2016 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONS HIP S
U.S. Championships, placing a close second to Gold. Will international judges in Boston award the Northern California teenager the same respect? Like Gold, Wagner has had difficulty putting two clean programs together this season. Still, the three- time U.S. champion arrives in Boston full of confi- dence, calling her free skate in Saint Paul one of her best ever despite a miss on a triple Lutz. “I am committing so much more to my jumps this season,” Wagner said. “I’m happy with the way I competed and I’m looking forward to Worlds.”
Te U.S. and Russian squads face strong
competition from defending World silver medalist Satoko Miyahara of Japan, a delicate, lyrical skater who nevertheless packs a technical punch and placed second to Medvedeva at the Grand Prix Final. And while Mao Asada has had difficulty finding her foot- ing this season, placing sixth at the Grand Prix Final and third at the Japanese Championships, the three- time World champion will likely be the only lady in the field to include a triple Axel in her programs. You can never count her out.
MEN Men’s figure skating has skyrocketed to new
heights in recent years thanks to a handful of skaters who have conquered multiple quadruple jumps. Two of those men — Japan’s Yuzuru Ha- nyu and Spain’s Javier Fernandez — have put up record scores in recent months. Any score over 280 points is considered out-
Adam Rippon
standing. Hanyu, the 2014 Olympic and World
champion, scored 330.43 points at the Grand Prix Final in December. One of his choreogra- phers was quoted as saying, “It’s like he’s from another planet.” Fernandez is also running white hot, having won his fourth consecutive European title in January with a score of 302.77 points. Both are coached in Toronto by two-time
Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser. Besides be- ing epic jumpers, they are also regarded as premier performers and are favorites for the gold medal in Boston.
Canada’s Patrick Chan and Kazakhstan’s
Denis Ten are also strong leapers and medal con- tenders. Chan is the 2014 Olympic silver medalist
Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea
and three-time World champion, while Ten is the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist and a two-time World medalist. On the American side, veteran Adam Rip-
pon arrives having just won his first U.S. title. While not equipped with a full arsenal of quads, his ability to perform and connect with an audi- ence is equally lethal. Rippon will perform his free skate to a Beatles medley, which was a big hit at the U.S. Championships in Saint Paul, Minne- sota. He attempted a quad Lutz in the program, falling on it, and may add another quad or two to his routines for Boston. “I stayed true to my plan at nationals,” Rip- pon, who trains in Southern California, said. “I think my next step is to refocus and reevaluate what kind of things I want in my programs. I’m really looking forward to getting down and get- ting all the work done.” One of his U.S. teammates, Max Aaron, is
cut from the same cloth as those great jumpers mentioned above. Aaron, who trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, incorporates multiple quads into his free skate, and has developed his perfor- mance quality under the watchful eye of chore- ographer Phillip Mills. Te 2013 U.S. champion and 2016 U.S. silver medalist is considered more than capable of making a run at the podium. Grant Hochstein, the third U.S. men’s en-
try, will make his Worlds debut. Hochstein, who trains in Southern California, finished fourth in Saint Paul but was awarded a Worlds spot when bronze medalist Nathan Chen suffered a hip in- jury during an exhibition performance following the U.S. Championships. Hochstein had his best results ever this fall and plans quadruple jumps in both his short program and free skate in Boston.
PAIRS Tis event will have it all: opposing styles,
longtime rivalries, technical fireworks and, for good measure, a five-time World champion return- ing to the competitive ranks with a new partner. Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, the athletic Canadians whose side-by-side triple Lutz and quadruple throw jumps led them to an un- defeated 2014–15 campaign, will be challenged to defend their World title against a two-team
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
Yuzuru Hanyu
Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov SKATING 61
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
ATSUSHI TOMURA/GETTY IMAGES
DANIEL KOPATSCH - ISU/ISU VIA GETTY IMAGES
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