ISU

Reigning ISU World Champions Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) continued their winning ways and skated off with the gold at the MK John Wilson Trophy. Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii of Italy earned the silver medal while Germany’s Letizia Roscher/Luis Schuster took the bronze, the first ISU Grand Prix medal of their career. 

Miho Takagi (JPN) was undefeated at 1500m in last year’s World Cup and picked up where she left off at the start of the new season in Stavanger on Saturday.

Reigning ISU Four Continents Champion Mai Mihara of Japan set the tone in the Women’s Short Program with her winning performance.  ISU World Junior Champion Isabeau Levito (USA) is less than half a point behind. Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia completes the top three of the day.

International friendship gave Yuma Murakami (JPN) and Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) a boost heading into the new season. The Japanese sprinter went to Quebec to train with his Canadian rival for seven weeks last summer, and it paid off for both at the first World Cup event of the season in Stavanger.

Italy’s Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri sizzled on the ice to dance to a narrow lead over Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson of Great Britain in the Rhythm Dance, as the ISU Grand Prix MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield (GBR) continued Friday. Canadians Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha placed third heading into the Free Dance.

They may have done it in very different ways but Canada’s Steven Dubois and Korean Park Ji Won will both wake up on Saturday in Salt Lake City knowing they are ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating champions.

At last Courtney Sarault (CAN) knows what it feels like to win a major ISU title after taking a dominant gold in a high-class women’s 1500m at the Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Salt Lake City on Friday.

Roman Sadovsky of Canada literally skated with the lights out, to take the lead in the Men’s Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield on Friday.  Despite the arena lights dimming unexpectedly during his routine, the Canadian continued unfazed - and hisperformance shone. “I didn’t even notice,” he said about it later. Italy’s Daniel Grassl is not far behind in second place, while Latvian Deniss Vasiljevs currently ranks third.

Ragne Wiklund (NOR) did the home crowd proud at the start of the World Cup season in Stavanger on Friday. The Norwegian youngster surprisingly beat Irene Schouten (NED) in the 3000m, the Olympic champion having to settle for silver.

The Team USA men got off the blocks fast at the start of the new international speed skating season at the Sørmarka Arena in Stavanger (NOR) on Friday. At age 18, Jordan Stolz (USA) took his first ISU World Cup win in spectacular fashion, clocking a new track record in 1 minute and 44.89s to leave the rest of the field behind.

Reigning ISU World Champions Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) are poised for gold following a strong Short Program in Sheffield. Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii of Italy came second ahead of Germany’s Letizia Roscher/Luis Schuster who both scored a new personal best. 

A new generation challenges familiar faces, when the new international long track season gets underway with the first World Cup in Stavanger (NOR) from November 11-13, 2022. Some household names in international Speed Skating waved goodbye after the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, but others like triple gold medallist Irene Schouten (NED) are still eager to add silverware to their trophy cabinet.

ISU World Champions Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA), ISU Four Continents Champion Mai Mihara (JPN) and two-time ISU European bronze medalists Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) headline the MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield (GBR), November 11th- 13th, 2022. More Skaters enter the ISU Grand Prix circuit at this fourth event, while others aim to secure their spot at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Torino (December 8-11, 2022).

From Park Ji Won (KOR) versus Steven Dubois (CAN), to Kristen Santos-Griswold (USA) against Choi Min Jeong (KOR), and the emerging China Relay teams facing the rest of the best, this season’s ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships are set to light up Salt Lake City (USA), November 10-12, 2022.

The long track Speed Skating starts its new season this weekend with the first of six ISU World Cup events in Stavanger (NOR) from November 11-13, 2022. All six World Cup legs are equally important in the qualification battle for the season’s climax at the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen (NED) in March. Skaters cannot afford to ease into the season, because every race counts.