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Virtue and Moir win gold medal at NHK Trophy

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SAPPORO, Japan – Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., won the gold medal in ice dancing on Sunday at the NHK Trophy to conclude the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Virtue and Moir, two-time world champions and the 2010 Olympic champs, totalled a personal best 195.84 points for the victory. Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were second at 186.66 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy were third at 180.42.

‘’We are very pleased with our performance today,’’ said Virtue. ‘’It’s always a pleasure skating in front of a Japanese crowd. We’re excited to build off this momentum towards the Grand Prix final.’’

It was Canada’s second victory of the competition. On Saturday, Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., took the pairs title.

The ISU Grand Prix Final featuring the top-six in each of the four events from this season takes place December 8-11 in Marseilles, France. Skate Canada will announce the team later this week.

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2016.

Gold for Duhamel and Radford; World record for Virtue and Moir

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SAPPORO, Japan – Canadian two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won the gold medal in pairs while Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir set a world record in the short dance at the NHK Trophy, the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In pairs, Duhamel and Radford moved from second spot after the short to win their second gold medal this season on the circuit with 204.56 points. Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China were second at 196.87 and their compatriots Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang were third at 185.32.

“There were some strong elements and there were some unfortunate mistakes,” said Radford from Balmertown, Ont. “But sometimes we have to make these mistakes throughout the season so we can learn from them and they don’t happen again.”

The Canadians’ program featured a great triple twist, side-by-side triple Lutz and throw quad Salchow.  They mistimed their first side-by-side jump and final lift.

“I don’t know what happened with the lift,” he said. “My body felt very tight and tired and we mismatched the timing on that last lift and it was a bit of a struggle.”

In the short dance, Virtue and Moir produced a 79.47 score which eclipsed the previous world mark of 78.89 set by Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S. at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are second at 75.60 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy third at 72.00.

“We had some work to do to bring our levels up for this competition and it was nice to get a couple of level fours,” said Moir from Ilderton, Ont. “It felt pretty similar to what we’ve been doing in training and it is exactly what we wanted to accomplish with our performance.”

Other Canadian results: Nam Nguyen of Toronto, Ont., and Elladj Baldé of Montreal, Que., were eighth and 10th in the men’s competition and Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was 10th in the women’s competition.

The free dance is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. (EST) tonight and will be streamed live on cbc.ca.

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2016.

Duhamel and Radford stand second after short program at NHK Trophy

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SAPPORO, Japan – Two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are in second place after Friday’s short program in pairs at the NHK Trophy, the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China hold a slight lead over the Canadians with 73.33 points. Duhamel and Radford, the Skate Canada International winners last month, follow at 72.95 and Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang of China are third at 65.66.

Duhamel fell trying to land the throw triple Axel but they successfully executed their triple twist and side-by-side triple Lutz.

‘’It wasn’t our best performance today,’’ said Duhamel. ‘’The throw triple Axel is a new throw for us this season and we’ve been doing it successfully in practice. The overall program though was better and smoother than at Skate Canada.’’

In men’s competition, Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., and Nam Nguyen of Toronto are fifth and sixth after the short program. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan holds a big lead.

Balde landed a triple Axel, triple flip and triple Lutz-triple toe combination in an emotional skate to Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence.

‘’I’m very pleased with the result,’’ said Balde. ‘’I earned the same score as at the Grand Prix of Russia but today I made some technical mistakes and had a bobble in my triple Axel landing. But my artistic score was the highest it’s ever been and that is very exciting for me.’’

Nguyen produced a great start landing his quad Salchow-triple toe and triple Axel but fell and hit the boards on his triple Lutz.

‘’I was really nervous,’’ said Nguyen. ‘’I was pleased with how I came back after the fall. It’s a good step for me at this point in the season.’’

In women’s competition, Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., stands eighth after the short. Russia is 1-2 led by Anna Pogorilaya.

The ice dancing competition gets underway Saturday followed by the free skates for men’s women’s and pairs. The free dance is on Sunday,

Full results: ISU GP NHK Trophy 2016

Canadian team headed to Japan for final stop on ISU Grand Prix circuit

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of seven skaters to the sixth and final stop of the 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix circuit, the 2016 NHK Trophy. Canada will have one entry per discipline in ladies, pairs and ice dance, and two entries in the men’s discipline. The event takes place from November 25-27, 2016, at the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena in Sapporo, Japan.

Nam Nguyen, 18, Toronto, Ont., is the first of two Canadian men entries. This will be his first time competing at this event. This season, Nguyen placed fifth at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and sixth at Skate America. He is coached by David Glynn in San Jose, CA, USA.

Elladj Baldé, 26, Montreal, Que., is the second Canadian men entry. Baldé has previously placed sixth at this event in 2014 and 11th in 2015. This season, he placed eighth at his first event, the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, followed by a sixth place finish at his first ISU Grand Prix of the season, the Rostelecom Cup. Baldé trains in Montreal, Que., with his coach Bruno Marcotte.

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont., is the Canadian entry in the ladies category. This will be her first time competing at this event. She started this season winning the silver medal at the 2016 Autumn Classic International, and earned a fifth place finish at the 2016 Skate Canada International. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Two-time World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., are the Canadian pair entry. They are two-time defending champions at this event. Duhamel and Radford won their first two competitions this season, the Finlandia Trophy and Skate Canada International. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Olympic and World champions Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., are the Canadian entry in ice dance. They previously competed at this event in 2007 and won the silver medal. In their return to competition this season, they won the gold medal at both the 2016 Autumn Classic International and the 2016 Skate Canada International. Virtue and Moir are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will travel with the team as team leader. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Mike McMurray of Oak Bluff, Man., will be the Canadian medial staff onsite. Leanna Caron of Timmins, Ont., and Reaghan Fawcett-Fortin of Aurora, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 NHK TROPHY

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nam Nguyen 18 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club David Glynn
Men Elladj Baldé 26 Montreal, Que. CPA Anjou Kinsmen Bruno Marcotte
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 20 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Brian Orser
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Ilderton SC / Ilderton SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon