The 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships concluded in Taipei, Chinese Taipei, Sunday with the Men’s Free Skating and the Exhibition Gala.
Patrick Chan (CAN) strikes gold
Patrick Chan of Canada came from fifth place to strike gold in the Men’s event. China’s Boyang Jin and Han Yan took the silver and bronze medal. All three men posted new personal best scores in the Free Skating.
Skating last, Chan delivered an excellent performance to music by Frederic Chopin, reeling off a quadruple-triple toeloop, quadruple toeloop, two triple Axel as well as four triple jumps and difficult spins and footwork. The three-time World Champion earned 203.99 points and claimed his third Four Continents title with 290.21 points. “I feel like all the work and the stress I had to go through this season with my coach and myself paid off. It all came out in that program just the way it was supposed to be. It just felt exhilarating. I know this isn’t World Championships, but this is one step closer. This year has been so successful for the first year back”, the Olympic silver medalist said.
Jin produced four quadruple jumps (Lutz, Salchow and two toeloops) and five triples including two Axels in his program to “Dragon Racing” to score 191.38 points. He slipped from first to second at 289.83 points. “I competed for the first time at the Four Continents and therefore I felt I’m competing against myself mainly. I feel like my free skate is a challenge for myself from my first to my last jump. I performed quite well and I landed all the quads. I did them before at the national Winter Games and it gave me confidence for this competition. But the quality of the jumps was not as good as today”, the 2015 World Junior silver medalist explained. Jin is the first skater to complete four quadruple jumps in one Free Skating in international competition and also the first skater to land three different kind of quads in one program.
Yan’s performance to “Romeo and Juliet” was highlighted by two quadruple toeloops and seven triple jumps. The 19-year-old picked up 181.98 points and accumulated 271.55 points to earn his third bronze medal at the Four Continents Championships. “The performance was the best of the season. Today I put out the best of me and I feel happy about it”, Yan noted.
Shoma Uno (JPN) dropped from second to fourth at 269.81 points. Takahito Mura (JPN) came fifth (268.43 points) and Keiji Tanaka (JPN) placed sixth (222.70 points).
The twelve medals went to four ISU members. China and the USA are most successful members with four medals each. China got one gold, one silver and two bronze medals. The USA take home one gold, two silvers and one bronze. Canada and Japan got one gold and one bronze each.
For more information and full results of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2016please see: www.isu.org and the official event website http://www.fcc2016taipei.com/, Hashtag: #4CCTaipeiCity