Results Details

The 2023 Four Continents Championships had been allocated to China; however, like other competitions during Covid, China returned the sanction to the ISU and declined to host the competition.  The ISU then offered the competition to other ISU members and U.S. Figure Skating stepped up to host the competition in Colorado Springs at the World Arena.  With U.S. Figure Skating headquarters located in Colorado Springs, it was an effective venue to plan for a major competition on short notice.

Women

Women Short Program

The short program of the 23 women at the Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs had a good level. Between first and sixth place there was a difference of only 3.7 points.

Yelim Kim from South Korea took the lead with 72.84 points and a flawless short program to the music of “Mercy” by Max Richter. She had been sixth at the Grand Prix Final in December 2022, second at South Korean Nationals and third at the World University Games in Lake Placid in Lake Placid in January 2023. In Colorado Springs, her combination of triple Lutz and triple toe loop as well as the step sequence (Level 4) were skated in high speed and excellent. The other five elements were very good and her components around 8.4. She commented, “Not everything was perfect, but it was almost a clean program. Since Colorado Springs is on high altitude, when I prepared for this competition, I was focusing on stamina.”

The new U.S. Champion Isabeau Levito of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, sits second with 71.50 points. She had won the ISU Award as “Best Newcomer” the week before. She did not show up for her practice in the morning of the short program. Skating to Spanish-themed “Un noche mas” by Yasmin Levy, she didn’t make any real mistake either and her components had an average of 8.3. But her combination of triple Lutz and triple toe loop in the second half was a bit tight and got only GOEs of +1 and +2. And one points was deducted for skating one second too long. She later said, “I haven't had time to reflect on my program. But, for the most part, I am satisfied with my performance. I definitely feel like Nationals was a very stressful event and I feel like I learned a lot from Nationals. It was such a great experience and I am very glad to have had that experience prior to this competition.”

Chaeyeon Kim from South Korea is third with 71.39 points after making no mistakes either. She had been third at the Junior Final in Turin two months ago. She even had the highest GOEs of all skaters (mainly +3, and +4 for the layback spin) with the same elements as the top two, but her components were only around 7.9.

Amber Glenn, who moved from Texas to Colorado Springs in the summer, is currently in fourth position with 69.63 points. Her combination of triple flip and triple toe loop was excellent, her double Axel and spins very good, but on her triple loop she touched her hand on the ice. Her components had an average of 8.3. She explained, “The emotion I was feeling at the end was a bit of a disappointment. Usually the loop is my best jump, and to put my hand down on it was very disappointing. After Nationals there was very little time to be ready for this level.”

Bradie Tennell, who trains and lives in Nice in France now, is fifth with 69.49 points. In her combination, she under-rotated the triple toe loop after the triple Lutz and the triple flip was nearly under-rotated. The other five elements were excellent and her components around 8.4. She said, “I just want to do so well, I just want it so badly that just deep inside me I don’t allow myself to do it. Being in my home country is really exciting for me. The hard part of this journey was getting back to this level. The past year was difficult.”

The third South Korean skater Haein Lee placed sixth with 69.13 points and underlined the strength of this country’s skaters. In her combination the triple toe loop after the triple Lutz was nearly under-rotated (q) and the flip got a small edge warning. Everything else was very good and her components were around 8.3.

Japan had not sent its best skaters. Therefore the best Japanese woman was Mone Chiba who had been fifth at Japanese Nationals and sits sixth at Four Continents with 67.28 points. In her combination, the triple Lutz like the triple toe loop were a bit under-rotated, but everything else was good, the layback spin even stellar. Rinka Watanabe, fourth in the Grand Prix Final, but only 12th at Nationals, is currently on eighth place with 65.60 points after heavily stepping out of the under-rotated triple Axel and feeling tired because of the altitude. The third Japanese skater Hana Yoshida is tenth with 59.82 points. In-between, Canadian champion Madeline Schizas placed ninth with 60.11 points after performing a shaky combination of triple loop and double toe loop.

Jocelyn Hong is the best skater New Zealand ever had, trains in Hackensack, NJ, under Nikolai Morozov and finished 11th with 52.02 points. Canadian skater Sara Maude Dupuis trains near Montreal and is 12th with 51.68 points after doubling the Lutz. Tara Prasad skates for India, but lives in Colorado Springs and sits 14th with 46.04 points right coming back from Bavarian Open in Germany where she competed four days earlier. Sofia Lexi Jacqueline Frank lives in the USA, competes for the Philippines and ended up on 19th place.

Women Free Skating

The women’s free skate at the Four Continents Championships 2023 in Colorado Springs had a high level, five competitors had more than 200 points. It ended with a big surprise because none of the top five after the short program won the event. Instead, the winner with 210.84 points in a close decision was South Korean Haein Lee who had been sixth in the short. Last year she was seventh at Worlds, this season third at Korean Nationals and fourth in both of her Grand Prix. Shae-Lynn Bourne had choreographed her free program to the “Phantom of the Opera”. All her seven triple jumps plus two double Axels were very good, nothing was under-rotated, she had no edge call and did not try a triple Axel. She collected a level 4 for her excellent spins and the outstanding level step sequence. The choreographic step sequence was very good well. Her components had an average of 8.3.

She commented, “Yesterday I really was not nervous but today I was so nervous. But I tried to keep focused on my program and not to think about the final results. I think I did well today and there were no mistakes. I didn't expect the gold medal. Today I felt a lot of energy from the audience.”

Lee’s teammate Yelim Kim, who had been leading in the short program, won the silver medal with 209.29 points and the third best free program to the soundtrack of “Summer of 42”. Five of her triple jumps were impressive, but the second Lutz was under-rotated and she popped the Salchow. Spins and steps were very good and her components around 8.4. “Starting this morning, my back was hurting”, she explained. “So I’m just very thankful and I just focused on what I practiced. I am a little bit disappointed in myself because I got one mistake at the last jump. Colorado Springs is on very high mountains so much harder than the other places to compete. The audience screamed, that gave me energy and it was very helpful to me.”

Mone Chiba from Japan had been seventh in the short program, but climbed to bronze overall with 204.98 points and the second best free program. She performed six of her seven triple jumps very well, but the triple toe loop after the triple Lutz got a q. Spins and steps were excellent and the components around 8.0. She stated, “I was able to successfully land all of my jumps so I'm very happy about that. My skating itself was maybe not as grand or big as I would have liked, but I'm still definitely satisfied. I certainly did not even dream that I would be able to get the bronze medal so I am very surprised and also equally very pleased. In terms of my age I believe that the Milan Olympics is when I will get to be at my peak performance. ”My next competition is Coupe de Printemps in Luxemburg.” 

Chaeyeon Kim, also from South Korea, placed fourth with 202.39 points and underlined the high level of female skating in her country. Five triple jumps, her spins and steps were very good, but she stepped out of the first triple flip and fell on the second one which was under-rotated. Her components were around 8.0, but she was disappointed. Rinka Watanabe from Japan finished on fifth place with 200.50 points. Her first jump in the free was a clean triple Axel, followed by five good other triples, but she popped the first Lutz and her second one got a q. Spins and steps were excellent, the components had an average of 7.9.

Bradie Tennell, second at U.S. Nationals, was the best non-Asian skater and came sixth with 199.91 points. Two triples were good, the spins and steps excellent, but four other triples more or less under-rotated and she doubled the flip. She had the highest components of the field, which were around 8.4. She explained, “I’m really happy with the fight that I put out there. I’m upset about the triple flip - I have been working a lot on that jump. Overall I’m happy with the improvements I’ve made since Nationals.”

Her teammate Amber Glenn is seventh with 192.50 points. She stepped out of the (under-rotated) triple Axel at the beginning and fell on the triple Salchow, but performed five other clean triple jumps. Spins and steps were good and her components around 8.0. She said, “It's been a very hard time since Nationals. I've been skating well but feeling bad, like sick. But I felt like it wasn't a disaster and I'm excited to have some time and rest before Worlds at sea level.” Hana Yoshida from Japan came eighth with 189.60 points. She fell on the triple Axel and four other jumps were not clean.

Sarah Maude Dupuis from Boucherville in Quebec was the best of the three Canadians, placing ninth with 170.67 points. Canadian Champion Madeline Schizas made three mistakes and finished only 10th with 159.73 points. U.S. Champion Isabeau Levito had been second in the short program, but was not feeling well and withdrew right before the free program.

Men

Men Short

The men’s short program at the Four Continents in Colorado Springs had a mixed level and nobody was outstanding. Kao Miura from Japan took the lead with 91.90 points and was 5.20 points ahead. He had been fifth at the Grand Prix Final and sixth at Japanese Nationals. Skating to two tangos by Astor Piazzola, he wobbled on his quad Salchow which was planned with a triple toe loop. But his triple Axel, his improvised combination of quad toe loop and triple toe loop and his step sequence were excellent, the spins good and his components had an average of 8.2. He commented, “I made a mistake on my Salchow in the beginning but I was able to add a triple toe loop at the end of the combination at the end so I was able to keep my mistakes to a minimum. I feel like the audience is very warm and supportive towards all the skaters.”

Alaska-born Keegan Messing from Canada, who had represented the USA until 2014, sits second with 86.70 points. Skating to “Grace Kelly” by the Lebanese-British singer Mika, the 2022 and 2023 Canadian Champion went down on the opening quad toe loop, but the triple Axel was outstanding and his combination of triple Lutz and triple toe loop clean, his spins and steps excellent. Referring to his last competition season, the 31-year-old skater explained, “I was a little upset that I missed my (opening) quad toe, but one of the goals for this year is not to let the jumps affect the performance. This sport is too hard to take seriously and get yourself bent out of shape. Make friends, have fun, and try to keep your mind light. Don't forget the crowd is on your side.”

U.S. skater Jimmy Ma of Norwood near Boston is currently third with 86.64 points. His quad toe loop and his step sequence to the music of Black Swan, based on Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, were excellent, but two of the three triple jumps not quite clean. His components were around 7.8. He said, “I flew directly from Nationals and kept practicing to get used to the high altitude here.”

For the first time after the Olympic Games of 2022, the Boyang Jin from China competed and finished on fourth position with 85.32 points. He arrived from Toronto where he had surgery in the fall. His quad toe loop was very good, his triple Axel and his combination of triple Lutz and triple toe loop soso. He explained, “It is better than I expected. I’m not in the best shape physically. I want to thank to the Chinese team for sending me to Canada to training. Brian (Orser) and Tracy (Wilson) take good care of me. I was too rushed after the surgery. Then I got Covid twice in the last two months. The physical condition was terrible.”

Junhwan Cha from South Korea sits fifth earning 83.77 points. At the beginning of his program, the referee asked him to pick up a paper clip which was on the ice, which was disturbing for him. His quad Salchow had GOEs between +5 and 0, but was good. In his combination he fell on the downgraded triple loop after an under-rotated triple Lutz and his triple Axel had a q. Steps and two spins were excellent. He said, “I am disappointed in myself.”

Shun Sato from Japan is sixth with 80.81 points. He fell on the quad toe loop, but everything else was very good. Conrad Orzel from Canada placed seventh with 80.09 points. His combination of quad Salchow and toe loop was as good as the quad toe loop, but he almost fell on the triple Axel. He competes with Stephen Gogolev for a spot at Worlds. Maxim Naumov is eighth with 75.96 points. He had no quad and his triple Salchow and triple Axel were shaky, but his combination of triple Lutz and triple toe loop was very good. He had quitted ice skating during the first six months of 2022, but then came back. 

Koshiro Shimada from Japan is tenth with 74.06 points. He said, “My goal in my skating is to make the audience feel my love and joy of skating. I was barely able to move by the end because of the altitude here.” Stephen Gogolev from Canada placed 11th earning 72.82 points. He landed a good quad Salchow, but one spin did not get any points. He commented, “Overall, right after my program I was pleased. But then I saw the points, and I was disappointed.”

Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan finished 12th with 72.43 points. All his jumps were shaky. He had competed at the University Games in Lake Placid, flew home and thought he had a visa for multiple entries to the USA. But he was not allowed to enter again because his visa was only for one entry. He flew home for a new visa, could enter the USA and arrived in Colorado Springs after a 35-hour-journey five hours before the short program. The third American Liam Kapeikis ended up 13th with 71.43 points. Two triples were not correct. He said, “It was great to have a home crowd and I was able to skate in front of them.”

Men Free Skating

The free skating at the Four Continents Championships 2023 had a mixed level, The top three skaters were excellent, but some had serious problems because of the altitude. 17-year-old Kao Miura from Yokohama in Japan, the youngest competitor, won the event with 281.53 points and skated in a style which makes each jump look easy. Skating to “The Beauty and the Beast”, he opened his free program with an outstanding combination of triple Axel, Euler and triple Salchow which had four GOEs of +4 and one of +5. His combination of quad toe loop and triple toe loop was excellent as well and his quad Salchow a bit shaky. Later he added a good second triple Axel and an outstanding second quad toe loop. His components were around 8.8.

He commented, “Today was amazing because just before I went on the ice Keegan put on such an amazing program and I was able to actually go with that flow. So he gave me a lot of energy. And I was able to really skate well. To begin with today, I forgot my costume. Thanks to help from everybody, I was able to get my costume in time. The spectators were wonderful. Today I think that Beauty did appear a little bit during my choreography, but I don't have any beauty quality in me, so of course I am the beast.”

Keegan Messing, with 31 years the oldest competitor in singles, won the silver medal with 275.57 points in his last season after maybe his best free program of his long career. Performing to “Home” by Drew Pearson and to “Lullaby for an Angel” by Karl Hugo, he began with two excellent quad toe loops, followed by a shaky triple Axel, a second very good triple Axel and four more triple jumps. He had outstanding spins for which he got some GOEs of +5. For his two step sequences he even had two and six GOEs of +5. His components were around 9.3, he even had two components of 10.0, which he has never had before.

He said, ”I am beyond stoked for how I skated today. This is my first (ISU) Championship medal and it took me 28 years of skating to get here. I'm so happy that I could put my last North American competition down like this. The air is quite a bit thinner up here but we made sure that we just paced ourselves through our program. Honestly, putting up a career best score, winning my first Championship medal I was definitely sitting there like ‘Man, I almost don't want to hang up my skates yet.’ But then I stood up and I remembered why. I would love to have an adventurous life with my family. I think this is the best way I could possibly leave the sport - in the hands of the next generation.”

19-year-old Japanese Shun Sato, who trains in the practice rink of Saitama, where Worlds will be held in March again, moved up from sixth to third place with 259.14 points. He started with an excellent quad Lutz, followed by two very good quad toe loops and five triples, among them two Axels. Skating to “Red Violin” in two versions, his spins and steps were at least good and his components around 8.2. He explained, “Last year just about this time I was undergoing surgery on my left shoulder and right now I won the third place at Four Continents. So I really want to show last year's me. I am really happy to win the bronze medal but I think it's thanks to Kao. After the short program I was really down. Yesterday we spent some time together and he said ‘You know, we're going to be on the podium together’. It really helped me.”

Junhwan Cha from South Korea finished fourth with 250.14 points. He skated to the 007 James Bond soundtrack of “No Time to Die”. After an excellent quad Salchow he fell on the quad toe loop, later popped an Axel, but had four more or less good triples and two under-rotated ones. He said, “I’m a little disappointed but I’ll just keep working hard. For now I am training in Korea because of my university. I will go back to the Cricket Club in Toronto next year after my studies.” Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan, student of Alexei Urmanov, moved up from 12th to fifth position with 237.14 points. He had three good quads and three triples in his program. He said he had missed the Grand Prix because he had suffered from the Epstein-Barr virus. e said

Sihyeong Lee from South Korea is on sixth position with 227.79 points after a program with a very good quad toe loop and eight triples. Boyang Jin from China placed seventh with 227.47 points. He was very exhausted after his program because he was sick. Conrad Orzel from Canada placed eighth with 226.10 points. He beat the other Canadian Stephen Gogolev who finished 13th earning 209.76 points and therefore perhaps qualified in an internal Canadian competition for a spot at Worlds.

The three U.S. skaters were not well prepared. Jimmy Ma dropped from 3rd to 9th position after falling on the quad toe loop, popping two jumps and almost falling on the second triple Axel. He said, “My legs didn’t listen to me out there and it wasn’t my day. I didn’t trust myself today.” Maxim Naumov is tenth with 218.71 points after falling on his two quad Salchows and performing only three clean triples. He explained, “I’ve only been back on the ice for 7 or 8 months now, and I’m very happy that I got to this place.” Liam Kapeikis ended up 14th with 198.00 points. He said, “It’s amazing to be here with all of these athletes who I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. I need to push myself to add in more quads.”

Pairs

Pairs Short

Only ten pairs competed at the Four Continents Championships 2023 in Colorado Springs because many smaller countries have no pairs at all. The level was relatively low. Even each of the three best made one big mistake. The reigning world champions Knierim & Frazier from the USA had decided not to come to Colorado Springs. World silver medalists Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara from Japan, winner of the Grand Prix Final 2022, took the lead with 71.19 points and skated to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” by Elvis Presley and to “Sweet Hope Walk” by Karl Hugo. They could not compete at Japanese Nationals in late December because they had to wait for 50 hours at the Vancouver airport until their plane finally took off. When they arrived in Japan, their luggage with their skates had not come with them.

Their triple twist in Colorado Springs was very good even if this element had GOEs between +5 and -1. But Miura fell on the downgraded triple toe loop. The other five elements and the whole performance were very good, including the triple throw Lutz. The Axel Lasso lift was even outstanding and their components had an average of 8.6. Kihara commented, “It wasn't our best performance, but I think we were able to achieve a level that we have been aiming for. I thought the air would be thinner because of the altitude and that my breath would almost stop. But then I realized 'No, it's not.’” Miura added, “It was really unfortunate that we weren't able to compete at Nationals because it's been three years. Although I made a mistake we were able to score higher than 70 points. That shows that it’s a proof of how we grew.”

Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps from Canada, fourth at the Grand Prix Final in Turin, are currently second with 68.39 points. Five of their elements in their Tango routine were at least good, including the triple toe loop. But the 39-year-old skater landed the triple throw loop on two feet and their side by side spin was a bit shaky. The components of the students of Josee Picard were around 7.8. She later said, “We're moderately happy with how today went. I was sick with a flu for about three months and just got better last week.”

Emily Chan & Spencer Akira Howe of Norwood near Boston, sixth at the Grand Prix Final and second at U.S. Nationals, are on third position with 66.96 points. Six elements to the flamenco “Nyah” were at least good, including a triple throw loop and an excellent step sequence. But Howe went down on the (under-rotated) triple toe loop. Their components were around 8.0. Chan said, “Overall we felt really good about our skate. The energy from the audience also gave us a lot of encouragement and we were able to perform with a lot of joy.” Concerning the altitude, Howe added, ”Your legs are burning but you still have to get the lifts up. Overall we're trained and we're going to do our job.”

The new Canadian team of Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud sit fourth with impressive 65.16 points in only their second international competition. They had been third at the Golden Spin in Croatia in December where they got the minimum points for Four Continents (and were third at Canadian Nationals where she even also competed in singles). All seven elements were good and had mainly GOEs of +1 and +2, including a triple toe loop and their components were around7.1. Pereira stated, “We feel great. This whole season has been a lot of firsts for us. So we try to take each learning experience every time and do the best we can. We don’t have any placement or score goals.“

The U.S. pair of Valentina Plazas & Maximilian Fernandez of Canton, Michigan sits fifth with 60.07 points. The students of Jim Peterson were fifth at U.S. Nationals and are in their first competition season. They had no individual triple jump but a double Axel which was a bit out of sync. She landed the triple throw loop on two feet and the spin was a bit shaky, the other elements were relatively clean. Kelly Ann Laurin & Loucas Ethier had been fourth at Canadian Nationals. In Colorado Springs, they placed sixth, earning 59.12 points. Laurin touched down on the triple throw Salchow, the other elements were clean.   

Ellie Kam & Danny O’Shea were National bronze medalists. She is new, but he has a lot of experience with former partners. The students of Drew Meekins in Colorado Springs finished seventh with 57.49 points. Her triple twist was not correctly landed in his arms and she landed the double throw loop with both hands on the ice. Her triple Salchow was a bit shaky, the rest was good. Siyang Zhang & Yongchao Yang from China are eighth, earning 56.10 points. Most of their elements were clean, but her double Axel was under-rotated. Huidi Wang & Zigi Jia, also from China, finished ninth with 53.65 points after Wang fell on the triple toe loop. Isabella Gamez & Alexandr Korovin, an American and a Russian who skate for the Philippines and train in Fort Myers, Florida, made mistakes on the majority of their elements. They ended up 10th with 39.69 points.

Pairs Free Skating

The pairs free program at the Four Continents Championship 2023 had a good level. Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara from Japan, who train in Oakville, Ontario with Bruno Marcotte, are the first Japanese to win a gold medal in pairs at an ISU Championship, earning 208.24 points although they were not flawless. After an excellent triple twist which got three GOEs of +4 and one GOE of +5, in their combination of triple toe loop, double toe loop and double Axel, Miura under-rotated the first jump a bit (q) and Kihara stepped out of the third jump. Miura stepped out of the triple Salchow and did not land the triple throw flip clean. The eight other elements and their pair harmony to the romantic music of “Atlas: Two” by the U.S. band “Sleeping at Last” and to “Shared Tenderness” by Karl Hugo were excellent. Therefore the components were around 8.6. Right after the program Kihara was totally exhausted and climbed on the kiss-and-cry seat on both hands and feet, but it was a bit of show as well.

Miura said, “We were quite nervous coming into this competition because of the high altitude but, despite the small misses we made, we are so happy that we were able to win the gold.” Kihara added, “All the practices paid off. Today's program elements were not perfect. I think it was more because of the lack of oxygen. It was really tough skating at this altitude, but the cheers of the audience kept our legs moving and we are really grateful for the support.”

U.S. Nationals silver medalists Emily Chan & Spencer Akira Howe earned the silver medal with 201.11 points, the first time they had more than 200 points internationally. They made no real mistake at all to the music of “Ghost” and “Unchained Melody”, but nailed the jump sequence of double Salchow, double Axel and another double Axel. Their lifts, throws, triple toe loop and other elements were mainly very good and their components around 8.2.

Howe commented, “It was definitely one of our best performances this season, so we're super excited. A lot of us were battling with the high altitude and we were able to not really be too affected. To see that kind of score in the free skate was super thrilling. It just paves the road for us to continue moving on an upward slope. We have to give our biggest thanks to our coach (Alexei Letov). It was a quick turnover from Nationals but it wasn't a bad thing for us - we were able to stay in a really good training environment.”

Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps from Canada took the bronze with 193.84 points, using the soundtrack of “Cleopatra”. They performed excellent lifts, a stellar triple throw loop and a good combination of triple toe loop and double toe loop.  Deschamps fell on the triple Salchow and Stellato-Dudek did not land the triple throw flip clean. Stellato-Dudek explained, “We had a couple of bobbles but I thought that we were better than we were at Nationals. This was the first time we added the side-by-side Salchow - that was our plan regardless of the altitude. Max usually doesn't fall on it so I was really surprised to see him down. I was 23 years ago at Junior Worlds? Wow, my gosh! I haven't even done this math - it's been such a long time.”

The new team of Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud from Canada gave a very good performance and finished fourth with 186.33points. They had good lifts and throws and a clean jump combination of triple toe loop, double toe loop and double Axel. He only doubled the Salchow which she tripled. Their components were around 7.5. Michaud commented, “I’m really happy with how it went today, kind of similar to yesterday. We’re just out here to gain more experience and confidence in our program. There’s obviously still some little things we can work on to improve our performance.”

Valentina Plazas & Maximiliano Fernandez remained on fifth place with 169.09 points. Their three lifts and the triple twist were good, but they made serious mistakes on the individual jumps and the two throws. Plazas said, “I think it was a good fight. It wasn’t perfect but we learned from every experience that we have, so I’m excited to take this into the next season. It’s so special to hear the crowd from home, and we’re excited to be able to travel around the world.”

Ellie Kam & Danny O’Shea, third at U.S. Nationals, came sixth with 168.69 points. Their lifts were excellent, but they had only double throws and made mistakes on their individual jumps. Kelly Ann Laurin & Loucas Ethier from Canada placed seventh, earning 167.67 points. Their jump combination was triple loop, Euler and double Salchow, but she fell on the triple throw Salchow. Siyang Zhang & Yongchao Yang from China finished eighth with 153.76 points. Isabella Gamez & Aleksandr Korovin, skating for the Philippines, ended up ninth and last with 113.48 points. The second Chinese pair of Huidi Wang & Ziqi Jia withdrew before the long program.

Dance

Rhythm Dance

The Rhythm Dance at the Four Continents Championships 2023 had a mixed level. There were several falls among the 12 teams which is unusual. The 2022 World bronze medal winners and reigning U.S. champions Madison Chock & Evan Bates took the lead with 87.67 points. Dancing to two Sambas and a Rhumba by David Bowie (in a remix) in an outstanding way, they performed five excellent elements which had mainly GOEs of +3 and +4. The innovative curve lift and the twizzles had the usual level 4, the two step sequence level 3 and the Choreographic Rhythm Sequence never get any levels. The components had an average of 9.4, with one 9.75 as highest. 

Chock explained, “We had a wonderful time skating today. There was so much joy in our hearts and in our performance. Training alongside our fellow competitors in Montreal is one of the most brilliant things about competition. We decided to come from Nationals in California straight to Colorado Springs to adjust. We were very fortunate Patch (Patrice Lauzon) decided to stay with us for the week. It was great to have him here and we trained alongside Christina & Anthony (Carreira/Ponomarenko) and Caroline & Michael (Green/Parsons) and Charlie White and it was just a really great training environment.” She also talked about winning the ISU Skating Award for their Free Dance costume 2021/22, “Designing costumes is one of my favorite things. It is such an incredible honor when you think of all the amazing athletes and beautiful costumes.”

Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Soerensen from Canada were close second with 86.28 points. They danced to a Rhumba and two Sambas by Gloria Estefan and their levels were even a bit better because she had a level 4 for the midline step sequence (and he a level 3). GOEs of +3 dominated for the elements and their components were around 9.2. Soerensen explained, “We had a great time out there today. The crowd was great and helped us through the performance. This year, we’ve really been focusing on changing our approach by having a little bit more fun.”

Majorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha, also Canadians from the Montreal Ice Academy, sit third, earning 79.04 points and dancing to a Chacha and two Sambas. They also had level 4 for the twizzles and the rotational lift, but only levels 1 (she) and 2 (he) for the midline step sequence. Their GOEs were mainly +3 and their components around 8.5. Lagha said, “After Nationals we needed to increase our stamina and the training was kind of brutal. But now I think we're all happy how we trained for this competition. For us it's our last competition of the year.”

U.S. dancers Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko, who train in London, Ontario, mainly with Scott Moir, finished fourth with 76.97 points, interpreting two Sambas and one Rhumba. Their GOEs were mostly +2 and +3 and their components around 8.3. Ponomarenko said, “We wanted to nail the rhythm dance this time I think we did that today.”

Caroline Green & Michael Parsons from the Canton school of Charlie White, Tanith White and Greg Zuerlein are fifth with 69.99 points. Parsons fell during the midline step sequence which therefore only had a level 1. The four other elements were very good and their components around 8.4. Parsons explained, “I thought we skated the majority of the program really well. I just caught my toe on the steps. I turned and my toe didn't and then I was on the ice. It's disappointing but that's on me.”

Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto (a former U.S. citizen) from Japan came sixth, earning 66.72 points. Their Pattern Dance Style Step Sequence only had a level 1, their GOEs were mainly +1 and +2 and their components around 7.3. They danced to a Salsa, a Rhumba and a Samba sung by Shakira. Koleto said, “We spent 18 months here in the last two years, so our whole preparation for the Olympics was happening in the Olympic rink. I was happy we were able to take that energy on the ice today.”

The other Japanese team of Kana Muramoto and former single skating World Champion Daisuke Takahashi placed seventh with 64.59 points. Muramoto went down during the midline step sequence and he had a small slip on the twizzles, but everything else was good. Muramoto commented, “That was actually a mistake that I have never made, so I am still wondering what has happened to me.”

Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain le Gac from Canada are on eighth position with 62.03 points. Four elements were very good, but Lauriault almost fell on the twizzles. She commented, “One week ago we did not know we would be skating at Four Continents. Today was not what we wanted. When I landed the jump before the twizzles, I landed on the wrong edge. I knew it was going to be hard to hold it.”

Holly Harris & Jason Chan from Australia placed ninth, earning 60.71 points. Harris fell on the first twizzle, the other elements were very good. She said, “This was a bit of a bittersweet performance. Everything besides the fall felt really good, so it was kind of frustrating. I feel that our skating skills have really improved.” Charlotte Lafond-Fournier & Richard Kam in Kang from New Zealand are tenth with 53.79 points after she stumbled a bit on the twizzles. The Second Australian couple India Nette & Eron Westwood sits 11th with 45.89 points and Gaukhar Nauryzova & Boyisangur Datiev from Kazakhstan, who train in Germany, ended up 12th with 43.84 points. The Chinese couple of Shiyue Wang & Xinyu Liu withdrew right before the competition, she was supposed to have an injury.

Free Dance

The free dance at the Four Continents Championships 2023 had a very good level and was a total triumph for the Montreal Ice Academy because the top four teams train in this school. Madison Chock & Evan Bates, gold medal candidates for Worlds in March, won the event clearly with 220.81 points. All their elements were stellar, looked effortless and had mainly GOEs of +4, six of them even had several +5, the choreographic spin even eight +5. Their components had an average of 9.6 with one perfect 10.0 for composition. They have improved a lot since their fall competitions and danced to “Souffrance” by the French music group “Orange Blossom” to portray the air and to “Les Tectoniques” by the singer Jorane from Quebec to portray fire.

Chock explained, “We're extremely happy with how we skated today. It was fun and invigorating from start to finish. It's been incredible being in Colorado Springs, in our home country. We always have such a great time at Four Continents. We had wonderful teammates and it's just an honor to win our third Four Continents together. I was surprised at how fresh I felt through the whole program and I think it's a true testament to our training and our mental fortitude that we were able to train in Colorado Springs for two weeks.”

Bates added, “We put a lot of work in December and early January before the U.S. Championships. Coming here to Colorado Springs we knew it would be a challenge so we really loaded up on the training in December. Honestly, from where we started at Skate America, we could not have imagined the form the free dance has taken on. It's an experience like we haven't had in our whole career. It's been a big learning experience for us, but just we've been open to it and we've trusted our coaches.”

Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Soerensen from Canada won the silver medal with 214.08 points. Dancing to eight Mexican-inspired Western music soundtracks, they also excelled with their elements, winning mainly GOEs of +4 and some +5. Her small slip in her part of the one-foot step sequence results in only a level 2. Their components were around 9.3. Soerensen commented, “We're just so really pleased with how we performed today. And being able to enjoy this program that we really, really love so much is just always a pleasure. We're just so pleased winning our first (ISU) Championship medal of our entire career. Laurence had a pretty bad injury last Friday and nobody could really tell she sustained a grade 1 medial collateral ligament tear on her right knee. She couldn't walk Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”

Fournier Beaudry added, “I have to say that when it happened on Friday it was very scary. But we're really, really, really grateful to have the team that we have at home - the support team from Skate Canada, our doctor, and the physio who was here. Just seeing the progression that it went from last Friday to now is a miracle, and I think with the mental strength that I have I'm confident that it won't affect our training towards Worlds.”

Their teammates Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha took bronze with exactly 200 points. Dancing in a balletic way to the soundtrack of “Nureev”, they were more mature than in the fall and in their elements, GOEs of +3 dominated. Their components were around 8.7. Lagha explained, “We're really, really happy with how we performed today. We had podiumed at every competition and we really wanted to finish well. It was difficult mentally but I thought that we were able to stay in the moment.”

The second U.S. team Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko, son of the 1992 Olympic Champion Sergei Ponomarenko, finished on fourth position with 189.78 points. All their elements were very good as well, GOEs of +2 and +3 dominated and their components were around 8.5. The third U.S. dancers Caroline Green & Michael Parsons are fourth in the free dance, but remained fifth overall, earning 186.88 points. The majority of their elements had GOEs of +3. Parsons commented, “It was really fun. It's an honor to be at a Championship event like this and in front of our home crowd is really special. I think this competition is a great motivating factor for the World Championships for us.”

Marie-Jade Lauriault & Romain le Gac from Canada moved up from eighth to sixth position with 171.35 points. Lauriault got only level 1 for her one foot step sequence in her free dance to “Pink Panther”, but everything else was at least good. Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto were the better of the two Japanese teams and placed seventh, earning 165.71 points. Their twizzles were not totally clean, everything else was good. Holly Harris & Jason Chan from Australia placed eighth with 162.69 points, dancing without mistakes. Kana Muramoto & Daisuke Takahashi from Japan dropped from seventh to ninth place with 160.24 points because Takahashi fell during the diagonal step sequence and again at the end of their choreographic lift.