Vancouver, Canada

#FigureSkating      #GPFigure

Two-time ISU World Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China scored a runaway victory at the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada International Saturday in Vancouver, winning with 31 points to spare. Russia’s Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin claimed the silver medal while Ashley Cain/Timothy Leduc (USA) rose from sixth to take the bronze.

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han CAN GettyImages 1350299550

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China © International Skating Union (ISU)

Skating to “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, Sui/Han landed a triple twist, triple toe-double toe-double toe, big throw triple flip and Salchow. The only glitch came when Sui fell on the triple Salchow. The 2018 Olympic silver medalists earned 145.11 points and totaled 224.05 points.

“Our performance was not bad. We had some misses, and we missed a level on a lift and spin. We can improve on this and we will try to fix all of it,” Sui said. “This is our first win at Skate Canada, so it is really exciting.”

Sui/Han competed at Skate Canada International three times before and finished second each time.

Pavliuchenko/Khodykin produced a somewhat shaky triple toe-triple toe-double toe combination (slightly underrotated the second jump), a throw triple loop, triple twist and difficult lifts during their program to “Black Swan”. However, Pavliuchenko missed the triple Salchow and touched down on the throw triple flip. The 2018 ISU World Junior Champions ranked third in the Free Skating with 123.62 points, but remained in second place at 193.08 points.

Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin RUS GettyImages 1350304374

Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin (RUS) © International Skating Union (ISU)

“Today’s free skating was bad. We know it and we know what we need to do to improve,” Khodykin said. “This is the beginning of the season and it is normal that we are not yet in top shape.”

Cain/LeDuc put out a strong performance to the “W.E.” soundtrack that was highlighted by a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and Salchow. Their side by side triple loop and Salchow were a little underrotated. The 2018 ISU Four Continents silver medalists achieved a season’s best in the Free Skating with 128.22 points to pull up four spots at 189.90 points overall.

“We are very happy with the program today. We had a solid skate, which is really good for our confidence. That is really what we wanted from this competition,” Cain said.

“We worked so hard this season so far and going into this competition. To feel like it paid off is really awesome,” LeDuc said.

Ashley Cain Gribble and Timothy Leduc USA GettyImage 1350292209

Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc (USA) © International Skating Union (ISU)

Vanessa James/Eric Radford (CAN) moved up to fourth place in their first ISU Grand Prix as a team (187.92 points). Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nolan Seegert (GER) slipped from third to fifth at 186.82 points). Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro (CAN) dropped to sixth after missing two lifts (180.25 points).

For full results, click here.