(l-r) Christina Gao, Ashley Wagner and Adelina Sotnikova
Meryl Davis and Charlie White “Today was obviously pretty
awesome,” Gao said after the free skate. “I felt really good about it. It’s what I’ve been doing in prac- tice every day. I told myself before I started to make it like practice. I did, and I got a medal, so I’m really happy.”
Last spring, Gao left her train-
ing center in Toronto and returned home to Cincinnati to prepare for her freshman year at Harvard Uni- versity. She wasn’t sure if she was going to continue skating but de- cided to give it a try, and under the direction of Skating Club of Boston coaches Peter Johansson and Mark Mitchell, she’s made the transition a highly successful one. “She has in a very short time
prepared for this season, adapted to a new life, school and a differ- ent rink, new coaches,” Johansson said. “She has been nothing but great. She did everything she was supposed to. I hope this gives her confidence for the rest of the year.” Rachael Flatt, the 2010 U.S. champion, finished ninth with 136.09 points. She continues to battle a chronic lower leg injury that she sustained two years ago. After Skate America, the Stanford sophomore announced that she’ll be taking off the rest of the season. “I will focus on getting healthy while pursuing my academic goals,” she said. “I am incredibly saddened that I will miss out on this season, but I feel it is my responsibility to take care of my general well-being
(l-r) Yuzuru Hanyu, Takahiko Kozuka and Tatsuki Machida
Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt
(l-r) Qing Pang and Jian Tong, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov and Caydee Denney and John Coughlin
Anastasia Cannuscio and Colin McManus
(l-r) Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje.