really happy about that. We’re not thrilled about the other errors, but we feel we did represent Team USA well.” Some of those technical errors involved
their jumps following the quad twist. Scimeca put a hand down on a triple Salchow, and Knier- im popped the front end of a double Axel-double Axel sequence. Te Colorado Springs-based duo’s program component scores in the free skate were in the mid-7s, while the six teams above them averaged in the 8s and 9s. “We can improve on every aspect of our
skating,” Scimeca said in looking toward future competitions. “Tere are no limits to our poten- tial. We are going to work on our interpretation and skating skills. We need to be more consistent on our elements. We have them; we need to do them.”
Competing at their first World Champion-
ships, Denney and Frazier were in eighth place after the short program with a personal-best score of 61.32 points. Te U.S. silver medalists, who announced
Ingo Steuer as their new coach just prior to the World Championships, had hoped all season long to peak at Worlds.
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier Adam Rippon Joshua Farris recovered from a hard fall
on a triple Axel in his short to place eighth in the free skate and 11th overall. Farris, who won bronze and silver at the U.S. and Four Conti- nents Championships, respectively, is proud of the progress he’s made this season, even when it doesn’t result in a medal. “I have had a lot of good skates and a lot of
bad skates, so after I skated my short program I talked to my coaches Christy (Krall) and Damon (Allen) on the bus,” Farris explained. “Christy sat next to me, and I starting crying a little bit. She shared some incredible words of wisdom and re- ally helped me prepare for today. I didn’t want to replicate what I’ve done in past competitions after a bad short program. It was far from perfect but it was a step.”
— Mimi Whetstone
PAIRS TEAMS GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
Tey didn’t win a medal, but Alexa Scime-
ca and Chris Knierim did something they will never forget: Tey landed a quadruple twist on the World stage, in front of a roaring Shanghai crowd. “Two Chinese teams do it, so it’s an honor
to do it alongside them in their country,” Scimeca said.
But while relishing the experience, both
Scimeca and Knierim, and Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier think they are capable of per- forming better at the World Championships. A U.S. pairs team has not won a medal at a World Championships since 2002, when Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman secured bronze in Nagano, Ja- pan.
Scimeca and Knierim, the 2015 U.S. cham- pions, finished seventh in both segments of the
26 MAY 2015 Joshua Farris
competition to place seventh overall with 185.81 points. At their first World Championships in 2013, the team finished ninth. “We performed as if we were tired,” Knier-
im said after the team’s free skate to a Gershwin medley. “Tere were good parts, but we had some technical errors. Te quad twist was great; we are
Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim
XIAOLU CHU/GETTY IMAGES XIAOLU CHU/GETTY IMAGES
GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60