GRAND PRIX SERIES RECAP
by MIMI WHETSTONE CUP OF CHINA
Chock and Bates break through With their bronze in Beijing, Madison
Chock and Evan Bates added themselves to the honor roll of U.S. ice dance couples who have won Grand Prix medals. Te U.S. silver medal- ists became the fourth active U.S. team to stand on a Grand Prix podium, more than any other nation. “We went in with a plan of attack and just
to enjoy and put out our best skate and I think that we did that,” Chock said. “We are so excited about our first medal at the Grand Prix.” Chock and Bates impressed judges with
their Level 4 lifts, placing third in both segments of the event and earning 150.53 points. Two- time U.S. junior champions Alexandra Aldridge and Daniel Eaton made a solid senior Grand Prix debut, placing fifth. France’s Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bour- zat won gold with 165.68 points, while Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia collected silver with 163.42 points. Upsets highlighted the ladies and men’s
events, with titles going to Anna Pogorilaya of Russia and Han Yan of China, who were both making their senior Grand Prix debuts. Pogo- rilaya earned 178.62 points, nearly four points more than teammate Adelina Sotnikova, who garnered the silver with 174.70. Italy’s Caroli- na Kostner completed the ladies podium with 173.40 points. Team USA’s Agnes Zawadzki fin- ished seventh. Yan generated 245.62 points for the week,
leading an impressive men’s podium that includ- ed Russia’s Maxim Kovtun, who compiled a per-
Madison Chock and Evan Bates perform their free dance to music from Les Misérables.
sonal-best 238.65 points, and 2011 World silver medalist Takahiko Kozuka of Japan, who earned 226.92. Team USA’s Richard Dornbush finished fifth.
Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Rob-
in Szolkowy won the pairs event with 201.21 points. Te win marks their 17th Grand Prix Se- ries title, including three wins at the Grand Prix Final. Te silver medal went to Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China, who earned 194.38 points, while the bronze went to Pang and Tong’s team- mates Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang, who finished with a score of 187.19. Team USA’s Alexa Scimeca and Chris Kn-
ierim, and Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholo- may, finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
NHK TROPHY 14th straight Grand Prix title Davis and White earn
Shibutani and Shibutani, Abbott claim bronze
Meryl Davis and Charlie White’s Schehe-
razade free dance spun more magic in Tokyo, leading them to their 14th straight Grand Prix win. Te five-time U.S. champions earned 186.85 points, 26.59 points more than silver medalists Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy.
“After Skate America, there were a few
things we really wanted to fix, and we felt like we were able to do a good job with those changes,” White said. Te top Americans have dominated the
Grand Prix Series for the last five seasons, in- cluding a record five consecutive victories at the Grand Prix Final. Davis and White’s Canton, Mich., train-
ing partners Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibu- tani thrilled the crowd with their free dance to Michael Jackson hits and took home bronze (157.58 points). “Winning a medal was very exciting, but
more importantly, we feel like we took a really big step with the programs,” Alex said. Rebounding from a seventh-place finish
in the short program, Jeremy Abbott turned in a solid free skate to stand on the podium with 237.41 points. Te bronze is the three-time U.S. champion’s ninth medal on the Grand Prix cir- cuit.
Te top spots went to Daisuke Takahashi
and Nobunari Oda, both competing on home ice, with 268.31 and 253.16 points, respectively. 2012 U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon placed fourth, while reigning U.S. champion Max Aar- on finished seventh.
34 JANUARY 2014
Jeremy Abbott rallies to finish on the podium at NHK Trophy with his free skate to “Exogenesis Symphony Part III (Redemption)” by Muse.
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani put more miles on their Michael Jackson-inspired free skate to collect the bronze medal in Tokyo.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White continue their dominance on the Grand Prix Series, sewing up the title at NHK Trophy with their dramatic and exciting Scheherazade free dance.
PHOTOS BY KOKI NAGAHAMA/GETTY IMAGES
FENG LI/GETTY IMAGES
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