Ready to rumble: Mixed relay debuts in short track skating
Short track speedskating is already thrilling with its high-speed crashes and elbows flying. Now, there’s a new event adding to the chaos with its Olympic debut in Beijing. The 2,000-meter mixed team relay features a maximum of 12 teams with four skaters each — two men and two women — battling it out over 18 […]
Sinitsina, Katsalapov take lead in ice dance at Euro champs
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov took the lead in the ice dance competition at the European figure skating championships after the rhythm dance on Friday. With four-time world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron staying away from the event to reduce the risk of catching the coronavirus before next month’s Olympics, […]
Valieva leads women’s short program at Euro figure skating
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Kamila Valieva broke her own world-best score in the women’s short program to take the lead Thursday at the European figure skating championships. The 15-year-old Russian, widely considered to be a favorite for the Olympic title next month, landed four triple jumps, including a triple axel, and scored 90.45 points to […]
Russians heavy favorites for Olympic figure skating medals
Kamila Valieva began her run-up to the Beijing Olympics by heading to the lower-level Finlandia Trophy in early October, where the 15-year-old Russian superstar broke the world record for the free skate and total score. She continued it three weeks later by breaking those new marks at Skate Canada. And lest anyone think that was […]
American skater Chen eyes elusive Olympic gold in Beijing
Nathan Chen has accomplished just about everything that one can accomplish in the sport of figure skating. Six consecutive national championships, the most since two-time Olympic champion Dick Button in the 1940s and ’50s. Three consecutive world championships, the best run by an American since Scott Hamilton in the early ’80s. Nearly four years with […]
Skater Mozalev leads Russian top 3 in European short program
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Andrei Mozalev led a Russian sweep of the top three positions in the men’s short program at the European figure skating championships on Wednesday, only three days after he joined the team as an injury replacement. Less than a point separates the three Russians, leaving the competition finely poised ahead of […]
US Figure Skating picks experience over youth for Beijing
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For all its strength and elegance, grace and power, the sport of figure skate tends to court controversy. Just look at the number of films and documentaries about Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, or the scandal in the pairs competition that rocked the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and led to […]
Knierim and Frazier join Cain-Gribble and LeDuc at Olympics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Newly minted national champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc along with the pairs team of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier will represent the United States at the Beijing Olympics next month. U.S. Figure Skating announced what was a mere formality for Cain-Gribble and LeDuc on Sunday, one day after a stirring […]
Cepuran, Manganello Kilburg earn Olympic speedskating berths
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ethan Cepuran rallied on the last lap to win the men’s 5,000 meters and Mia Manganello Kilburg took the women’s 3,000 on Wednesday on opening night of the U.S. Olympic speedskating trials without spectators. Cepuran made up more than a second in his pairing with Casey Dawson to win by 0.03 seconds […]
Chen talked challenge of Olympic gold pursuit with Lysacek
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nathan Chen already is one of America’s most accomplished figure skaters. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t take advice from a predecessor. Chen, who goes for his sixth consecutive national championship this week at what amounts to the Olympic trials for next month’s Beijing Games, has spoken with 2010 gold medalist Evan […]