2017 WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
ZHOU SOARS TO GOLD;
Parsons cap undefeated season with title
TAIPEI CITY, CHINESE TAIPEI —
U.S. silver medalist Vincent Zhou soared from fifth place after the short program to first with a record-breaking free skate at the 2017 ISU World Junior Championships, March 15–19. Te 16-year-old reeled off a quad Lutz,
quad Salchow-triple Salchow, another quad Salchow, as well as two triple Axels, four more triple jumps and Level 4 footwork in his performance to the Casablanca soundtrack. His free skate that generated 179.24 points and overall score of 258.11 are records at the World Junior Championships. His landing of a quad Lutz also was a first for the event. “Te gap between first and fifth after the
short program wasn’t that big, so I knew it wasn’t anything I couldn’t overcome,” Zhou said. “I just took the free skate element by element. It feels great to come from behind and top off the field like that.” Team USA also collected gold and bronze in ice dance, with Rachel Parsons and Michael
Parsons claiming top honors, and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko climbing from sixth after the short program to secure third place.
MEN Zhou entered the free skate 4.61 points
behind short program leader Dmitri Aliev of Russia. Zhou’s free skate score was 13.61 points more than Daniel Samohin’s, who placed second in the segment. Aliev and countrymate Alexander Samarin finished with silver and bronze, respectively. “It’s nice to see how this system can really
work in favor of a skater who puts out a good free skate,” said Justin Dillon, director of high performance development at U.S. Figure Skat- ing. “Last year Daniel Samohin from Israel went from ninth to first and this year Vincent goes from fifth to first. It goes to show you that it’s a short and long program competi- tion, and I think it’s important these athletes understand the short programs are to build up as many points as possible so it keeps you in the game for when you’re able to execute a strong free skate. Vincent really proved that.” American Alex Krasnozhon finished eighth with 211.47 points, and with Zhou’s top finish, ensured three spots for the U.S. at the 2018 World Junior Championships. Team USA’s Andrew Torgashev failed to qualify for the free skate and placed 26th in the 45-man field. “I think they (Krasnozhon and Torga- shev) got a lot out of this experience,” Dillon said. “Tey’ll be back strong for us next season
Vincent Zhou performs his free skate to the Casablanca soundtrack.
10 MAY 2017
World Junior men’s medalists (l-r) Dmitri Aliev, Vincent Zhou, Alexander Samarin
Zhou shows his excitement following his flawless free skate.
PHOTOS BY ATSUSHI TOMURA - ISU/ISU VIA GETTY IMAGES
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