Determination leads to success for Borodulin

In November 2007, Russia's Artem Borodulin limped on crutches into the ice rink at the Cup of Russia as a spectator. He had broken his right ankle less than a month before while practicing a jump. Two months later, he took his first steps onto the ice during Russian Nationals when the official practice of the competitors had finished. In March, he won the silver medal at the World Junior Championships, five places up from his previous showing the year before. This strong comeback says a lot about the now 19-year-old's determination.

"When I got injured, basically everybody told me that it wasn't realistic to recover (in time for Junior Worlds)," recalled Borodulin. He was not about to give away that opportunity, however. "It was my last one because of my age. Even if the chances for recovery were slim, I still tried to do it. Others might not like that I'm a stubborn, very difficult person, but I will go to the very end. I don't let go. I won't give up my spot just like that. I'm very jealous. I want attention," the skater summarized honestly.

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Young Team Gives Japan Hope for Future

Japan is attempting to improve its prospects in pairs skating with the new team of Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran. The couple finished 15th at their first ISU championship, the 2008 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Earlier in the season, they placed 12th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Tallinn, Estonia and sixth at the JGP in Chemnitz, Germany.
Tran, who was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, started skating when he was four. "My parents came to Canada from Vietnam and Cambodia as refugees," he explained. "They wanted us to have something to do in Canada so they threw me into hockey camp. I had all my equipment and would skate around dragging my stick behind me. When I took CanSkate, the class was taught by figure skaters so instead of hockey I got into figure skating instead."

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ISU JGP Courchevel - Results

Men

1. Michal Brezina (CZE) 182.72 pts
2. Armin Mahbanoozadeh (USA) 172.64 pts
3. Florent Amodio (FRA) 171.69 pts
4. Denis Ten (KAZ) 163.87 pts
5. Nan Song (CHN) 161.63 pts
6. Chao Zhang (CHN) 161.11 pts
7. Christopher Boyadji (FRA) 159.17 pts
8. Eliot Halverson (USA) 155.50 pts

Ladies

1. Kristine Musademba (USA) 143.02 pts
2. Becky Bereswill (USA) 134.98 pts
3. Diane Szmiett (CAN) 126.58 pts
4. Stefania Berton (ITA) 114.81 pts
5. Evgenia Pochufarova (RUS) 114.00 pts
6. Yuka Ishikawa (JPN) 112.33 pts
7. Rylie McCulloch-Casarsa (CAN) 107.62 pts
8. Mae Berenice Meite (FRA) 107.50 pts

Ice Dance

1. Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani (USA) 157.84 pts
2. Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill (CAN) 146.84 pts
3. Lucie Mysliveckova & Matej Novak (CZE) 139.72 pts
4. Terra Findlay & Benoit Richaud (FRA) 136.42 pts
5. Tatiana Baturintseva & Ivan Volobuiev (RUS) 135.92 pts

Canadian pair a rarity in competitive skating

In winter and summer, pair skaters Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers train in the smallest of small towns on the Canadian prairie -- Wawota, Saskatchewan, population 500 or thereabouts, and Whitewood, Saskatchewan, population 950, give or take a few. On summer weekends, Lawrence, 18, and Swiegers, 21, go their separate ways. She heads home to the family ranch outside Kennedy, Saskatchewan (population: 200), where her family raises rodeo bulls and horses and stages rodeo events. Swiegers, who does not share his partner's passion for rodeo, might be found kayaking across a secluded prairie lake. Next week, as competitors on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, Lawrence and Swiegers will fly south to one of the most populous metropolises in the world -- Mexico City, population 18 million. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, that prospect doesn't seem to faze them.

Special Regulations and Technical Rules

The ISU Special Regulations and Technical Rules for Single and Pair Skating and Ice Dancing 2008 have been published and are available here.

Simply Mirai-culous

Mirai Nagasu, who turned 15 in April, surprised the nation again this year when she defeated the favorites, 2006 World champion Kimmie Meissner and 2007 Junior World champion Caroline Zhang, to win the U.S. senior ladies gold medal. Last year, she also surprised Zhang, who had won every event until then, by winning the 2007 U.S. junior ladies title.

"This little girl never stops surprising me," said her coach, Charlene Wong. "The stars were all aligned for her. Our focus (at Nationals) was only finishing in the top half, not winning the whole thing. We've tried to focus only on her skating, not her results. There's no need to have her whole career all at once."

Full article.

Vise, Trent set sights on making world team

Tiffany Vise and Derek Trent are known for a single historic moment: landing the sport's first-ever competitive throw quadruple jump at last fall's Trophée Eric Bompard. And just in case the memory of that glorious Salchow ever fades, there's a reminder in front of them each time they step onto the ice at the Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale, Ariz. "They put up a ten-foot mural, really a permanent fixture, of Tiffany and I that says 'home of the first quadruple throw,'" the 28-year-old Trent said. "It's really exciting, really cool. Everyone here at the rink has been wonderful to us." Proud as they are of their achievement, the couple is now striving to perfect other aspects of their skating.

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Castile, Okolski look toward Vancouver

Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski are pair skaters that sometimes talk more like single competitors. At the recent Indy Pairs Challenge, the duo attempted side-by-side triple Salchows in their short program to the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack. Although Castile took a small step on the landing, the jumps counted. "Our goal was to do the triples in the program and we did," the 22-year-old Castile said. "We've really worked on our individual skating in the off-season and I think it shows. We have a lot more work to do but we also have time to work out the kinks. We're on the right track." "I would have just come out and done the triple Salchow and gotten off the ice, so I was really happy," added her 23-year-old partner.

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Following change, Volosozhar and Morozov are poised to shine

Following the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, Ukraine's Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov made a major change in their career. They left their home town of Kiev and moved to Chemnitz, Germany, to train under Ingo Steuer alongside reigning World Champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy.

"We didn't have a real pair skating coach in Kiev," Morozov explained. "Mostly I was training her (Volosozhar), and this didn't work out too well. It was somehow logical that we switch to a very experienced coach. Ingo not only skated well himself, but he is also a very experienced coach and there is no other alternative for us in the Ukraine and even in the world."

Earlier this last season, the Ukrainians narrowly missed the podium at the European Championships, finishing fourth. Then they struggled during the free skate at Worlds to come in ninth overall.

Full article.

YAY! Today is my B-Day!

So today it's my B-Day, now I'm 18 years old! YAY! I'm an official argentinian citizen and I can drive and vote!... and also go to jail lol
Anyway, that was all I wanted to say xD
Vicky.

And this is my fav. song, Lovebug by Jonas Brothers



I know that this has nothing to do with figure skating hahaha but whatever, it's my B-Day and it's a really nice song :P

Joannie Rochette new SP

Dubé & Davison new LP

Lysacek masters the art of reinvention

(08/12/2008) - It had been a difficult day for two-time U.S. men's champion Evan Lysacek. A close family friend had passed away earlier and he apologized for being late with his call. An offer was extended to reschedule the interview, but he said he wanted to talk because it was important he promote an upcoming show that bears his name: Smucker's Presents and An Evening of Hope with Evan Lysacek and Friends, scheduled for Sept. 27 at the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Ill. The show will benefit the Stephanie Joseph Memorial Fund in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois. Joseph was "a friend I skated with in Chicago and I knew basically since the day I started skating," says Lysacek, 23, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. At the age of eight, Joseph was diagnosed with cancer. While she battled it, she was granted wishes from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, one of which was skating with Kurt Browning and Scott Hamilton, "who were absolute idols of hers."

Full article here.

Firsts Keep Coming for Kim

South Korea's Yu-Na Kim continues to make history every time she steps on the ice. When she won the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia in 2002 in novice, it was the first victory for a Korean lady at an international event. When she won the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) in Budapest, Hungary in 2004, it the first time a Korean skater had won a JGP event. She followed up with a silver at the 2005 JGP Final, making it the first time a Korean had reached the podium there. She topped that at the following JGP Final in 2006, winning gold - another first.

When Kim placed second at the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, it was the first time a Korean skater had stood on the podium at either a major ISU championship or at Junior Worlds. When she won the event in the following season, it was the first time a Korean had won an ISU championship or Junior Worlds.

Full article here.

Júlia Sebestyén: "I want everyone to see what I'm capable of"

Júlia Sebestyén, the 2004 European Champion from Hungary, had a succesful season with a brilliant 4th place at the European Championships, and despite messing up the short program and having to start in the last group at the World Championchips in Sweden, she managed to fight back in the long program, ending up in the 11th place. Just outside the top 10 maybe, but still a great accomplishment. The ladies’ competition in Göteborg ended sooner than usual – the skaters had Friday and Saturday off. So that's the first we asked about.

Full interview.

Ice Dance Rule Changes

The 52nd ISU Congress accepted important changes in the General Regulations, Special Regulations and Technical Rules. For further details, click here.

Kerrs Continue to Push Dance Boundaries

Scottish ice dancers Sinead and John Kerr have always been among the most unique dancers competing at the international level. This year will be no different. The team will be using a contemporary dance to the music Ruled by Secrecy by Muse.

"I think that this music will really reflect Sinead and John's individuality," said coach Evgeny Platov. "While this program is entertaining like their past dances, this will be entertaining from a different angle."

In the dance, the brother-and-sister team will actually be portraying siblings. "They are a brother and sister who have survived tragic and unfortunate events, are reunited, and are helping each other through difficulties they encounter in their journey through life," explained Platov. "There will be a piano piece used in this music that shows very high emotions. It will be interesting to see how they show their dramatic sides as individuals - not just brother and sister."

Full article.