2007

World Figure Skating  Championships

Ladies Event

By Alexandra Stevenson

All photos Copyright 2007 by George S. Rossano

What a phenomenal talent Yu-na Kim is! Despite having to take a considerable time off from practice since December to rest a painful bulging disc in her back, the

16 year old gave a sensational showing with beautifully high, controlled jumps with soft landings to take the lead after the short program in which 45 women from 37 countries competed.

Kim rocketed to fame in the skating world when she dethroned Mao Asada at the world junior championships in 2006. She moved from her home country, Korea, to Canada where she has trained with Brian Orser this season. Sensibly, they have kept the routine she used last season, set to Tango de Roxanne from the movie Moulin Rouge choreographed by Tom Dickson. It has been polished to show off Kim’s advancing presentation skills. When she took the silver medal in the world junior championship in 2005, she was a very "cold" skater who rarely smiled. Now she is quite the actress, able to convey the subtleties of this music to the audience.

Kim, skating immediately following the defending champion, Kimmie Meissner, began with a light-as-a-feather combination of triple flip to triple toe which was so good, the judging panel gave it a GoE of +2.0 which meant that two full points were added to its base value of 9.50. She followed this with a Level 4 spiral sequence which earned +0.43 and a Level 3, +0.36 flying sit spin. Her triple Lutz gained +1.71 over the base value of 6.00. Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.57. The Level 4 layback earned +0.79, the double Axel +1.29 and the Level 4 change foot combination spin +0.64. The component marks ranged from ten 7.00s up to two 8.50s. Her score of 71.95 was a personal best.

Despite the fact that she has a substantial lead, 3.97 ahead of Miki Ando who lies second, Kim felt obliged to talk down her performance. "I had an injury and wasn’t in top form, so my practice wasn’t sufficient. However, I was able to receive higher points than I had expected (a PB). I also made a small mistake (a slight wobble) on the spiral sequence, but I’m happy that I had a good score.

"When I arrived in Japan I still had pain, but little by little my practice improved. Today during the performance I felt no pain, so I was feeling better and was able to skate in a very confident manner. It wasn’t a special incident that has caused this injury, but my program has a lot of burden on my lower back. All the fatigue has accumulated on this injury. I also have an injury on my tailbone. It’s not completely recovered yet, so I have to be careful with my skating."

She was asked how she came to skate. "When I was a child I saw the Nagano Olympics on television. I thought it was wonderful, and I was surprised that people could do this. Watching figure skating at the Olympics, I thought I want to be there, too. The Olympics have been my goal and have made me work hard. Maybe this has paid off.

"Today I was able to skate a good program, which was rewarded with high marks. Now for tomorrow, you never know, you might make a mistake, you might do better. So I’m not going to worry about the points, but I would like to become ambitious about the actual performance and its outcome."

2. Miki Ando also turned in a wonderful performance to Rimsky Korsakov’s Sheherazade which has been used by so many champions. The music was chosen and choreographed by her coach, Nikolai Morozov. Ando, who turned 19 in December is taller than the average Japanese and is able to get into some beautiful positions.

Ando presented the event’s most difficult combination, triple Lutz to triple loop, which has a base value of 11.0 and which she did well enough to earn +0.86 so she came out ahead of Kim on this move. Her next element was the triple from footwork. She did the flip which has 0.50 less base value than Kim’s Lutz. She earned +0.43 GoE so Kim’s score for this move was way ahead of Ando’s. The layback is Ando’s worst move and she was only able to execute a Level 2 with only a small +0.21. Her double Axel soared and was given +1.0, but that was still less than Kim’s. Ando’s Level 4 spirals did score +1.0 more than Kim’s. Ando’s flying sit was Level 4, one higher than Kim’s which means a difference of 0.70 but Ando’s GoE was only +0.07 while Kim’s was +0.36. That meant Ando gained 0.41 more than Kim. Both did Level 3 straight line steps, but Ando got the higher GoE (+0.71 to Kim’s +0.57). Ando’s final move, the change foot combination spin, was a level lower than Kim’s and also had a lower GoE. One judge was moved to give a 9.0 for Interpretation but the other component scores went down to a low of two 6.50s.

Ando revealed that, "My morning practice was not so good, and I was nervous during 6-minute warm-up, but after the triple Lutz-triple loop combination, I felt really good and started to enjoy performing. Since I had a shoulder injury at Japan Nationals and a boot problem after that, I couldn’t practice as much as I wanted. But I am very happy to achieve my new personal goal today. I heard the cheers from audience and it was really encouraging. I will have fun and show what I can do for my free program tomorrow without thinking about the result.

"This World Championship is in my home country, Japan, and I did my best performance in front of the Japanese audience, so I’m very happy. Of course, I was very nervous, but I was able to perform well, so I hope to have a good momentum going into tomorrow’s free program."

She said she had changed her training methods. "I was confident on my jumps, but I was not so confident in my physical strength, so I experimented with my training. On one practice session, I might skip all the jumps, but do the spins. In the morning, usually you don’t move very well, so I would leave out the spins and do my free program."

3. The first ever European Ladies champion from Italy, Carolina Kostner, lies less than a point, 0.83 behind Ando in third place. Kostner, who turned 20 in February, performed to Canon by Pachelbel. She began with the same combination as Kim, triple flip to triple toe, and flew through the air with great height and length earning +1.71. (One judge even thought the jumps were so good they deserved the maximum possible a +3.) A triple Lutz followed which was awarded +0.71. This same trimmed mean GoE was given for her double Axel. Her circular steps were Level 3. She followed with three Level 4 moves. The flying camel received a slight +0.07 but her spirals got an excellent 1.14. She was saddled with a negative on her change foot combination spin. Kostner’s final move, her layback was only Level 2 and received an unspectacular +0.29.

Kostner said, "I am very pleased in what I could do, because I was very nervous going into the competition. I was more nervous than at the European Championships, just because of the environment and the atmosphere. I knew everybody here is strong and well prepared, and I had lost two months of my preparation because of injury. One ligament was totally torn and the other one was totally or partially torn. The doctor didn’t know exactly. It happened on a very bad triple loop at the end of September. I was off the ice for about two months. It stopped hurting not so long ago. It was good for me to skate clean and I want to keep this feeling for tomorrow."

She had resuscitated a routine from a previous season. "I think I had really good experiences with this music. It was my first year in seniors. I remember the nice feelings I had. I thought it was a nice idea to renew it because I know I have grown and it is to show the difference, how my skating has developed in these past few years.

4. Kimmie Meissner performed to Snow Storm in a black trimmed with silver outfit. She performed extremely competently but was outskated by three incredible performances. The short program has traditionally been Meissner’s weaker area. When she won the world title she came from behind.

The 17 year old began with a triple Lutz to triple toe with a base value of 10.00 and earned +0.43 GoE. The panel was divided on how good this combination was and their awards ranged from one -1 up to two +2s. Her triple flip earned +0.29 but her layback spin, always her worst element, was only Level 1, though it was given +0.43. The spirals were Level 4 and gained +0.71. The double Axel had +0.29 added to its base value. The remaining two spins were Level 4, earning +0.07 and +0.57. Her straight line steps were Level 3 with +0.29. Going into the free, she lay 2.48 behind Kostner and an unexpected 3.35 ahead of Mao Asada.

Meissner said, "I feel really, really good, and I’m glad I did my triple-triple combination. I’m very happy to have gotten my personal best, and I’m excited since it was the best of the year. I’m actually used to coming from behind. My goal tomorrow is to skate a clean free. I’ve been training really hard this season and I want to give it my all. The crowd is so great out there, and I want to perform my best. I was pretty nervous out there today, but I love doing the free, and I think I’ll feel a lot better tomorrow."

5. Mao Asada, whom the Japanese would have sent to the Olympics had she not been too young, began her graceful routine, set to Chopin’s Nocture, with her triple Lutz. The panel of 12 was undecided on this move and their GoEs ranged from three -1s up to four +2s. Collectively, their trimmed mean was +1.0. Then came the shock. She erupted into a good triple flip but was unable to control the rotation on the landing and did only a single instead of the planned triple loop. To be considered a combination, a jump must be a double and so the GoE was an automatic -3. The following spirals were Level 4 with +1.14. Her double Axel which room to spare for another rotation gained +1.29. The Level 3 combination spin was given only +0.10 while her Level 3 straight line steps gained +0.50. The flying sit was Level 4 and given +0.14 and her layback only Level 2 and earned +0.43.

"I am disappointed with myself," said Asada, "because I made a huge mistake on my triple flip-triple loop combination. I don’t know what happened to me. I was nervous during the six minute warm up, but I was OK when I started SP. Now I understood how it is on the ice. I will do the triple Axel tomorrow and will catch up with the top skaters. Then I want to win a gold medal."

6. Emily Hughes lies 0.44 behind Asada. She presented a very fiery, flamboyant routine to Carmen dressed in black and was the top competitor to compete with only a planned triple to double, instead of a triple-triple. The now 18 year old (birthday January 26) presented three Level 4 moves (the spirals and two of the three spins). The layback and straight line steps were level 3. Her triple Lutz received -0.43 GoE.

Hughes said, "My goal here was to get a personal best and to do a clean program so I am very happy! I thought it was amazing skating after Ando and Asada because the fans were so excited for them and I felt great out there. I`m looking forward to tomorrow. This was actually my first time skating on this ice, but it is a bigger rink so I liked it better. I like to take as much space as I can. I plan to go out there tomorrow and do a clean program."

18. Alissa Czisny had a performance that is best forgotten. The 19 year old, who performed immediately following Hughes, had retained her short program to Prelude and Quadukka by J. Cook from last season, admitted, "I couldn’t get myself focused out there. There was nothing I could do to change it." She always gets questions about her unusual, flexible skates. "They are more comfortable than other skates. I can bend more. They are easier to jump in."

Czisny, who was making her debut at this event, started with her flying sit. She explained, "It gets me settled into the ice and that way I don’t start out right with a jump that I’m not ready for or anything." But then she fell on the triple flip which was to be her combination, and then aborted the double Axel. She then decided to try to add the double toe loop to the triple Lutz to make that her combination. "I was just trying to forget about the other things, just for points." It didn’t work.

Mao Asada

1. She couldn’t stop the tears. Miki Ando looked stunned when she learned she had won the title, and then let out a scream and collapsed into her coach’s arms. Skating last of the 24 allowed to free skate, Ando knew the good news only after the electronic scoreboard showed she was second in the free skate. For a moment, she looked totally surprised and unbelieving. Then the flood of emotion broke loose as the capacity crowd at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium roared its approval with an animal-like intensity. Her relief and joy so overwhelmed the 19 year, she had trouble dealing with the instance interview now demanded by the ISU. (In an effort to make the sport more audience friendly, a new policy was implemented this season. The winner is immediately interviewed for the audience while the podium is being set up. This encourages people to stay for the medal ceremony and makes the winner more accessible. Ando was asked a variety of questions but, unused to this chore, sweating, sobbing, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her fingers, sniffing and looking for a tissue to wipe her nose, Ando appeared completely overwhelmed. Only when released from this cross questioning, when she was actually standing on the top rung of the podium, did she relax and enjoy the playing of the Japanese anthem. Only then did the tears dry and she comfortably accepted the acclaim.

Ando was rewarded for her consistency, winning gold by less than a point, 0.64, after taking second place in both short and long programs. Dressed in a straight forward burgundy outfit with chiffon sleeves, and performing to Mendelssohn’s exquisite Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E-minor, choreographed to emphasis her talents by her Nikolai Morozov, she gave a mature showing which began with a superb triple Lutz to triple toe which earned a very good +1.14.

The second jumping pass was meant for the quad Salchow, a jump only she has accomplished in competition though that was way back at the Junior Grand Prix Final in 2002 when she was both younger and smaller. Ando explained, "I landed some quads in practice (at this event) and they felt really good. But for now, I thought I should concentrate on my best performance, and it worked well doing only the triple." That triple Salchow also earned a considerable GoE of +1.14.

However, the following triple flip was saddled with a slight negative, -0.14. The judges were really split on this move. One judge gave +2, four punched in +1, four -1, and three determined the jump was good enough for the base value. Come on, guys – you have the video tape. If some of you genuinely saw an error – which this reporter did not – why didn’t the others? Should an eye test be required before you step out into the arena?

Ando’s first spin, the flying sit, was only Level 2 and gained only a small +0.17. The spirals were Level 4 but earned just 0.14 extra. The triple Lutz, timed just after the bonus point, earned +0.57 and the spectacular triple toe to double loop to double loop received 8.13 (base value of 7.00 plus the ten percent bonus plus the GoE of +0.43). However, the following triple flip to double loop was saddled with -0.43. Then came a +0.14 double Axel and a Level 4 combination spin which also received +0.14.

Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.36. The following spin, Level 4 combination was given +0.43 but her final move, the layback, was only Level 2 and got a mere +0.14. The component marks ranged from a low of one 6.00 given for Transitions/Linking Footwork, up to three 8.50s all given by the same judge.

"I can’t find appropriate words to express my feeling, but I’m just happy," Ando said. "Thanks to my family, coach and everybody here, I have won the championship. After the Torino Winter Games, I had such a hard time." Her selection to the Olympic team was controversial in Japan in which there were so many talented skaters. She had a considerable amount of sponsorship and her face was continually appearing in television ads. The whole country was expecting her to do well. But, even her costumes, made by famous designers from the couture world who were unfamiliar with the sport, seemed strange on the ice. And she bombed big time, finishing 15^th which was a major surprise since she had been fourth and sixth in the 2004 and 2005 world championships. (The eventual Olympic gold medal Shizuka Arikawa had been dumped into also ran status after she lost her world title in 2005 finishing a lowly ninth in Moscow.)

Devastated, Ando did not compete in last year’s worlds. "There were people who criticized my selection for the Olympics and I had a difficult time because of that. But there were also people who said, ‘Thank you for trying the quad Salchow’." She had been trained by Carol Heiss but, looking for a new approach, "I went back to my previous coach, Yuko Monna, to re-do my jumps and asked my new coach (Morozov) to re-make my programs. That is how I was able to change my skating. Without these two coaches, I would not have been able to win a gold medal today.

"I heard the scores of Kim and Asada, and especially Asada achieving her personal best made me very nervous. But I had to concentrate on my own performance. I did not expect, at all, that I would win. I was very happy when I heard that Japan was to host worlds, but, to be honest, I was more nervous than happy because I knew there would be so much pressure skating at home. I knew how much interest there would be, and I knew how many Japanese media would be here. But I enjoyed both short and free and I am happy to have achieved a new personal best for both, and to have the title. I’m happy that Japanese are now on an equal footing with Europeans and Americans. Because I skated last, it was difficult to keep my concentration. I would like to thank "Skaters’ Lounge (a Japanese website) and my new coaches for helping me to come back strong."

2. For Mao Asada, chance of victory was pretty much eliminated when she failed her combination in the short. But she didn’t give up and she would have been champion had she earned just 0.65 more in the short or the free. The 16 year old was happy to take silver in her first world championship. "Before the free, I was in fifth place. I was very disappointed and I told everyone that I would win (the free) with my perfect free and I did it. I am very satisfied with my performance. The crowd was very nice. I was very impressed by myself. I love skating at home. I really wanted to win a medal of any color. After my performance, I was very happy because I did not make mistakes and I achieved my PB (improving it by 3.11)."

Asada is training with her elder sister in Lake Arrowhead with Rafael Arutunian. She wore a short sleeved red outfit. Her Czardas routine, choreographed by Lori Nichol, was absolutely perfect for her but the strain of competing in her home country showed right away as she sped through her first move, a triple Axel. It was a wonderful jump. The height was super. She got great air time and the revolutions were completed. However, after she’d landed, her free foot touched down and the GoE score had to be -1. So how come one judge punched in +3, another +2, two +1 while two gave the base value? (Two officials gave -1 and four gave -2.) This disparity is really exposing what can be seen to be incompetence. Fortunately, in this case the computer seems to have made the right random selection and the trimmed mean GoE was the correct -1.0.

Asada also had a problem on her second jumping pass, double Axel to triple toe, with the second jump downgraded to a double and the GoE -1.20. Then she got her skating legs. The third jumping pass was a good triple flip to triple loop and she earned +0.43. Her straight line steps were Level 3 and +0.64. Her first spin, the change foot combination, was Level 4 and +0.50. At the position where the bonus points click in, she soared into a magnificent double Axel in which there was clearly room for another revolution. It earned +1.57. That was followed by a base value double triple Lutz and her Level 3 spirals. (She is clearly capable of doing Level 4 spirals on these but obviously just didn’t hold a position long enough.) Then came a great +1.29 triple flip. Her Level 3 combination spin gained +0.50. There followed, at a point when she must have been absolutely exhausted, a +0.14 triple Lutz to double loop to double loop and a +0.50 Level 1 layback. Her final move was a Level 4 flying sit spin that had +0.29 added to its base value of 3.0.

3. Yu-na Kim looked on course to become the first Korean to medal in a world championship, and she did, the bronze. But she was a huge 8.31 behind Asada, the silver medalist, which was disappointing because she had skated so spectacularly when winning the short. Kim said, "I made some mistakes today but I am very happy. I was not under pressure. It was more that I was not in the best condition. Because of this, I didn’t feel confident and I didn’t feel that I could succeed. As a result, I made two mistakes (falling twice). I didn’t expect to get a high score, so I was very surprised and happy when I got the bronze. I didn’t expect much this year since it was my first worlds (seniors – she was the 2006 world junior champion) and I was troubled with injury all season. So, perhaps, I had some good luck today in winning a medal. I am very happy with this season. I learned about the differences of junior and senior skaters. I observed how senior skaters warmed-up before skating and how they mentally prepared themselves for the performance. I did not have any back pain today but my bad condition was due to very heavy legs. Because of this, I couldn’t feel confident about the jumps. Also, because I was unable to physically train throughout the season, due to my back injury, I feel that I lacked physical strength. While I was packing my luggage, I felt the pain in my back so perhaps I was too nervous to feel the pain when I was competing. My legs were shaking towards the end." She had received acupuncture treatment while in Japan.

Kim was fourth in the free, 1.37 behind the third placed defending champion, Kimmie Meissner, but finished a very significant 1.37 above her. Kim presented a David Wilson-choreographed free to the very soothing The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughn Williams which I can not recall ever being used by a skater before. She was attired in a delicate light blue.

Kim, who skated immediately before Asada, opened with a very high triple flip-triple toeloop which deserved the high +2.0 GoE. That was followed by a +1.29 double Axel-triple toe loop combo and a gorgeous Level 3 layback spin which earned +0.71. A second double Axel was given +1.29 and her Level 4 camel spin was rewarded with +0.50. Her Level 3 straight line steps received 0.79. However, her strength was waning and she fell on a triple Lutz meant to be a three jump combo and set at the bonus point. After a Level 4 flying sit spin, which gained a mere +0.07, she fell again on her second triple Lutz.

At that point, Kim made a bad decision. She had a triple Salchow planned and decided to add a double toe loop to it since she had not been able to do a combination because of the falls. However, although she had not ACTUALLY done a combination because she was flat on the ice, the computer still counted it as a combination because it was a repeated jump. That meant the improvised double toe after the triple Salchow was considered a fourth combination which is not allowed and so gained no points.

Effectively, Kim gave away the base value of a triple Salchow plus 10 percent bonus, plus whatever GoE she would have received. But it would not have changed her overall finish. She continued with Level 3 spirals earning 0.36, a double Axel which was given +0.57 and a Level 3 change foot combination spin with a GoE of +0.36. She looked very disappointed as she left the ice, waving to the enthusiastic audience.

4. Kimmie Meissner was third in the free which pulled her up to fourth overall. Skating in a blue/black creation to Galicia Flamenco, Meissner stumbled on her first jump, a triple Lutz, and was saddled with a -2.00. Right off the bat that was it. She had lost her title. "It was tough tonight," said the 17 year old. "Mao skated before me and obviously did very well, so the crowd was really into it. It was very emotional and intense. I had to calm down myself and I think it took me a jump to get into it. When I go out in practice I do it (the triple Lutz) all the time and it’s perfect. I very rarely miss it. I probably just rushed. I had to skate right after Mao did awesome. It’s hard to come out after such a good performance. I tuned out the scores, but I couldn’t tune out the screaming, so I knew it was really good. I was trying to just take a deep breath myself and calm down. I had to remember, ‘I still have to do my program,’ because I was kind of excited for her!"

She did not try a triple Axel but the double was rewarded with +1.14. In her combination of triple flip to triple toe, the second jump was downgraded and she was saddled with -2.0 off a deflated base value. Things had got even worse! However, she didn’t give up. She put a lot of effort into her Level 3 steps and received +0.53. Her change foot combination spin was Level 3 and gained +0.50. Her triple Salchow, at the bonus point, earned +0.57. Her Level 3 spirals got +0.50. Her triple loop was given the base value as was her Level 4 sit spin. The Level 3 flying camel received a small +0.21. However, her triple Lutz appeared two-footed and got -0.43. Her final jumping pass, double Axel-double toe-double loop earned the base value and her final move, a Level 4 combination spin got +0.29.

"I’m still always proud of my skate no matter what happens," said Meissner. "Just to go out there, in front of a packed audience, like that, after such a great performance (Asada’s) I’m very proud of myself for doing that. It was not my best, I can do better. So I will regroup and come back next year. On a scale of 1-10, I was probably seven or eight I think, because at competitions I’d either do a good short and a shaky long or a shaky short and a good long. But this season for me was really about trying out new styles and seeing if they worked for me, because it was the post-Olympic year, so I had time to do this. It could’ve been better, but I still got the national title (and) Four Continents."

5. Yukari Nakano, 21, whose free to Prokoviev’s Cinderella was choreographed by Marina Zueva, was sixth in this section which pulled her up from seventh in the short to fifth overall. It was the first time three Japanese ladies finished in the top five. "I’m very relieved to have finished this season. I fell on the triple Axel. However, I’m still satisfied with it. I tried to attach my program and I wanted to show the audience what I can do. After the six minutes warm-up, I decided to go for the triple Axel. My coach decided it’s up to me and I decided to go for it. I want to learn from the next generation of skaters and I’ll try harder next season.

6. European champion Carolina Kostner, skating to Memories of a Geisha, dropped from third to sixth overall with a ninth ranked free. She appeared to lose steam after falling on her first jump, a triple flip, that was to have been combined with a triple toe. "It has been a long and tough (she had a serious injury at the beginning) season, and so my performance was not perfect. It’s a sign that I have to keep training hard." Kostner was third in the worlds in 2005 but only 12^th last year.

7. Sarah Meier from Switzerland, runner-up for the European title, was ninth in the short and eighth in the free, in which she performed to music from the movie Pride and Prejudice and fell on her final jumping pass. She finished seventh overall. "I think this was my worst free program this season, so I am not satisfied. It’s strange, because I almost wasn’t nervous and felt good. For next season I want to work even harder so I will have a chance against the others." She was sixth in this event last year.

8. Susanna Poykio of Finland, who was fourth in the recent European championships after being second in 2005, rose from tenth after the short to eighth overall with a free which was ranked seventh best. This was only her fifth worlds. Last year she was ninth and the year before eighth. She said, "At some point it was hard to breathe because it is so warm out there. I started to feel tired. I tried to push myself and somehow I got energy. On the flip (which she doubled instead of tripling), my front foot got stuck to my other blade somehow. I don’t know where that came from. I really enjoyed it here. Europeans (in which she finished behind her teammate, Kiira Korpi) was my worst performance. It goes up and down and that was my down."

9. Emily Hughes dropped from sixth place after the short to ninth with a free that was ranked 13^th best. She finished 1.06 points behind the Finn and only a sliver, 0.08, in front of the three-time Canadian champion, Joannie Rochette. Skating to music by Delibes for the ballet, Sylvia, Hughes began with an excellent double Axel which earned a great +1.14. But then she fell on a flip which was downgraded. "I’m upset with myself," Hughes admitted. "I missed the flip, but I kept going and did everything else that was planned. The fall was fluky. I was a little too focused and then, after the fall, I lightened the mood. Falling in the beginning is very unexpected and always tough to come back from, but I’m happy I fought back. You never really prepare for a fall in the beginning because you’re not tired and you know you can do the jump, so I just try not to think about it and move on."

She completed a triple Lutz to double toe to double loop combo which gained a slight negative, -0.14. Her Level 2 steps got the base value as did the following Level 3 flying sit spin. Her Level 3 layback was good enough to gain +0.43. At the point where the bonus points click in, she executed a triple toe to double toe which earned the base value but in the following planned triple flip to double toe, the first jump was downgraded to double. This was supposed to be a standalone flip. Hughes explained, "I learned from Four Continents (where she got only 80 percent of the value of a repeated jump that wasn’t a combination) that even if you do a clean program, you have to do combinations, too. I try to rack up all the points I can."

Hughes’ Level 4 spirals were worthy of +0.71 and her Level 3 flying combination spin got the base value. Her second triple Lutz was downgraded and was saddled with -0.51 which was very costly. The last jump, a triple Salchow, also got a slight negative, -0.14. However, her final move, a Level 4 change foot combination spin was +0.36 and left the audience cheering. Hughes’ placement, together with Meissner, has assured the US of three entries in this division for next year.

10. It was an unlucky championship for Joannie Rochette, 21, who was only 16^th in the short program. Her fifth in the free could only pull her up to tenth overall. "It was really tough for me to come back," she said. "I just tried to hold my head up high and do my best. Of course I am a little disappointed, but next season is a new season."

15. Alissa Czisny was 18^th in the short, 12^th in the free, and finished 15^th overall. After the disastrous short, Czisny spoke with 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano who told her, "Don’t go out and sabotage your jumps. Just say, ‘I’m going to do this’ and think of that one thing that works on every jump." That worked, partially, for her Sabrina free, which she performed in an elegant sleeveless black outfit with a white band around the top.

She began with a base level triple Lutz to double toe but the triple flip to double toe which followed was a -0.71. Her Level 3 flying sit spin earned +0.50 but her messed up triple loop was saddled with -1.86. Czisny’s Level 3 flying camel gained +0.21. Her flip was downgraded from triple to double and penalized with a -0.47. The double Axel received +0.29. However the triple toe combined with two double toes was also downgraded to a double and given -0.43. Her Level 3 straight line steps earned only 0.07. However, her Level 4 spirals gained a massive +1.43. Her second triple Lutz was downgraded to a double and given -1.00. Her Level 3 layback gained a very good +0.86 and her Level 4 change foot combination spin earned +0.79 and great applause.

2007 Worlds Ladies Medalists