Gracie Gold is all smiles with her medal and trophy after winning the ladies title at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2014/2015 NHK Trophy held at the Namihaya Dome on Saturday night (November 29) in Osaka, Japan.
The 19-year-old figure skater took the gold medal with 191.16 points, ahead of Russia’s Alena Leonova (186.40) and Japan’s Satoko Miyahara (179.02).
“Of course I feel very happy to win my first Grand Prix and senior international, but I know I can do better and improve even upon this performance,” Gracie shared with press after the competition. “Of course this competition gives me confidence. I have acquired a lot of bronze medals over my career so far, so it’s nice to have a gold medal in the mix.”
Polina Edmunds and Christina Gao placed 8th and 9th. Jeremy Abbott, Ross Miner and Joshua Farris placed 5th, 7th and 11th in the men’s competition.
25+ pics inside of Gracie Gold…
Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu, the reigning Olympic and World champion, was involved in a nasty ice collision during practice ahead of the free skate during the 2014 Lexus Cup of China on Saturday (November 8) in Shanghai, China.
The 19-year-old figure skater and China’s Han Yan crashed into each other during warm ups, which left Yuzuru on his back with blood streaming across his neck and face from a cut on his chin. Eek!
Determined to skate his free program, Yuzuru did just that and even though he fell from five of his jumps, he still placed 2nd, taking home the silver medal.
Team USA’s Richard Dornbush placed 3rd with Maia and Alex Shibutani taking 2nd in ice dance and Polina Edmunds taking 4th for the ladies.
Feel better, Yuzuru!
10+ pics inside from the Cup of China…
Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani show off their fierce paso doble dance for the short program during the 2014 Lexus Cup of China on Friday night (November 7) in Shanghai, China.
The sibling skaters were joined at the event by ladies competitors Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia, and Polina Edmunds, Christina Gao and Ashley Cain from USA, as well as mens competitors Yuzuru Hanyu and Richard Dornbush.
“In one word, it was the worst,” Yuzuru shared with press after his short program, where he placed second. “It’s surprising that this kind of performance was good enough for second. It’s extremely frustrating. I’ll have a hard look in the mirror, and then I want to put on the kind of performance tomorrow [in the free skate] that people expect from me.”
Richard, who skates for Team USA, placed 4th. Julia currently sits first for the ladies with Polina, Christina and Ashley at 7th, 8th and 11th.
25+ pics inside…
Ashley Wagner shows off her gold medal during the 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard ISU Grand Prix held at the Palais Omnisports de Bercy on Saturday night (November 16) in Paris, France.
The 22-year-old Olympic hopeful earned 194.37 points, ahead of Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova and Anna Pogorilaya.
Team USA teammates Samantha Cesario and Christina Gao (pictured below) placed 4th and 8th, respectively.
“A clean program will do a lot, but it will not win the Olympics,” Ashley recently shared about her plan to place at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. “And it most likely will not get me onto the Olympic podium. I, myself, don’t think I’m talented enough to get on the podium without a triple-triple. I’m just trying to be as realistic about the triple-triple as I possibly can be.”
You can watch Ashley‘s short program below! 20+ pics inside…
Ashley Wagner – 2013 Trophee Bompard Short Program
More Here! »
Gracie Gold shows off her bronze medal at the 2013 Skate Canada International held at Harbour Station on Saturday afternoon (October 26) in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
The 18-year-old Olympic hopeful claimed the third place spot after her free skate, earning 186.65 total points for the event. Russia’s Julia Lipnitskaia took first and Japan’s Akiko Suzuki placed second.
Teammate Christina Gao placed fourth, with 173.69 total points.
She skated to the “Angels and Demons” soundtrack and nailed all her jumps, sans a triple-triple combination.
10+ pics inside of Gracie and Christina… More Here! »
Gracie Gold and Christina Gao show off their skills at 2013 Skate Canada International held at Harbour Station on Friday afternoon (October 25) in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
The two Olympic hopefuls performed during the Ladie’s Short Program, landing the number 1 (Gold) and 4 (Gao) spots.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Gracie Gold
“I was happy that I really went for everything,” Gracie told press after her program. “I made them (the jumps) happen. I didn’t just let the triples happen. Often I’m a little bit tentative, especially in the short program. In practice, I had doubled some jumps in run-throughs, so we made a pact to go out there and commit myself to every element.”
10+ pics inside of Gracie and Christina… More Here! »
Gracie Gold and Christina Gao pose for the camera in these new Road To Sochi Olympic portraits.
The two figure skaters are preparing for the road to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, which are just 10 months away.
“Had an amazing time at the NBC pre Olympic promo shoot!! @nbcolympics usolympic #roadtosochi,” Christina, 19, tweeted after a promo shoot in Los Angeles.
JJJ Fun Fact: Christina is also a full-time freshman at Harvard!
“Doing both [skating and school] complements each other,” Christina shared with USA Today. “My body may be tired, but I’m not mentally tired, because I love skating. I love going to school here. When you’re doing something you love, it’s not work.”
35+ pics inside of Gracie and Christina… More Here! »