Nathan Chen (USA) crushed the competition at the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada International, winning with almost 50 points advantage over teammate Jason Brown and Russia’s Evgeni Semenenko.
Nathan Chen (USA) © International Skating Union (ISU)
Skating last to a Mozart compilation with an interesting modern twist, Chen delivered again, reeling off a quad Salchow, quad flip-triple toe, quad toe-Euler-triple flip, quad toe-double toe as well as a triple Axel and two more triple jumps. The three-time and reigning World Champion scored 200.46 points and racked up 307.18 points overall to win the eighth ISU Grand Prix event gold medal of his career.
“I definitely did have better outings here than I did in Skate America, so I think this is a good step forward. In all the competitions I want to push myself a little bit forward,” Chen said. “The programs weren't perfect but overall I'm happy with where I am this season and looking forward to going back and trying to clean things up.”
Brown’s emotional performance to “Schindler’s List” featured a triple Axel-double toe and five more triples, but he fell on a triple Axel and his quadruple Salchow was two-footed and downgraded. The 2020 ISU Four Continents silver medalist scored 165.55 points and 259.55 overall.
Jason Brown (USA) © International Skating Union (ISU)
“Overall, I am a little disappointed with my free skate today. That being said, the Grand Prix season is all about the opportunity to learn, to figure out what works, what doesn't and use it as a platform moving forward,” Brown said.
Semenenko nailed a quad toe-double toe, quad Salchow, quad toe and five more clean triples in his dramatic program to “The Master and Margarita”. He only stepped out of his second triple Axel. The Russian Junior Champion ranked second in the Free Skating with 168.30 points and moved up from fifth to capture the first Grand Prix medal of his career.
“I think I skated well. This is my Grand Prix debut. Last season the Grand Prix (in Russia) was mostly with Russian skaters. It is a big honor for me to skate with such great athletes as Nathan Chen,” the 18-year-old said.
Evgeni Semenenko of Russia © International Skating Union (ISU)
Makar Ignatov (RUS) remained in fourth place at 244.17 points. Keegan Messing (CAN) dropped from third to fifth after some errors (238.34 points) while Morisi Kvitelashivili (GEO) pulled up from 12th to sixth place at 232.87 points.
For full results, click here.
