ASADA COMES OUT ON TOP IN VIRTUAL THREE-WAY TIE WITH WAGNER ONLY 0.18 BEHIND AND MURAKAMI JUST 0.62 FURTHER BACK IN AN EVENT WITH MANY FALLS

1.  64.25 (34.11+30.14) Mao Asada, the 2008 and 2010 world champion and Olympic silver medalist, was the obvious favorite. She drew to skate 19^th, which was first of the top 12 ISU ranked skaters, of the 30 competitors from 13 countries. But the 21-year-old Asada gave a flawed showing, which put her only 0.18 marginally ahead of US champion Ashley Wagner with her Japanese  teammate, Kanako Murakami, only a further 0.62 back.

In December, Asada, having just arrived in Quebec City, had to withdraw from the Grand Prix Final and fly back to Japan because of her mother’s illness. Unfortunately, she was unable to get home in time before she passed away. Asada told journalists that she would continue skating because that is what her mother would have wished. Kyoko Asada had been ceaseless in devoting herself to supporting both Mao and her elder sister, Mai, in skating. (Mai, who was sixth in the 2006 Four Continents Championships is now a professional skater.)

In this season’s senior nationals, Mao won her fifth title, although she did not present what used to be her trademark, the triple Axel. In Colorado Springs, she began with the triple Axel but the landing was flawed. She landed twisted on two feet and got an arrow for slight under-rotation. That meant she earned only 3.71 points for the move which has a base value of 6 points.

However, that was her only fault. Her triple loop to double loop and triple loop earned 8.10 and 5.50 points respectively. All three spins were Level 4 with interesting, very difficult and well-held positions include a split with head back, and a pull-up Biellmann. Her straight line steps, in which she included an illusion move, were also Level 4.  

Last year, Asada won a silver in this event behind her Japanese teammate Miki Ando, who is currently taking a year off from competition. She also earned the bronze in 2009 and gold in 2008 and 2010.

Asada said she was in great form since arriving in Colorado Springs. She skated to Rimsky Korsakov’s Sheherazade dressed in a sleeveless blue outfit with flesh colored diamond shaped cutouts over her central back and front areas, and a matching ornament in her hair. She is coached by the venerable coach Nobuo Sato, who was getting official recognition in Colorado Springs for being elected into the World Hall of Fame in 2010.

She explained, “My biggest goal of this competition is including the triple Axel and at least I tried it. It wasn’t perfect but I’m pretty happy to land the triple Axel. Since I came to Colorado Springs, I’ve felt good about the Axel so I decided after I came here to put the jump in my short program. I’m wearing a new costume because the old costume was a unitard with the pants style so I wasn’t able to move around as freely and that wasn’t very helpful to do the triple Axel. This new costume is the triple Axel version.”

2.  64.07 (34.64+29.43) Ashley Wagner, 20, the reigning US champion, gave a very dynamic showing.   Skating in a sleeveless bright red outfit with silver, she opened her routine, set to music from the movie Pollock by Jeff Beal, with a triple flip to triple toe which earned +0.20 over its base value. She said, “I was pleased with my performance. Our main goal coming in to this competition was to get the triple flip-triple toe out there because I think it is something that will be crucial in my short program at Worlds, so to get full credit for that, I am extremely happy with that performance. I’m very well trained and well trained in a different way than past years. Mentally I think I am very fit and very strong, and I credit (coach) Mr. Nicks with helping me get to that point.” Wagner had only been third in the SP at nationals, although he climbed to take the title.

Talking of tomorrow’s Free, she said, “Because I’m at altitude, I am just focusing on going out and putting on the best performance that I can. I do want to redeem that triple Salchow from nationals, so you’re probably going to see the triple Sal.”

All of her moves were given overall positives, although Wagner herself (and three of the nine judges agreed with her) that the jump combination was two footed. The base value for the triple flip to triple toe is 9.40, 1.20 more than a combination of two triple toes, the combination which Murakami chose to present. Wagner said she decided to try for a new approach this season and is now training with John Nicks in California.  

“Today went very well for me. I tried the triple-triple and got full credit for it, so that was a huge accomplishment for me. The quality of it wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be, but still overall, I think it was a good solid performance and something that was great for me to put out after nationals and I think that it was very important that I had the performance that I did today.

“I think that every competition you got into you have to focus on that competition and forget about the past. But in training in the week before I left, I was a little bit more confident. Once I got here though, nationals has passed. I won that and that’s great, but that has nothing to do with this competition anymore. I was just more focused on Worlds and putting out a program that I would feel more comfortable with once I got to Worlds.”

“I agree with Mao. I think that I definitely improved up on my nationals performance and I think that Four Continents is an important stepping stone to worlds. And I think that it is very critical that I do well here for my confidence level going into Worlds and everyone’s impression of me going into Worlds. So, I think what I did today is very good for this time of the season.”

She said, “Although I was worried about the double Axel at the end of the program, I succeeded and gathered everything together. I’m very satisfied with today’s performance. I was trying to express this program’s image with sadness and suffering. If the audience can feel those emotions, I will be very happy. I was happy that I skated without a mistake but my Axel wasn’t as secure as I’d like, so I want to jump better tomorrow. At the beginning the season, I had a boot problem but it’s been going alright since I changed. Since I came in (to Colorado Springs), I’ve had a bit of an upset stomach. I’m thinking it might be the nerves. I had a really tough start to season, but after I switched my boots things are going up hill. At the beginning, I wasn’t sure I would reach the World Championships. Today’s performance, I was pretty happy with that. If I perform a good free tomorrow, I can go into Worlds with pretty good confidence.”

4.  58.74 (32.79+25.95) Caroline Zhang, 18, who finished 4^th in her debut in the US championships in 2008 and won bronze the following year, but then had two years of disasters when she was 11^th and 12^th appears to be on the way up again. She was 4^th this year.

In Colorado Springs, skating a dramatic routine in black, to Rushing Wings of Dawn by Tim Janis, she gave a flawed but gutsy showing which opened with a combination of two triple loops. She stepped out of the landing of the second jump and got 1.60 removed from its base value of 10.20. Her triple flip got a marginal -0.20 removed from 5.30 but the double Axel received an extra 0.14. Her spins were all Level 4 with the final layback still absolutely amazing. She well deserved the +3s which seven of the panel gave her. In fact, this correspondent felt the other two judges should be talked to about their “low” award of only +2. Her steps were Level 3 with a half point added.

She said, “I’m a little disappointed in myself since that’s the first loop-loop I’ve missed in a program this week. I’ve been doing clean shorts, so that’s disappointing, but that’s OK, because I’m happy to be here. It was a bit surprising because I definitely wasn’t expecting any assignments, so it was a little hard to get back into it, but once I did it was easy to just keep training like I was for nationals.”

5.  54.07 (31.59+23.48-1) Kexin Zhang, 16, is from China where she is taught by Li Mingzhu, who engineered the Chinese women’s entry into top level skating with Lu Chen. Zhang skated to Rachmaniov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, dressed in black. Her opening combination of two triple toe loops earned 9.30 but then she fell on her triple Lutz.  Two of her spins were Level 4. The flying camel and her steps were Level 3.

6.  52.87 (27.07+26.80-1) Agnes Zawadski, 17, skating on home ice, had a bad fall on the first jump of her combination of two triple toes. This is her debut into the Four Continents Championships. In the US nationals she was lying first after this section and finished up third overall, one up from the previous year. She performed to Harlem Nocturne with a central portion set to Whatever Lola Wants. The 2010 US Jr. champion and World Junior silver medalist, is now trained by Christie Krall.

Asked how she was able to regain her composure after early fall, she said, “The fall threw me off but I feel like I regained my mental focus right back. I did a lot of good things after I fell and that is always important. The stuff after you fall is what matters. I really showed that and that I’m mentally strong. I do try to channel the crowd’s energy but don’t think about it much otherwise. This being my home rink doesn’t really change things. I don’t have that much pressure on me since I’m not in medal contention. I’m going to skate free, not worry about anything and let everything fall into place. I’m going to leave it all on the ice.”

7.  51.72 (25.72+25.88) The new Canadian champion, Amelie LaCoste, 23, skated right after Asada, performing to Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll  She began with a good  double Axel which covered a lot of ground but then she singled her Lutz. Her combination was triple loop to double loop. The flying sit and combination spin both earned Level 4. However, her third spin and the steps were Level 3.

She has competed in this event four times 2006  (11^th); 2009 (10^th); 2010 (7^th) and 2011 (9^th).  A lot is riding on this event for LaCoste and Phaneuf. Skate Canada have decided that whoever finishes ahead will earn the one Ladies berth to the world championship in April in Worlds.

8.  50.76 (26.56+26.20-2) Two falls took Cynthia Phaneuf, 24, out of contention. Skating last but one, the 2004 and 2011 but not current Canadian champion, has an attractive new look including flapping pony tail, but she slammed heavily into the ice on her first move, the double Axel, and then did the same thing on her triple Lutz. Phaneuf first became Canadian champion way back in 2004. She wasn’t able to recapture the title until 2011. She has been the national runner-up four times (2005, 2009, 2010 & 2012). Since placing 5^th in the 2010 world championships, she has had up-and-down career. She recently changed coaches and is now being trained by Brian Orser. She performed to Unbreak My Heart; Spanish Guitar Bordao en Oro; and Afternoon at Satie’s.