Elizaveta Tuktamysheva makes a splashing comeback at Skate Canada
Evgenia Medvedeva struggles, and Mako Yamashita flies under the radar to grab the silver
Not many people predicted that former World champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia would reclaim her triple Axels and regain her former glory. However, that is exactly what she did in Laval, Quebec this weekend by closing out the win here at Skate Canada.
She opened with a commanding lead in the short program, set to "Assassin's Tango" from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which included a perfectly executed triple Axel. It was a jump that got her far in 2015, including to a European and World title. But a loss of form meant that Tuktamysheva was left off of the European, World, and Olympic teams in the last three years.
It looks like she is ready to regain that form.
Tuktamysheva fell on the jump when she attempted it again in the free skate, placing her third in that segment. But it was still enough for her to win the competition by a mere 0.26 points over Japan's Mako Yamashita.
Yamashita, the newly-senior skater from Nagoya, Japan, may not have come into this competition as a favorite, but two solid skates without falls or pops brought her a hairline away from a shocking upset. She skated her short program to "Una voce poco fa" by Gioachino Rossini and her long program to Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
While Yamashita more or less flew under the radar at this competition, her silver medal here guarantees that will no longer be the case, especially given that Yamashita has now medaled at eight of her last nine international competitions.
Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia may be the two-time World champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist, but her struggles here in Laval prove that despite her ironclad reign over ladies' figure skating in the last three years, she is still human after all.
Medvedeva, who has broken 13 world records under the previous judging system, missed a combination in the short program and entered the free skate in a shocking seventh place. She performed solidly in the free skate, however, to win the free skate as well as the bronze medal.
It is the first bronze medal that Medvedeva has ever won in her senior career. The Moscow native recently shocked the figure skating world by moving to Toronto to train under Brian Orser. It is possible that the slow start to her season could be due to this new adjustment period. Her short program, set to Orange Colored Sky by Natalie Cole, and her free skate, an Astor Piazzolla tango, were both choreographed by David Wilson.
She opened with a commanding lead in the short program, set to "Assassin's Tango" from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which included a perfectly executed triple Axel. It was a jump that got her far in 2015, including to a European and World title. But a loss of form meant that Tuktamysheva was left off of the European, World, and Olympic teams in the last three years.
It looks like she is ready to regain that form.
Tuktamysheva fell on the jump when she attempted it again in the free skate, placing her third in that segment. But it was still enough for her to win the competition by a mere 0.26 points over Japan's Mako Yamashita.
Yamashita, the newly-senior skater from Nagoya, Japan, may not have come into this competition as a favorite, but two solid skates without falls or pops brought her a hairline away from a shocking upset. She skated her short program to "Una voce poco fa" by Gioachino Rossini and her long program to Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
While Yamashita more or less flew under the radar at this competition, her silver medal here guarantees that will no longer be the case, especially given that Yamashita has now medaled at eight of her last nine international competitions.
Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia may be the two-time World champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist, but her struggles here in Laval prove that despite her ironclad reign over ladies' figure skating in the last three years, she is still human after all.
Medvedeva, who has broken 13 world records under the previous judging system, missed a combination in the short program and entered the free skate in a shocking seventh place. She performed solidly in the free skate, however, to win the free skate as well as the bronze medal.
It is the first bronze medal that Medvedeva has ever won in her senior career. The Moscow native recently shocked the figure skating world by moving to Toronto to train under Brian Orser. It is possible that the slow start to her season could be due to this new adjustment period. Her short program, set to Orange Colored Sky by Natalie Cole, and her free skate, an Astor Piazzolla tango, were both choreographed by David Wilson.
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