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Led by Patrick Chan’s gold, Canadians fill their Cup of China with medals

BEIJING – Three-time world champion Patrick Chan won the gold medal in comeback fashion in men’s singles on Saturday to highlight a four-medal day for Canadians at the Cup of China figure skating competition, the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

Chan, third after a shaky short program, roared to the title in his free skate with 279.72 points overcoming a 13-point deficit on Boyang Jin of China, second at 278.54. Sergei Voronov of Russia was third at 243.76.

‘’The program felt very methodical,’’ said Chan, also the Skate Canada International winner three weeks ago. ‘’I didn’t give it more energy than it needed. I told myself to relax and not try and rush through the program.’’

Chan made sure to keep an even keel during the skate.

‘’Even the fall during the quad Salchow I made sure I didn’t panic and just continued to do the program as I did at home and forget about the mistake.’’

In women’s competition, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., took the silver with 196.00. Elena Radionova of Russia was the winner at 205.90 and her compatriot Elizaveta Tuktamysheva third at 192.57.

‘’I started the program really strong,’’ said Osmond. ‘’Then I did two mistakes that were really uncharacteristic for me. That’s something I just have to work on leading into the next big competitions. I need to keep my focus a little bit longer even if the program is going really well.’’

In ice dancing, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., were the silver medallists with 181.54. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S., took gold at 185.13. Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia were third at 177.41.

‘’This season is all about building,’’ said Weaver. ‘’There are many new things for us. We are learning from the beginning and that takes time and it’s not always an instantaneous result. Everything can get better even though we didn’t make any major mistakes.’’

In pairs, Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto added a bronze behind two Chinese teams with 191.54. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang took the gold at 203.76 and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin were second at 197.96.

The sixth stop on the circuit is next weekend in Sapporo, Japan.

Full results: ISU GP Audi Cup of China 2016

Osmond, Weaver/Poje lead after short program at Cup of China

BEIJING – Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. leads the women’s field and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are first in ice dance after Friday’s short programs at the Cup of China figure skating competition, the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

In ice dancing, Weaver and Poje produced a personal international score for their short dance with 73.78 points. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani follow closely at 73.23 and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia are third at 72.09.

Weaver and Poje were third at the Rostelecom Cup in Russia earlier this month.

“We’ve shown great improvements since Russia,” said Weaver. “We still haven’t had a perfectly clean performance and that’s what we are aiming for.”

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., withdrew after Paul injured her knee in practice.

In women’s competition, Osmond continued an impressive 2016-17 season earning 72.20 points. Elania Radinova of Russia is second at 70.75 and Mai Mihara of Japan third at 68.48.

So far this season, Osmond was second at Skate Canada International with two personal best scores and won an international event in Finland.

“I’m overall pretty happy,” said Osmond. “It didn’t feel quite as good as Skate Canada but I got everything done.”

In pairs, Xiaoyu and Hao Zhang of China are first at 72.49 followed by Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto in second at 71.28 and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China third at 69.93.

‘’The program felt good,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’We were at an even-keel energy-wise and other than a little mistake on the jump felt we were very connected.’’

In men’s competition, three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Toronto stands third after the short program with 83.41 points. Boyang Jin of China has a big lead at 96.17 and Daniel Samohin of Israel is second at 83.47.

“Today was a bit rough,” said Chan, coming off a victory at Skate Canada International. “I obviously could have done a lot better. All the landings were a little shaky. The little mistakes add up to big mistakes in the short program.”

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Audi Cup of China 2016

Canadian skaters en route to ISU Grand Prix Cup of China

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of eight skaters, to the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, the Cup of China. The event takes place from November 18-20, 2016, at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men, ladies and pairs and two entries in ice dance.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s discipline. This will be his first time competing at this event. This season, Chan won the silver medal at his first event, the Finlandia Trophy, followed by the gold medal at Skate Canada International. The eight-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns and trains in Canton, MI, USA.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will be the Canadian entry in the ladies’ category. This will also be her first time competing at this event. This season, she won the Finlandia Trophy, and won the silver medal at Skate Canada International. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallist is coached by Ravi Walia and trains in Edmonton, Alta.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 25, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian pairs entry. Last season, the duo placed seventh at this event. Earlier this season, Ilyusechkina and Moscovitch won the silver medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy and the bronze medal at Skate Canada International. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., are the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, having won the bronze medal in 2012 and placed sixth in both 2008 and 2009. This season, Weaver and Poje won the bronze medal at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, the Rostelecom Cup. The two-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Nikolai Morozov and train in Hackensack, NJ, USA.

Alexandra Paul, 25, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their second time competing at this event, having placed fifth in 2014. This season, they won the bronze medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and placed eighth at Skate Canada International. Paul and Islam train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will travel with the team as team leader. Dr. Cole Beavis of Saskatoon, Sask., and physiotherapist Karen Seymour of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medial staff onsite. Jeff Lukasik of Calgary, Alta., and Karen Butcher of Greely, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 CUP OF CHINA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Pairs Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 25/32 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 27/29 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Nikolai Morozov
Ice Dance Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam 25/26 Midhurst, Ont. / Barrie, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer