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Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Shoma Uno lead NHK Trophy

By Nick ZaccardiNov 9, 2018, 6:52 AM EDT
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Olympic medalists Kathleen Baker, Caeleb Dressel headline TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Des Moines Mikaela Shiffrin could win historic world title, not that she’s keeping track From Squaw Valley to Are, Bryce Bennett is still taking it one step at a time

Russian Elizaveta Tuktamysheva landed her second triple Axel in as many Grand Prix short programs, while Shoma Uno fell, but both skaters lead after the first day at NHK Trophy.

Tuktamysheva, who had struggled since winning the 2015 World title, leads Japanese Satoko Miyahara by .09 of a point going into Saturday’s free skate in Hiroshima. Both are looking to clinch spots in December’s exclusive, six-skater Grand Prix Final after winning Grand Prix series titles earlier this season.

Tuktamysheva, after going nearly three years between landing clean triple Axels in competition, has now done it in both of her Grand Prix starts this fall. Her short-program score Friday — 76.17 — ranks second in the world this season behind Olympic champion Alina Zagitova.

The elegant Miyahara, a two-time world medalist, beat Tuktamysheva on the components (artistic) score. Another Japanese skater, Mai Mihara, is in third. The top American is Mariah Bell in seventh.

NHK TROPHY: Results | TV/Stream Schedule

Uno, the Olympic and world silver medalist and overwhelming favorite at NHK, leads Russian Sergey Voronov by 1.12 despite falling on a quadruple toe loop and not having a jumping combination. Uno tallied 92.49 points.

U.S. Olympian Vincent Zhou was fifth with two under-rotated jumps, three weeks after being dinged for seven under rotations between two Skate America programs.

Earlier in pairs, Russians Natalya Zabiyako and Alexander Enbert skated a clean, 73.48-point short to take a 2.82 lead over Chinese Peng Cheng and Jin Yang.

Only French Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, who are not at NHK, have scored higher in the short this season.

Americans Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Christopher Knierim and Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea were fourth and fifth after trouble with their side-by-side triple Salchows.

As a reminder, you can watch the ISU Grand Prix Series live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. GO HERE to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season…NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

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Opportunity knocks at NHK Trophy: preview, TV/stream schedule

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By Nick ZaccardiNov 7, 2018, 3:15 PM EDT
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If the year after the Olympics is about new talent emerging, this week’s NHK Trophy presents ripe opportunities.

Japanese 16-year-old Rika Kihira makes her senior Grand Prix debut, a much-anticipated one after she landed two triple Axels in one program in September. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker and Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons, the next generation of U.S. ice dance, can make their moves after the world champions withdrew.

The headliners are more accomplished skaters, like Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno, 2015 World champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and two-time world medalist Satoko Miyahara, all bidding to clinch Grand Prix Final berths at the fourth of six Grand Prix series stops.

NBC Sports Gold live streams every session starting Friday.

Day Time (ET) Event Network
Friday 12:15 a.m. Pairs’ Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
2 a.m. Women’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
5 a.m. Men’s Short NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
10:45 p.m. Rhythm Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
Saturday 12:30 a.m. Pairs’ Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
2:30 a.m. Women’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
5:30 a.m. Men’s Free NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
9:30 pm. Free Dance NBC Sports Gold | STREAM LINK
Sunday 12 p.m. Highlights NBC | STREAM LINK

The women boast the strongest field with four of the top seven skaters this season (Miyahara, Kihira, Mai Mihara and Tuktamysheva). Russia and Japan should make up the podium for the fourth straight Grand Prix.

Kihira is the wild card. Eighth at last season’s junior worlds, she won her senior international debut in September with those two triple Axels. Tuktamysheva is the only other active senior woman with that jump, which she landed cleanly two weeks ago for the first time in nearly three years.

Uno is the clear class of the men’s field. The Olympic and world silver medalist doesn’t have to worry about Yuzuru Hanyu or Nathan Chen until December’s Grand Prix Final. This week it’s American Vincent Zhou and Russian Dmitri Aliev, who were sixth and seventh in PyeongChang. Zhou looks to improve on his fifth place at Skate America, where he was dinged for seven under-rotation calls.

The NHK dance field opened wide with the withdrawal of Olympic silver medalists and world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron on Tuesday. Nobody left finished in the top 12 in PyeongChang nor ranks in the highest, top-six tier of the world this season.

Enter Americans Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean Luc-Baker and siblings Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons — average age: 23, all past world junior champions. They finished fourth and fifth at last season’s nationals behind the block of senior world medalists — Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani and Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

The Shibutanis are on an indefinite competition break. Chock is recovering from ankle surgery. The Grand Prix could be a showcase for new talent in the U.S.’ deepest discipline.

Hawayek and Baker make their season debut after Baker, whose mom was a 1988 British Olympic ice dancer, suffered a second concussion in three years in August. The Parsons siblings rank eighth in the world this season — a jump from No. 22 last year — and second among the couples at NHK.

The NHK pairs’ field includes U.S. Olympians Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim and 2016 U.S. champions Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea up against three of the world’s top five teams from Canada, China and Russia.

NBC Sports researcher Sarah Hughes contributed to this report.

As a reminder, you can watch the ISU Grand Prix Series live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. GO HERE to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season…NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

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MORE: Mariah Bell focused on big picture ahead of NHK Trophy

Nathan Chen wins Skate America by largest margin in history

By Nick ZaccardiOct 20, 2018, 7:57 PM EDT
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More: Olympics

Olympic medalists Kathleen Baker, Caeleb Dressel headline TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Des Moines Mikaela Shiffrin could win historic world title, not that she’s keeping track From Squaw Valley to Are, Bryce Bennett is still taking it one step at a time

Nathan Chen scaled back the quadruple jumps, yet still won Skate America by the largest margin in the event’s history.

Chen, on a fall recess from Yale freshman classes, totaled 280.57 points between Friday’s short program and Saturday’s free skate, prevailing by 41.06 points over a field lacking any other Olympic or world medalists. It’s the largest gap in any discipline at Skate America under the 16-year-old points system.

It’s also the world’s top score on the young season. Yet Chen attempted four quads total in Everett, Wash., down from the eight he tried at the Olympics, to ease into the season.

“It’s a great start for me,” Chen told Andrea Joyce on NBCSN after landing three quads in a clean free skate. “I definitely had sort of lower expectations coming into this event, just because I’m in a completely new situation in life. … Watered down my programs a little bit, but I think it was definitely appropriate.”

Chen was a disappointing fifth in PyeongChang, then won the world title a month later by the largest margin in history.

He’s trying a new training arrangement as a college student, separated from California-based coach Rafael Arutunian by 3,000 miles. They communicate by video chats, which the 61-year-old Arutunian called “very difficult,” but it’s so far working.

With Saturday’s victory, Chen tied the U.S. men’s record of four Grand Prix series titles (Jeremy Abbott, Todd Eldredge, Johnny Weir, though Eldredge won more Grand Prix-level events before the series debuted in 1995).

The 19-year-old flies back to New Haven for school, returning to the Grand Prix during Thanksgiving break for Internationaux de France. That field includes two-time world bronze medalist Jin Boyang of China and Jason Brown, the top American from the Sochi Olympics.

Chen’s biggest competition are Japanese Olympic gold and silver medalists Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno. He would not face them until December’s Grand Prix Final at the earliest.

U.S. bronze medalist Vincent Zhou, sixth at the Olympics, was fifth at Skate America. The 17-year-old landed five quads between two programs but was dinged for several under-rotations.

Skate America continues later Saturday with the women’s short program, featuring U.S. champion Bradie Tennell.

SKATE AMERICA: Full Results | TV Schedule

Earlier Saturday, Russians Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov won the pairs’ title by the largest margin at a Grand Prix in four years. The two-time world medalists totaled 204.85 points — 25.87 ahead of fellow Russians Alisa Efimova and Aleksandr Korovin — and topped the free skate by 16.27.

Tarasova and Morozov were fourth in PyeongChang but are the top returning active pair. None of the Olympic pairs’ medalists are competing in a Grand Prix.

Germans Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are on an indefinite break. Chinese Sui Wenjing and Han Cong haven’t competed since the Games with Sui recovering from a stress fracture in her foot. Bronze medalists Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada retired.

Americans finished third (Ashley Cain, Timothy LeDuc), fourth (Olympians Alexa Scimeca Knierim, Chris Knierim) and sixth (Nica Digerness, Danny Neudecker), extending a drought of 12 years without a Grand Prix title for a U.S. pair.

The three teams combined for falls in five of their six programs. After, the Knierims said they split from coach Savchenko.

As a reminder, you can watch the ISU Grand Prix Series live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. GO HERE to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season…NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

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