The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2012 concluded Sunday in Colorado Springs, USA, with the Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance and the Exhibition.

Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) take Pairs gold
Wenjjing Sui/Cong Han of China secured the Pairs gold in convincing fashion. Caydee Denney/John Coughlin and Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker (USA) took the silver and bronze medals.
Sui/Han included a a throw quadruple Salchow (two-footed), a quadruple twist and a triple toe-double toe-double toe combination as well as throw triple flip in their Flamenco routine. The two-time World Junior Champions picked up a level four for the spins, death spiral and lifts to post a new personal best score of 135.08 points. Overall they racked up 201.38 points to take their first senior-level championship title. This was the best we've ever skated, Han said. It is very exciting for us to have wo this event. We competed for the first time at a senior-level Championship and we didn't think about this result, he added.

Skating to Nessun Dorma, Denney/Coughlin completed a triple twist, throw triple loop and throw triple flip as well as a side by side triple toe, but she singled an Axel. The U.S. Champions scored a seasons best with 122.07 points and totaled 185.42 points. We had a great time out there. I was talking to Rockne and we could feel the American presence in the crowd. It was fun to skate at home. We got a little excited at the end so we were off timing on the exit of the carry but we saved it pretty well. We felt strong. Like we said in short, we took a step in right direction to build toward Worlds, Coughlin told the press.

Marley/Brubaker produced a triple twist, a throw triple Lutz and difficult lifts to earn 116.47 points, another seasons best. They remained in third place at 178.89 points overall. Overall we were just really happy to be here. We've come a long way since last year. Mary Beth kind of jokingly said our season best was 88 at Skate America and today it was 116. There are some points we know we can easily get back. Our jumps and throws are usually pretty solid. We're ready to get to work for Worlds, Brubaker commented.

Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford (CAN) pulled up from eighth to fourth at 171.76 points while Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (JPN) slipped from fourth to fifth (171.11 points). Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig (USA) came sixth (167.99 points).

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (CAN) dance to victory
Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir of Canada overtook Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA) to capture the gold medal. Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje of Canada claimed the bronze.

Virtue/Moir delivered a strong performance of their Funny Face Free Dance, executing difficult elements at high speed. The diagonal footwork, the lifts and twizzels merited a level four and the reigning Olympic Champions scored 111.24 points. They moved up one spot with a total of 182.84 points. I think it was a great performance. Especially today we felt really strong and it was kind of a test for us up here with the altitude and we were definitely feeling it today. Regardless of that we just came together and got a strong score and it was just a great feeling, Moir explained. We really skate to win. We skate for ourselves, we really love these programs. We performed everything that we have been practicing so we are obviously pleased with that, Virtue added.

Davis/White turned in a dynamic Waltz from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss that was highlighted by smooth steps and impressive lifts. The 2011 World Champions picked up a level four for four out of eight elements and earned 107.25 points for the Free Dance. They slipped to second overall with 179.40 points. I think we're pretty proud of ourselves finishing this competition. Nothing came easily but we really fought for it. We're really proud of what we put out there . Silver isn't the color we were aiming for this year, but that's OK, Davis said. We have a lot to go home and work on and we are looking forward to it. We'll take a look at our technical score and see where we went wrong, but I think we're on the right track for Nice, she continued.

Dancing to Je suis malade, Weaver/Poje produced beautiful lifts and a level-four spin to score 99.03 points. The 2010 Four Continents Champions collected 163.26 points overall and remained in third place. I thought today's performance was strong. We went back after our national championships and worked on little things that we were looking to build upon from the last performance and I think we achieved that. We definitely have a ways to go but we have a couple of weeks until the World Championships and so now we're really excited, Poje noted.

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) came fourth with a Glenn Miller Medley with 158.29 points. Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue (USA) placed fifth (129.20 points) and Alexandra Paul/Mitchell Islam (CAN) finished sixth (117.97 points).

For more information, full entry lists and results please see: www.isu.org and http://www.2012fourcontinents.com/