International Figure Skating July/August 2017

While it may be the offseason, many in the figure skating world are not on vacation. Athletes are getting new programs choreographed, costumes designed and sewn and, hopefully, some time to wind down after a long season. Not so for the IFS team. We have been hard at work since the end of the season, putting together this special summer issue. Our cover story is a journey through the career of Mao Asada, from her first international through to her last. So many things we had forgotten that happened during what was an amazing career for the now 26-year-old Japanese star. We hope you enjoy the trip down memory lane. Our Top 20 from the 2016-2017 season were chosen for many different reasons. There were so many memorable moments, it…

Adam Rippon seemed to pick up right where he had left off. After winning his first U.S. title and placing sixth at the World Championships in 2016, he medaled at both his Grand Prix events last season and earned a spot at the Grand Prix Final for the first time in his career. But just weeks before he was to defend his national title, Rippon suffered a season-ending injury and his momentum came to a screeching halt. “It was Jan. 6. I was warming up before my first session, talking with Rafael (Arutyunyan, his coach) before I got onto the ice,” Rippon recalled. “I did two little jumps in front of him and I came down really awkwardly on one of the two little hops that I was doing on…

When Australia’s Brendan Kerry skated into 15th place at the 2017 World Championships, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His placement guaranteed his nation — and likely himself — a berth in the men’s event at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. “Worlds this year — keeping in mind that an Olympic quota spot was on the line — was a lot more nerve wracking than not only any other World Championships I have competed at, but a lot scarier than competing at Nebelhorn in 2013,” Kerry said in reference to the last-chance qualifier for the 2014 Olympics. “Having done pretty well at the past few World Championships, there was an expectation that I should be able to hold my own in that field…

The 2017-2018 Grand Prix Series assignments, which were published on May 25, have inspired some controversial conversations. Most notably, about who got what and who did not receive any assignments. Some of the veteran competitors are headed to events they have not contested for a number of years, or ever before, and at every stop of the Series, there promises to be at least one showdown given the entry lists. The order of events has been switched for the Olympic season. Yuzuru Hanyu will open his season at the first event, Rostelecom Cup. It has been six years since he competed at the Russian Grand Prix, winning the title in 2011. Nathan Chen has also been assigned to this event, which will make for an interesting competition. All four reigning…

As Kaetlyn Osmond closed out her long program at the 2017 World Championships, she knelt on the ice, feeling a sense of excitement and joy she had not experienced for a long time. Osmond produced the free skate in Helsinki, Finland, that she had been searching for all season, and one good enough to propel her to a silver-medal finish — the first Canadian lady to do so since Joannie Rochette in 2009. That night in Helsinki made her more emotional than perhaps she had ever been on the ice Osmond said. “I was down on my knees at the end of my long program and I was just so excited. I let out the biggest sigh of relief. “It’s so hard to explain that feeling. I can just say…

Gabrielle Daleman still remembers the moments of doubt that could have scuttled the upward trajectory of last season — the inner demons she had to conquer en route to the greatest night of her young career. On a night at Trophée de France last November Daleman had reason to believe she was embarking on a successful season, following a short program that earned the 19-year-old Canadian a personal best score. She sat in second behind Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva, and in prime position to win her first Grand Prix medal. But, consumed by doubt as she took the ice for the free Daleman faltered and crashed, placing fourth overall. “I started doubting myself, doubting my training and my mental game — everything,” she explained. “I had a phenomenal short; I was…