Rika Kihira of Japan skated off with the gold in an eventful Ladies’ Free Skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Anaheim (USA) with the standings turning upside down. Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva pulled up from sixth to claim the silver and Mai Mihara of Japan surged from eighth to snatch the bronze medal.
Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno of Japan rallied in the Free Skating, coming from fourth place to strike gold in the Men’s event. Defending champion Boyang Jin of China this time earned the silver medal. USA’s Vincent Zhou took the bronze, his first ISU Championship medal at the senior level.
Olympic silver medalists Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China clinched victory in the Pairs event by just 0.06 points, overtaking Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro. Cheng Peng/Yang Jin, also from China, earned the bronze medal. Moore-Towers/Marinaro and Peng/Jin won their first medals as a team at an ISU Championship.
Coming off a 10-month break from training and competing, Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) upset the favorites to dance off with the gold medal in the Ice Dance event. Canada’s Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje, who had sat out the Grand Prix series as well, earned the silver medal while compatriots Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier pulled up from fourth to take the bronze.
