2016 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS ‘ONE
continues to dominate in pairs, while the United States has two of the world’s top ice dance teams.
LADIES
FOR THE RECORD BOOKS’
Boston primed for an epic competition
by TROY SCHWINDT AND LYNN RUTHERFORD T e best fi gure skaters in the world will
showcase their vast talents in arguably the best sports city in America when Boston hosts the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, March 28–April 3.
Home to the NHL’s Boston Bruins and
NBA’s Boston Celtics, the venerable TD Garden will be the site of this prestigious international competition. T e event marks the fi rst time since 2009 that the United States has hosted the World Championships. T at year, Evan Lysacek earned the gold medal in Los Angeles before going on to win the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. “T ese World Championships are shap- ing up to be one for the record books,” Doug
Zeghibe, executive director of T e Skating Club of Boston, said. “T e interest from internation- al fans has been phenomenal, and Boston’s own skating fans have been responding with great enthusiasm. T e U.S. is competitive in both the ladies and the dance competitions, and the tech- nical level of the quadruple jumps in the men’s event has never been higher.” While this is the fi rst time Boston will host
the World Championships, the city is no stranger to fi gure skating. With deep roots in the sport, and home to Olympic champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, Boston was selected to host the 2014 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which celebrated the 100-year edition of the U.S. Cham- pionships and determined the 2014 U.S. Olym- pic Team that competed in Sochi, Russia. Almost 109,000 spectators walked through the TD Gar- den turnstiles to watch that riveting competition. “T e crowd was unbelievable, so spectacular,
such great energy,” said Simon Shnapir, who with former pairs partner Marissa Castelli represented T e Skating Club of Boston and earned a U.S. title and Olympic berth at that historic event. T at same electricity will be present for the
Evgenia Medvedeva 60 MARCH 2016
World Championships, where large crowds are expected throughout the event. Many current Olympic and World champions and medalists are primed to thrill audiences with their skyrocketing jumps, mind-boggling spins, intricate footwork and daring lifts and throws. T e international fi eld includes a roster of men whose athleticism has pushed the sport’s limits, with scores of more than 300 points. T e ladies, led by strong contingents from Russia and Japan, have mesmerized audiences this season with their technical prowess and artistry. Russia
vinsky’s T e Firebird, with technical elements and choreography every bit as challenging as those performed by the Rus- sians. But at the U.S. Championships in Saint Paul and other events this season, she did not per- form a clean short program, which will likely be essential for a medal in Boston. “Obviously, I feel way better going into the
Boston World Championships now that I have won this and qualifi ed for it,” Gold said after her stellar free skate in Saint Paul. “I feel better than af- ter the short program, opening with a single. I just need to keep my nose down and keep training.” Edmunds had her best programs ever at the
EVENT SCHEDULE (All Times Eastern)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30 10 a.m.-3:15 p.m. – Short dance 5-5:45 p.m. – Opening ceremony 6-10:55 p.m. – Men’s short program
THURSDAY, MARCH 31 12:15-5:55 p.m. – Ladies short program 7:30-10:50 p.m. – Free dance
FRIDAY, APRIL 1 1:15-4:45 p.m. – Pairs short program 6:45-10:50 p.m. – Men’s free skate
SATURDAY, APRIL 2 12:54-3:55 p.m. – Pairs free skate 7-10:55 p.m. – Ladies free skate
SUNDAY, APRIL 3 2-4:15 p.m. – Exhibition
Gracie Gold
It’s been 10 years since a U.S. lady ascended the medal podium at the World Championships, and many are betting the trio of Gracie Gold, Po- lina Edmunds and Ashley Wagner will end the drought in Boston. To do it, one or more of them will have to overcome formidable teams from Russia and Japan. Russia’s ladies fi eld is so deep, 2015 World
champion Elizaveta Tuktamisheva didn’t even make it to Boston, having placed eighth at the Russian cham- pionships. Evgenia Med- vedeva has been nearly fl awless this season, winning Skate America
over Gold in October and claiming the Grand Prix Final and European titles. T e elegant Rus- sian teen packs her free skate with diffi cult jump combinations, and does many in the program’s second half, earning valuable bonus points. Med- vedeva’s only loss this season came to her equally precocious teammate Elena Radionova at Ros- telecom Cup in November. Radionova, a fi erce competitor, placed second to Medvedeva at the European Figure Skating Championships. Gold won her second U.S. title with a record-setting free skate to Stra-
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
DANIEL KOPATSCH - ISU/ISU VIA GETTY IMAGES
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