The Hague (ISU) – Kanako Murakami of Japan skated off with the gold medal at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2010. Agnes Zawadzki (USA) surged from eighth to snatch the silver medal and Russia’s Polina Agafonova claimed the bronze. All three medalists debuted at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Murakami skated next to last and gave a strong performance of her “Swan Lake” program. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion reeled off a five triple jumps including two flips and only doubled a Salchow. The 15-year-old picked up a level four for her three spins and a level three for the footwork, but the Lutz received a deduction for the wrong edge take-off. Murakami earned 106.47 points (56.71 element score/49.76 program component score). She totaled 165.47 points and moved up from second to first. “I did very well today. There was only one disappointment, I missed the triple Salchow. I just did a double. It is such a strange feeling that I’m here”, Kanako said, smiling. “I haven’t yet decided whether I will compete in juniors or seniors, but I hope to show better performances next season”, she explained.

Zawadzki’s entertaining routine to “Chicago” featured a triple loop, two Lutzes, a triple Salchow and toeloop as well as difficult spins and steps. The only glitch came on a shaky triple flip that received an edge call. The US Junior Champion scored 105.81 points (58.21/47.60) and took the silver at 156.79 points in what was her first international competition. “This meant a lot, because it’s my first international and getting second is great. I didn’t have much experience coming into it, but I think I gained a lot and I learned a lot”, the 15-year-old said. “I was a little disappointed (yesterday), because I’ve been doing clean shorts in competitions. My coach just told me to trust my training and so I did. I felt pretty confident and relaxed.”

Agafonova opened her program to “Romeo and Juliet Ouverture” by Peter Tchaikovski with a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination and followed up with four more triples, but the judges deducted for a wrong edge take-off on her flip. The 14-year-old scored highly again for her excellent spins and collected a personal best score of 97.99 points (55.03/42.96). She was ranked fourth in the Free Skating but remained in third place overall at 154.27 points. “I did everything I could. I’m for the first time at this competition and I didn’t expect to be third right away. I had hoped to make the top ten”, the 14-year-old commented.

Polina Shelepen (RUS) moved up from seventh to fourth with a solid performance that included a double Axel-triple toeloop combination (151.65 points). Overnight leader Anna Ovcharova (RUS) plummeted to fifth after falling on two jumps (147.52 points). Kate Charbonneau (CAN) finished sixth (147.46 points).

Russia was the most successful nation at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships with five medals with the Ice Dance gold and four bronze medals. Team Japan took the two singles titles and one silver in the Pairs. China earned a gold in the Pairs and silver in the Men’s. Canada got one silver in Ice Dance and the USA have one silver medal in the Ladies’.

The Hague (KNSB) – Russia’s Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov danced to the gold medal in what was a high-level Ice Dance competition. Canadians Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam took the silver medal and Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin of Russia captured the bronze. All three couples debuted at the ISU World Junior Championships.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov gave a spellbinding performance of their program to “Schindler’s List”. Their difficult step sequences and lifts looked effortless, and all elements earned a level four and positive grades of execution. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists collected 90.82 points (44.60 element score/46.22 program component score), setting a new personal best for themselves, and overall accumulated 188.28 points to win the title. “It is so exciting for us. I never thought that we would win Junior Worlds”, Ilinykh said. “The theme of our free dance is actually very serious. The theme is the war, concentration camps and I am playing the role of (Oskar) Schindler and I’m saving Elena”, Katsalapov explained.

Paul/Islam produced a fast paced Persian dance named “Sheherazade”, that was highlighted by interesting lifts. The Canadians had a level four for the lifts and the spin and a level three for the footwork. They scored 83.15 points (41.50/41.65), improving their previous personal best significantly, and racked up a total of 172.37 points. “It’s been a really good week for Alex and I. We’ve been training for this. We laid down three really good skates, three personal bests. We couldn’t be more proud of ourselves”, Islam said.

Monko/Khaliavin’s powerful Blues program to “It’s a Man’s World”, featured strong twizzles and lifts, but their circular footwork was graded only a level two. With 81.09 points (39.80/41.29), the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions were ranked fifth in the Free Dance but overall held on to the bronze at 168.81 points.

“Our performance today was far from ideal, the Compulsory and Original Dance went better for us. Today we made some mistakes, but overall it was decent. It was as successful season for us”, Khaliavin commented.

2009 World Junior silver medalists Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) turned in strong dance to “Tango Rhapsody” but missed the podium by less than one point (168.35 points). Lorenza Alessandrini/Simone Vaturi (ITA) also were edged out of the podium by less than one point to finish fifth (167.84 points). They had skated a passionate Tango routine. Ekaterina Pushkash/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS) came fifth with a romantic “Romeo and Juliet” program (162.18).

The Hague (KNSB) – Anna Ovcharova of Russia grabbed the lead in the Ladies Short Program, closely followed by Japan’s Kanako Murakami. Polina Agafonova of Russia came third.

Skating to jazzy music from the Russian movie “The Hipster”, Ovcharova hit a triple flip out of footwork, a triple Lutz-double loop combination, a double Axel and earned a level four for her difficult spins. The 14-year-old posted a new personal best score of 59.80 points (36.20 element score/23.60 program component score). “I felt very nervous today and I didn’t believe my eyes, when my score was so high. I’m really glad about this”, an excited Ovcharova told the press. “I wanted to do everything in this competition for my Short Program and I did.”

Murakami went for a triple toe-triple toe combination in her expressive Flamenco program, but the second jump was downgraded. She continued with a triple flip, a double Axel and also got a level four for her three spins and a level three for the footwork. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion scored 59.00 points (34.60/24.40).”I am disappointed with my jump combination, because it was downgraded. However, the other elements were better than in practice”, 15-year-old Murakami said. “This competition was my target for the season, and it’s still like a dream to be here”, she added.

Agafanova, a tiny 14-year old, impressed with her spins, especially with her beautiful layback spin, but also nailed a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination and a double Axel to pick up a personal best of 56.28 points (34.28/22.00). “I didn’t expect at all such a high placement, after all I’m for the first time at this competition. Basically I skated a good program and I did everything I can do”, Agafonova said. “I changed my Short Program (after the Junior Grand Prix series), because both my programs turned out to be rather serious and I wanted to show a different style.”

Kate Charbonneau (CAN) finished fourth at 53.80 points. She gave a solid performance. Kiri Baga (USA) is sitting in fifth place after stumbling on both the triple flip and the double Axel (52.28 points). Joshi Helgesson (SWE) completes the top six (52.10 points).

The Hague (KNSB) - Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan claimed the title in an exciting Men’s event. China’s Nan Song surged from fifth place to take the silver medal and Artur Gachinski of Russia came from sixth to earn the bronze.

Hanyu, who was ranked third in the Short Program, turned in a strong performance to “Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini” by Sergei Rachmaninov that featured two triple Axels, a triple Salchow-triple toeloop combination as well as three more triples and fast, well centered spins. The only glitch in his fluid routine was a wobbly triple flip. The 15-year-old picked up a personal best score of 147.35 points (77.95 element score/69.40 program component score) and racked up a total of 216.10 points to take his first medal at the World Junior Championships. Hanyu had finished 12^th in his debut at the event in 2009. He is the fourth Japanese man to win the World Junior title. “Today, I am very happy to win this competition and I am satisfied with today’s performance, including the jumps, steps and spins. I did my best. I am very happy to win, but I am even happier with the performance itself”, Hanyu said.

Song skated first in the final flight and set the bar high with a powerful performance to Ennio Morricone soundtracks, hitting a triple Axel, a big triple Axel-triple toeloop combination and three other triple jumps. Only a triple Lutz was shaky. The Chinese earned a level four for two spins and scored 137.28 points (73.68/63.60), setting a new personal best for himself. Overall he collected 205.25 points and is the first Chinese man to win a silver medal at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. “I am extremely pleased with my performance today. This was my last time to compete at the World Junior Championships and I didn’t want to have any regrets”, the 19-year-old commented. “The size of the medal is not so important. This medal gives me so much honor and when I look at it, it brings back pleasant memories”, he answered when asked what he thinks about the size of the medal.

Skating last to “Narcissus – Whispers from the Mirror”, Gachinski popped his planned opening quadruple toeloop into a double, but then went on as if nothing had happened and nailed two triple Axels, five more triple jumps and two level-four spins. The 16-year-old posted 133.99 points (69.79/64.20), a new personal best score, and with 199.19 points overall took the bronze in his debut at Junior Worlds. “The quad didn’t work out, but all the other elements were good and I am satisfied”, Gachinski told the press. “Maybe there wasn’t enough preparation for the quad as this was the first time for me to try it in competition. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it, but I felt confident. I’ll work on it for the future.

Keegan Messing (USA), who stood in second place after the Short Program, dropped to fourth. He landed seven triple jumps, but went down on a triple Axel (197.03). Overnight leader Grant Hochstein (USA) fell on a triple Axel as well and struggled with three other jumps to drop to fifth (194.30 points). Andrei Rogozine (CAN) vaulted from 13^th to sixth with a strong performance that included eight triples (179.81 points).

The Hague (ISU) -Elena Ilynikh/Nikita Katsalapov of Russia strengthened their lead in the Original Dance, but below them, the standings shuffled. Canadians Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam moved up from fifth to second and Russia’s Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin pulled up from fourth to third place.

Skating last out of the 30 couples, Ilinykh/Katsalapov produced a fluid performance to South American folklore that was highlighted by intricate footwork and a straight line lift. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists earned a level four for all four elements in the dance and received a personal best score of 59.94 points (32.10/27.84). Their total score added up to 97.46 points. “Our program went well today. There was a nice support from the crowd and you really feel that in competition”, Katsalapov said. “There were a few minor errors in the programs, errors that probably only we and our coaches noticed and not the spectators and the judges, but we know what we have to work on for the future”, Ilinykh added.

Paul/Islam interpreted a soft Spanish Waltz and a passionate Flamenco, showing precision and speed throughout the program. The Canadians got a level four for the twizzles, the lift and the diagonal step sequence while the side by side footwork was graded a level three. Paul/Islam scored 55.90 points (30.20/25.70) and improved significantly on their previous seasons best of 47.91 points. Overall they now have 89.22 points. “We are very happy with tonight. We wanted to come out and to basically skate our personal best and that’s exactly what we did. We were confident going into the OD this afternoon. We had a good skate two days ago (in the Compulsory Dance)”, Islam told the press.

Performing a characteristic Ukrainian folk dance, Monko/Khaliavin completed difficult twizzles and a whirling rotational lift. The twizzles were a level four, but the circular steps garnered only a level two. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions earned 53.55 points (27.40/26.15) and accumulated 87.72 points so far. “Our performance was good, there were a few glitches, but overall it was clean and our coach was happy with it”, Khaliavin said.

Reigning World Junior silver medalists Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) slipped from third to fourth. Their Japanese dance was solid, but the side by side footwork received only a level two. At 86.94 points, they are still close to the podium. Lorenza Alessandrini/Simone Vaturi (ITA) moved up one spot to fifth with a lively Tarantella (84.97 points), while Ekaterina Pushkash/Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS) dropped from third to sixth after the two-footed the twizzles (82.80 points.)

A few times in the schedule are changed.

Change time schedule

Men – Free Skating

Men Free Skating on Thursday will start at 6 pm, instead of 6.30 pm.

Ladies – Short Program

The second part of the Ladies Short Program will start Friday at 1.45 pm, instead of 2 pm.

Ice Dance – Free Dance

The Free Dance in Ice Dancing will start Friday at 6.45 pm, instead of 6.30 pm.

The Hague (ISU) – Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China skated to the gold in the Pairs event. Japan’s Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran claimed the silver and the bronze medal went to Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov of Russia.

Sui/Han put down a dynamic performance to the “City Lights” Charlie Chaplin movie soundtrack. They opened with a side by side double Axel-double Axel sequence and a big throw quadruple Salchow, but she two-footed the landing. The ISU Junior Final Grand Prix Champions also hit a triple twist, a throw triple flip and were awarded a level four for the spins, the death spiral and the two lifts. They posted a new personal best score with 109.77 points (60.73 element score/49.04 program component score) and overall won the title in their debut at Junior Worlds with 170.71 points. Sui/Han are the second Chinese pair to win the ISU World Junior Championships after Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang, who were Champions in 2001 and 2003. “We are pleased with our performance and especially happy that we were able to show the quadruple throw, which is a very difficult element”, Han said. “There were a few little mistakes, but overall we think it was good. The quad throw is hard to do and we’ve worked together with our coach (Bo Luan) step by step in practice to be able to put it out in competition”, he went on.

Takahashi/Tran’s routine to “Butterfly Lovers” was highlighted by a double Axel, a high double twist. A throw triple Salchow and difficult spins and lifts. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists earned 97.69 points and added another silver medal to their collection with a total of 157.23 points. Takahashi/Tran are the second pair team from Japan to win a medal at Junior Worlds. Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Markuntsov took the silver back in 2001. “We’re happy with our performance. It’s a lot better than the other two Junior Worlds we have done. It wasn’t clean-clean, but basically clean, so we are happy about that. It’s great to finish the season like this”, Tran told the post-event press conference. “It was not the best performance tonight, but I’m happy, because there was no big mistake”, Takahashi added.

Skating to oriental music, Stolbova/Klimov landed a double twist, a throw triple toe and throw triple Salchow, but she fell on the second jump in the triple toeloop-double Axel sequence. The couple from St. Petersburg got 91.09 points, establishing a new personal best for themselves, and remained in third place at 145.35 points. “Today not all our elements worked out, and so we were not able to fight for the highest spots on the podium, but we are happy to have held on to third place. This is basically our biggest success so far, our first international success”, Klimov commented.

Tatiana Novik/Mikhail Kuznetsov (RUS) moved up from fifth to fourth at 139.63 points. They completed a rarely seen side by side triple loop. Britney Simpson/Nathan Miller (USA) slipped from fourth to fifth after she fell on a double Axel and throw triple loop (138.00 points).

Grant Hochstein (USA) won the Men’s Short Program ahead of his teammate Keegan Messing and Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu.

Performing to “Sleeping Beauty”, Hochstein delivered a flawless program that included a double Axel, a triple Lutz-triple toeloop, a triple flip and three level-four spins. The American posted a new personal best of 71.35 points (41.40 element score/29.95 program component score) to take the lead. “I didn’t have expectations for where I wanted to place. My big goal for this event was just to focus on myself and on my love of skating. That’s what I went out and did, and I’m surely very happy with the result”, Hochstein commented. “Competing at the Junior Grand Prix series has built my confidence a lot. I wanted to skate with my heart, and I skated with my heart, and I think you always skate better when you love to skate”, he continued.

Messing, who like Hochstein, competes in his first Junior World Championships, nailed a triple Axel, a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, a triple flip and earned a level four for his combination spin. The 18-year-old picked up 68.90 points (40.90/28.00), a new personal best, for his routine set to the classical “Four Billion Years” from “The Soloist” soundtrack. “I felt pretty good about how I skated. I went out there, expecting to have some fun, and I had a blast out there”, Messing said. “I was coming into this competition as first alternate. When I got the call, I felt sorry for him (Ross Miner) that he couldn’t compete, but I couldn’t help to be excited for myself to actually be here, competing at Junior Worlds and to place second in the Short Program is pretty awesome”, he added.

Hanyu skated next to last out of the 46 competitors. He opened his dynamic program to “Mission Impossible 2” with a triple Axel, followed by a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination and a triple flip. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion got a level three for two spins and the circular steps to score 68.75 points (37.90/30.85). “Today’s performance was not very good, but I am satisfied to be in third place”, Hanyu told the press. “I missed my triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, but I am especially disappointed with my spins and footwork. I lost a few levels there.”

Denis Ten (KAZ) came fourth after missing completely the flying sit spin and wobbly landings on the triple Axel as well as the triple Lutz-triple toe combination (68.40 points). Nan Song (CHN) is currently ranked sixth and still close to the podium with 67.97 points. He turned in a solid performance that included a triple Axel, but he received a deduction for the wrong edge take-off on his triple flip.

The Hague (ISU) – Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China grabbed the lead in the Pairs Short Program ahead of Japan’s Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran and Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov of Russia.

Performing to the upbeat Russian folk music “Barynia”, Sui/Han hit a solid side by side double Axel, a high double twist and earned a level four for the death spiral and the pair combination spin,  but Sui touched down with her hand on the throw triple Salchow. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions posted a seasons best score of 60.94 points (36.46/24.48). “Overall we’re quite satisfied with our performance although in some places it wasn’t our best”, Han said.

Takahashi/Tran’s expressive Flamenco program featured a double Axel, double twist, one-armed lift and throw triple Salchow. Both spins were graded a level four, and the reigning ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists picked up 59.54 points (36.46/23.08), which also was a seasons best. “Today was really good. We had a few wobbles here and there, but we were together in the side by side spin, which is better than usual”, Tran commented.

Stolbova/Klimov landed a beautiful throw triple Salchow, a double twist, the double Axel in their routine to Russian folklore, but had only a level one for their straight line footwork. The couple from St. Petersburg earned a seasons best of 54.26 points (32.12/22.12). “We executed all our elements, we did our minimum and we didn’t outdo ourselves, but we are pleased that it was a clean performance and that we got our best score of the season”, Klimov told the press.

Britney Simpson/Nathan Miller (USA) turned in another clean program to finish fourth at 52.20 points. Tatiana Novik/Mikhail Kuznetsov (RUS) are currently sitting in fifth place after she fell on the double Axel (49.38 points).

The Hague (ISU) – Russia’s Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov danced to the lead in the Westminster Waltz Compulsory Dance followed by Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) and Ekaterina Pushkash/Jonathan Guerreiro of Russia.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov delivered a flowing, confident performance of the Waltz to score a seasons best of 37.52

points (20.24 element score/17.28 program component score). “It is a little unexpected for us to be in the lead, after all, we are not the top ranked Russian team”, Ilinykh said, referring to the fact that they placed second to Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final and Russian Junior Nationals. “We’ve worked very hard since the Final in December, we worked especially on our technique and physical strength, we did many run-throughs of our programs. We are pleased that we were able to improve the technical side of our skating”, Ilinykh continued.

The couples ranked second through fifth are separated by less than one point.

Shibutani/Shibutani put out a solid Westminster Waltz and picked up 34.27 points (18.48/15.79). “We’re very happy with our dance, and we really enjoy skating the Westminster. It’s very joyful. We just want to put out strong performances. We think this is a great start to the week and we’re just going to focus on the skating”, Maia Shibutani commented. “We skated really well and we just had a lot of fun out there. We were relaxed”, her brother added. “The placement is the placement. We still have our goals how we want to skate and we’re going to stick to that.”

Pushkash/Guerreiro skated last out of the 34 couples and produced a strong Waltz as well, showing off their elegant lines. The Russians earned 34.20 points (18.38/15.82). “We showed everything as we can do it in practice, and so we are happy and our coach was pleased as well. We like the Waltz. The flow of the Waltz suits us probably better than sharp movements in other dances”, Pushkash said. “We skated last and we were a bit nervous, but we actually like to skate last. We won’t relax now, as the difference in points between the couples is very small”, she explained. “We are in our first season and we are still gelling as a team, but the Waltz works well for us as we have matching body lines. A Quickstep probably would have been a little harder for us”, Guerreiro offered.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions Maria Monko/Kirill Khaliavin (RUS) came fourth at 34.17 points and Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam (CAN) follow in fifth with 33.32 points. Lorenza Alessandrini/ Simone Vaturi (ITA) are ranked sixth (32.35 points).