ISU

Junhwan Cha of Korea grabbed the lead in the Men’s Short Program at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships Friday in Tallinn (EST), setting a new personal best score en route. Japan’s Kazuki Tomono and Kao Miura are currently ranked second and third.

The Republic of Korea is the world’s leading powerhouse in Short Track Speed Skating and they are the best-placed Asian nation of all-time in the Speed Skating Olympic medal ranking too. With five gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals, Korea is in tenth place overall. Korea seized 13 starting slots for the Speed Skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Three-time ISU Four Continents medallist Mai Mihara of Japan tops the Women’s Short Program at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Tallinn (EST) Thursday and is poised for another medal at the event. Korea’s Haein Lee and Yelim Kim follow in second and third.

USA’s Audrey Lu/Misha Mitrofanov won the Pairs Short Program as the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships continued Thursday in Tallinn (EST). Evelyn Walsh/Trennt Michaud of Canada came second while Emily Chan/Spencer Akira Howe (USA) currently rank third. All three teams achieved a new personal best score.

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons (USA) danced to the lead as the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships opened Thursday in Tallinn (EST) with the Rhythm Dance. Japan’s  Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi came second followed by Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA).

Following the ISU European Figure Skating Championships (January 10-16), the attention now shifts this week to the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships with non-European top skaters competing in Tallinn, Estonia (January 18-23). Tallinn has stepped in to take over the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2022 due to the exceptional circumstances this season after the original host, China, returned the event.

The Republic of Korea enter the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games as the globe’s leading Short Track Speed Skating powerhouse. No other nation has won as many Olympic golds, Olympic medals or World Championship titles.

2010 Olympic Champion Yuna Kim was a trailblazer for Korean Figure Skating. She was the first Korean Figure Skater to win medals at ISU Championships and crowned her unique career with Olympic gold in 2010 and Olympic silver in 2014. Her example inspired many young Skaters in the country that we see competing today.

The Netherlands are the only nation to have earned the maximum quota of 18 participants in  Speed Skating at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Yet, seizing a spot in the national Olympic selection is tougher in the Netherlands than anywhere else. With an internationally unmatched amount of top level skaters, the Dutch have to leave potential medal winners at home. Ireen Wüst and Sven Kramer, the most decorated Dutch Olympians of all time, fought their way to Beijing.

Kamila Valieva led the Russian women to a podium sweep at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn (EST) on Saturday. Anna Shcherbakova moved up from fourth place to claim the silver medal while Alexandra Trusova earned the bronze – like they had two years ago. It was the eighth podium sweep for the Russian women at the ISU European Championships.

Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov of Russia defended their European Ice Dance title Saturday at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn (EST). Teammates Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin earned the silver medal while Italy’s Charlene Guignard/ Marco Fabbri collected the bronze.

Russian rookie Mark Kondratiuk skated off with the gold medal at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn (EST) Friday in what was an exciting event with many movements in the standings. Italy’s Daniel Grassl came from fifth to claim the silver medal while Deniss Vasiljevs climbed from sixth to earn the bronze, a historic first medal for Latvia.

Reigning World Champions Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov of Russia took a slim lead of 1.44 points over teammates Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin in the Rhythm Dance at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Friday in Tallinn (EST). Italy’s Charlene Guignard/ Marco Fabbri are currently ranked third.

The ISU Council allotted the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2022 which will also include the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2022 to the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG).

Russia’s reigning World Champions Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov added the European title to their collection with another perfect skate at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Thursday in Tallinn. Silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov and bronze medalists Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitri Kozlovskii completed the 15th Russian podium sweep in Pair Skating at the ISU European Championships.