Satoko Miyahara and Kaori Sakamoto repeat 1-2 sweep for Japan at Skate America
Bradie Tennell falters and Sofia Samodurova takes the bronze with clean skates
Satoko Miyahara of Japan defended her Skate America title in Everett, Washington this weekend in commanding fashion. The reigning World bronze medalist showed marked improvements in all aspects of her skating to win both segments of the competition and the gold medal.
Miyahara skated her short program to "Song For the Little Sparrow" by Abel Korzeniowski and her free skate to "Adios Nonino" by Astor Piazzolla. Her only mistakes were two unclear edge calls on her triple flips.
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan also defended her silver medal from last year's Skate America with two programs of gorgeous jumping and skating. She also made no visible mistakes except for an unclear edge call on a triple Lutz. She skated her short program to "From My First Moment" from Gymnopédie No. 1 and her free skate to The Piano soundtrack. Her cheerful personality shone through in the Kiss and Cry when she received her scores, which were personal bests in both segments.
Sofia Samodurova of Russia skated skated solid programs with also no visible mistakes, save for an unclear edge call on a triple flip. Her short program, set to the Mission Impossible soundtrack, and her free skate, set to selections from the musical Burlesque, earned her third place in both segments and the bronze medal overall.
Bradie Tennell, one of the favorites coming into this competition, looked nervous in both of her performances. Tennell, the 2018 U.S. national champion, had come a long way since winning the surprise bronze medal at Skate America last year. Her achievements since then have included an Olympic bronze medal in the team event, a top 10 finish at the Olympics in the individual event, and sixth in the last World Championships. Her short program is set to "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse and her free skate is set to various Romeo and Juliet themes.
Tennell made the decision to upgrade her technical content this year, including adding a triple Lutz-triple loop combination to both of her programs. Her efforts starting paying off right from the start when she defeated Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva at the Autumn Classic International earlier this season.
However, Tennell made an uncharacteristic mistake on exactly this combination in the short program by popping her triple loop into a single. This left her in fifth place going into the free. A decent but not lights-out free skate left her in fourth place overall and just outside of the podium.
Miyahara skated her short program to "Song For the Little Sparrow" by Abel Korzeniowski and her free skate to "Adios Nonino" by Astor Piazzolla. Her only mistakes were two unclear edge calls on her triple flips.
Kaori Sakamoto of Japan also defended her silver medal from last year's Skate America with two programs of gorgeous jumping and skating. She also made no visible mistakes except for an unclear edge call on a triple Lutz. She skated her short program to "From My First Moment" from Gymnopédie No. 1 and her free skate to The Piano soundtrack. Her cheerful personality shone through in the Kiss and Cry when she received her scores, which were personal bests in both segments.
Sofia Samodurova of Russia skated skated solid programs with also no visible mistakes, save for an unclear edge call on a triple flip. Her short program, set to the Mission Impossible soundtrack, and her free skate, set to selections from the musical Burlesque, earned her third place in both segments and the bronze medal overall.
Bradie Tennell, one of the favorites coming into this competition, looked nervous in both of her performances. Tennell, the 2018 U.S. national champion, had come a long way since winning the surprise bronze medal at Skate America last year. Her achievements since then have included an Olympic bronze medal in the team event, a top 10 finish at the Olympics in the individual event, and sixth in the last World Championships. Her short program is set to "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse and her free skate is set to various Romeo and Juliet themes.
Tennell made the decision to upgrade her technical content this year, including adding a triple Lutz-triple loop combination to both of her programs. Her efforts starting paying off right from the start when she defeated Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva at the Autumn Classic International earlier this season.
However, Tennell made an uncharacteristic mistake on exactly this combination in the short program by popping her triple loop into a single. This left her in fifth place going into the free. A decent but not lights-out free skate left her in fourth place overall and just outside of the podium.
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