Courtney Hicks
U.S. figure skaters kicked off the Olympic season in dominat-
ing fashion, sweeping the ladies and men’s podiums and claiming a total of nine medals at the second U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City, Utah. Te event, held Sept. 11‒15 at the Salt Lake City Sports Com-
plex, featured 24 U.S. athletes against a field of top international competitors. Courtney Hicks, fourth at the 2013 U.S. Championships, cap-
tured the gold medal in her senior international debut. Skating to Evita, she rallied from third after the short program to win the free skate and finish with a total score of 171.88 points. “Tis is one of my favorite programs that I’ve ever done,” said
Hicks, who connected on six triple jumps. “I think I just went out and enjoyed skating it and had a lot of fun.” U.S. silver medalist Gracie Gold won the short program and
silver medal, while Samantha Cesario, fourth at the 2013 World Junior Championships, claimed the bronze. U.S. champion Max Aaron defended his title in Salt Lake, winning both segments en route to a personal-best total of 239.21 points. His Carmen free skate, however, had its share of hiccups. He
misfired on his three quads, but still managed to land two triple Axels and four other triple jumps. “I learned a lot about myself, learned a lot about the [quad] toe,
learned how to compete with three quads,” Aaron told icenetwork. “Te program performance-wise wasn’t up to par, to be honest.” Stephen Carriere, competing internationally for the first time since 2010, won the silver medal. World Junior champion Josh Far- ris secured the bronze medal. In the pairs event, 2012 U.S. champions Caydee Denney and
John Coughlin captured the silver medal with 188.47 points. Tey finished behind Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Mosco- vitch, who tallied 201.30 points. Denney and Coughlin, who missed most of last season because
of a hip injury to Coughlin, generated big points in the second half of their free skate to Phantom of the Opera. Tree lifts and a throw triple flip pushed the duo to their phys-
ical limits. “Our coaches like to say, ‘After that second throw hits, the pro-
gram is over — it’s all components from here on in,’” Coughlin said. “I say, ‘Right, pick your partner up and take a lap.’” Tarah Kayne and Daniel O’Shea grabbed the bronze medal with 167.27 points. World ice dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White
embarked upon this Olympic season with yet another victory, scor- ing 183.69 points. Tey debuted their
free dance to Rimsky-Korsakov’s
Scheherazade. “It was a brilliant performance, especially for this time of the
year,” their coach Marina Zoueva said. “It was their first perfor- mance of a new program they have to perform at the Olympics. Tere was lots of pressure, and they did a great job.”
10 NOVEMBER 2013 Meryl Davis and Charlie White Gracie Gold
PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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