be with Scott and work with Scott, I'm there," she said. "He has spent his life helping and inspiring others. Who wouldn't want to be skating with him?"

Continue reading "Hamilton and Meissner on Ice" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 6:43 PM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // This two-time Olympic town gets its picture-postcard good looks from the looming Adirondack Mountains that rise in the distance.

Forty-six peaks stand at more than 3,800 feet, from Mount Marcy, at 5,344, the state's tallest, to

Continue reading "High anxiety and other thoughts" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 10:19 AM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // The pairs team of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao picked up where they left off after a two-year retirement from figure skating, collecting 74.36 points for first place in the short program at Skate America.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov of the Ukraine are in second behind the Chinese pair with a score of 61.70 and Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin of Canada are in third place with a score of 59.64.

Dressed all in black and skating to Firebird, world champion and two-time U.S. champion Evan Lysacek won the men's short program with an explosive performance that earned him a score of 79.17.

"Overall, I like the program a lot," said Lysacek. It's something very different for me. It will continue to grow and improve."

France's Florent Amodio finished second with a score of 72.65. Brandon Mroz, in his second full season as a member of the U.S. senior team, is in third place with a score of 71.40.  The men will conclude their competition Saturday evening with the free skate.

It's been 25 years since a U.S. man holding the world title went on to win Olympic gold. That skater, Scott Hamilton, is acting as Lysacek's mentor this season, counseling him on handling the spotlight and pressure.

"I don't think anyone is the one to beat in Vancouver," said Lysacek, brushing aside questions about being the front runner.

Continue reading "No cobwebs on their rocking chairs" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 8:59 PM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // This is the second time figure skater Emily Hughes has answered the bell.

The first time was just before the 2006 Olympics, when Michelle Kwan pulled up lame and Hughes substituted for her and finished seventh.

This time it was 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen dropping out of Skate America with an injury. Hughes didn't hesitate.

"It was kind of like an Olympic moment again," she said after practice Friday afternoon. "I had my programs set. I was training constantly. For Skate America, why not?"

After the 2007 season, Hughes put competitive skating on hold, broke up with longtime coach Bonni Retzkin and went to Harvard University.  

Continue reading "Emily Hughes' second act" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 2:25 PM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. // Sasha Cohen isn't here.

Big deal.

You might think the shine would be off Skate America, the next-to-last stop on the Grand Prix circuit, because Cohen dropped out last Monday citing an injury to her right calf.

Nope. A lot of figure skating fans and almost the entire press corps had already written off the 2006 Olympic silver medalist after she withdrew from her first Grand Prix competition in Paris earlier in the fall. Cohen was almost certainly going to have her doors blown off in her first competition in more than three years by Korea's Kim Yu-Na, perhaps the closest thing to guaranteed gold at the Olympics next February.

Unfortunately that first withdrawal only delayed the beat down to this weekend. You could almost feel Cohen's calf muscle -- probably along with other muscles -- tighten up.  

Continue reading "Sasha, we hardly knew ye" »

Posted by Candus Thomson at 10:51 AM in 2009 Skate America | Permalink | Comments (11)