F O U R CONT I NENTS CHA MPI ON S H IPS
TAKING by MIMI MCKINNIS
“We feel like there are really no limits. … Tere used to be a glass ceiling and we’re kind of flying through it right now,” Alex Shibutani said.
Competing for the first time as reigning U.S. champions, Alex and his sister Maia set the pace in ice dance at the 2016 Four Continents Championships, winning the first of four medals for Team USA, Feb. 16–21 in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei. Setting personal-best international scores across the board
en route to a score of 181.62, the Shibutanis won gold by nearly seven points, marking their first-career ISU championship title. “It [winning] is a really gratifying feeling,” Alex said. “We’ve
been working so hard over the past four seasons in particular, but this season we’ve been really focused on making sure we make the most of every opportunity. Tis was a great opportunity and we’re very excited looking forward to Worlds.” U.S. silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates rallied
from a fourth-place short dance to collect the silver medal for the second consecutive season. Tey earned a personal-best free dance score of 107.59 and a total combined score of 174.64 points. U.S. bronze medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Dono- hue finished fourth with 172.29 points. Teir personal-best free dance score of 102.93 was the third-highest score of the event, giving Team USA the top three performances in the segment. Canada’s Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje secured the bronze medal with 173.85 points.
Leading the American ladies in Taipei, Mirai Nagasu pulled
up from third place in the short program to seize the silver med- al. Te reigning U.S. pewter medalist and 2008 U.S. champion generated 193.86 points in claiming her highest-ever finish at this event.
“I think it’s safe to say that I haven’t skated like this in a long,
long time,” Nagasu said. “It’s taken a lot to get me back on the podium and I’m so grateful to my team and support group who
10 APRIL 2016
ON TAIPEI Shibutanis lead Team USA to four medals
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani con- tinued their upward trajectory with their short program to the comedic ballet Coppélia.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates rallied to make it a 1-2 U.S. finish in ice dance.
ON MAN KEVIN LEE/ISU VIA GETTY IMAGES ON MAN KEVIN LEE/ISU VIA 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