The first ever ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships took place in Helsinki (FIN) from March 8-9 2013. Twenty teams from 15 ISU Members participated in these Championships. The host country took the Gold and Silver while Russia took the bronze.
Team Finland 1 was first after the Short Program with 64.32 points and only a few points behind was Team Finland 2 with 61.57 points and Russia was third with 55.11. Team Canada 1 and Team USA 2 followed in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Everything changed in the Free Program. Team Finland 2 gave a strong presentation with their Snow White Free Skate. They delivered a clean program with good spiral sequences and scored a total score of 183.20 points which earned them the gold medal. It is hard to describe this feeling with words. After the short program we were still behind in second place, so it was great to win the competition said Team Finland 2 captain Sara Kekäläinen. The team's coach Anu Oksanen was also satisfied with her team's performance The girls nailed the free program today in a tough spot told Oksanen.
Team Finland 1 had a fall in an intersection, which gave them a deduction of one point and consequently they got 183.00 points and finished second only 0.2 points behind Team Finland 2. It was great to skate today and the audience gave us extra power, commented team captain Emma-Riikka Kero.
Team Russia 1 remained in third place with a total score of 171,56. The technically strong team showed off its footwork skills and spirals, but was left behind the Finnish teams with component scores, mainly transitions and choreography. This has been an unforgettable experience for us. The audience is great in Helsinki. We skated our season's best free skating program today, stated the team's captain Anna Ignatyeva.
Team Canada 1 finished fourth with 149.84 points and Team Canada 2 went up the leader board from seventh to fifth place with a strong Free Skate and a total of 145.45 points.
The ISU ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2013 are available for viewing on the ISU YouTube Channel here.
The ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships is held every two years and therefore the next Championships will take place in 2015.
Results