International Figure Skating April 2021

Tnew year has brought with it many bright glimmers of hope that the world is getting back on track, with many sporting events taking place globally, including a number of figure skating competitions. It is undeniable that the Russian Figure Skating Federation has been a major force in keeping the sport in the forefront, live streaming all of its competitions to keep the world engaged. The innovative concept of a team event, which took place in early February, was one I thoroughly enjoyed. It also held a ladies versus men jump competition that was a lot of fun to watch, even though it was a given before it started which side would be victorious. The men were certainly no match for their female counterparts. While many other countries have held…

They have been in the top echelons of the U.S. pairs program for many years. Competing with different partners, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier had shared a long-time rivalry. All that changed a year ago when their respective partnerships came to an end. Scimeca, as she was known at the time, joined forces with Chris Knierim in 2012.Married in 2016, the couple claimed three national titles (2015, 2018 and 2020) and were part of the bronze-medal team at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea. Often struggling to find consistency, the duo finished 15th in the pairs event in PyeongChang and repeated the result a month later at the World Championships. In 2019, they finished seventh at the U.S. Championships before reclaiming their national title in 2020. Frazier and…

The Japanese star has won everything there is to win — including back-to-back Olympic crowns — so what, you might ask, drives Hanyu to continue competing? When the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality in North America in mid-March and the 2020 World Champion-ships were cancelled, Yuzuru Hanyu returned to his Japanese homeland. As an asthmatic, he knew he would be at high risk if he caught the virus. In the months following his departure from Canada, there had been no information or updates about what he was doing, whether he was training, or if he intended to continue competing. The first news came just a week before the national championships in late December, when the line-ups were announced and Hanyu’s name was on the men’s roster. Though he chose not…

They have watched with envy as their counterparts in other regions of the skating world had opportunities to glide back onto the competitive stages — sometimes even with spectators in the stands. National championships have been successfully held in recent months in major skating nations such as Russia, Japan, France and the United States, even if it did require a delicate dance of sorts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Figure skaters in Canada, however, have mostly cooled their heels throughout the 2020-2021 season. A fall of frustration turned into a winter of discontent, as event after event dropped by the wayside. All the while accompanied by a question that no doubt rang constantly in their minds: Why not us? The answer to that question, as with anything that…

While its neighbour to the north cancelled all figure skating competitions scheduled for the 2020-2021 season, U.S. Figure Skating soldiered on. Following the success of Skate America in October, the organization opted to return to the “City of Lights” for the 2021 U.S. Championships. And despite having no spectators to cheer them on, the nation’s best put on a show for the world. Leading the way was Nathan Chen, who was not only in the hunt for a fifth straight U.S. title in Las Vegas, he was also chasing a piece of American figure skating history. Dick Button, the last man to capture five consecutive national crowns, achieved the feat in 1950 – some 71 years ago. Chen skated conservatively in his Latin-themed short program, opting for two quads —…

Time differences across many parts of the world, proved to be no barrier for the many thousands of fans that tuned in to watch the 2020 All Japan Championships play out at the Big Hat Arena in Nagano. With only 2,300 spectators in attendance — who were asked to refrain from cheering and throwing anything onto the ice — it was a much quieter affair than usual. Though we had seen a number of Japanese skaters compete at NHK Trophy in late November, this was the first outing of the season for three of the nation’s top stars: Rika Kihira, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno. POWER AND GLORY Despite having no competitions since February 2020, Rika Kihira left no doubt she is still the leading lady in Japan. The 18-year-old…