INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER NO 35 MAI 2008

INSIDE• ISU NEWS• SEASON REVIEW • CONGRESS PREVIEW • RESULTS

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ISU World is the official newsletter of the International Skating UnionPublished and produced by ISU, Chemin de Primerose 2, 1007 Lausanne, SwitzerlandTelephone: +41 21 612 66 66. Facsimile: +41 21 612 66 77. Editorial board: Fredi Schmid, Devra Pitt Getaz, Rodney Lajoie. Designed by www.moserdesign.ch.Front cover photograph: Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) Photo by Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images Photography: © Getty Images / AFP: Joe Klamar, Jamie McDonald, Yuri Kadobnov, © Alison Gilkes / Albar Photo Media, © Getty Images / AFP : Vincent Jannink, Toshifumi Kitamura, Kazuhiro Nogu, Anton Want / Allsport

More and more in the world of sport there are concerns about the fact that young people seem to be less inclined to practise sport and to follow sport disciplines. An explanation could be that there are many alternative ways to spend free time. New opportunities, also offered by technology, could be responsible for young people’s reduced interest in sport.

However, we believe that there is another second explanation: it is a more complex analysis and one that requires prompt action. In the first case there is undeniably

an increase in the use of computers and new types of entertainment, think for instance of how many children have a PC at home and enjoy spending a lot of time on it. The second explanation is however related to the sport activity itself.

Let us focus on this second aspect. The proliferation of commercial interests in the area of sport, with high exposure on TV and via the press, has remarkably stimulated youth to approach the sport activity to gain money and fame. Therefore they are moved to compete in all events, with high technical performances being given by very young athletes.

The consequence of such a situation is that many young athletes decide to stop the activity when they realize that their sporting competitors of the same age, but already high calibre athletes, are so strong that they can not be contended with. This is an example that shows how sport, in a certain sense, can kill sport. A very simple calculation can show that a young person who starts sport activity at eight years old, after ten years is still a teenager and has already had a pretty long career. In such a case the youth may stop as there may not be enough motivation to continue. Of course this example doesn’t involve those who have chosen the sport as a future profession, but future professionals remain a minor number compared to the ones who joined the sport for the sake of the competition.

Sport entities, in the front line the International Olympic Committee, have already taken steps to help the young athletes. The Youth Olympic Games is an initiative that will have the first event in 2010 in Singapore. The International Skating Union is consistently working in the same direction to provide youth with international sport activity, giving due respect to the categories among the young. The issue today is not recruitment of young athletes, rather we now have to focus more on what to do to keep the skaters on the ice. In addition to this, the presence of young coaches and sport administrators is also a priority.

Life is so. There are moments for innovation and development, but there are also times for consolidation. In this moment both approaches are valid.

Ottavio CinquantaPresident, International Skating Union

ISU COUNCILThe ISU Council met in Gothenburg Sweden on March 22-25, 2008. At this meeting the ISU Council granted the Skating Association of Montenegro (MNE) ISU Membership and accepted the Singapore Ice Skating Association (SIN) as a provisional Figure Skating Member. The Ice Skating Association of Ireland (IRL) also recently joined the ISU as a provisional Figure Skating Member (ISU Communication 1485).

The Council has also agreed on additional criteria for the annual Development Contribution to Members, commonly known as the C Contribution. Further information about this and other decisions can be found in ISU Communication 1492.

A new event is planned for 2009, called the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating. It is a competition between six national Figure Skating teams from ISU Members including the host. The first edition of the ISU World Team Trophy has been allotted to the Japan Skating Federation to be held in Tokyo, Japan on April 16-19, 2009. More information is available on the website in ISU Communication 1490.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded Ulf Lindén, ISU Treasurer, with the IOC President’s Award. The honor was presented to Ulf Lindén by the IOC Vice President Ms. Gunilla Lindberg.

Ulf Lindén (SWE) was named Treasurer to the ISU in 1994 and has represented the ISU continuously in that capacity to date. He came to the ISU after a long financial career as CEO of a data management company and member of 32 boards of which he was chairman to 22. He was also Vice President and then President of the Swedish Speed Skating Association from 1988-1994, Honorary Member of the Swedish Speed Skating Association and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the ISU World Speed Skating Championships in 1994 and Chairman of the ISU Restructuring Commission from 2002 to 2003.

ISU SPORTS DIRECTORATEThe Sports Directorate continued to work with the ISU President, the ISU Vice Presidents, the ISU Council, the ISU Technical Committees and ISU Secretariat to improve ISU sports and events. In Figure Skating the Memorandums for both the ISU Championships and the Grand Prix events were revised, an educational DVD for the Program Components is on the way and an ISU Communication providing updates and clarifications for the next season has been prepared. The Sports Directorate was again proactively involved in

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ISU NEWSthis year’s Pair Skating development seminar which took place in Berlin (GER) in March. 30 young Novice/Junior pairs, 33 coaches and 38 judges attended. The initiative is part of on-going work to develop pair skating in new geographical areas and to reinforce the discipline in traditional pair skating regions. In Speed Skating ice control equipment continued to be used at Speed Skating World Cup events and the Speed Skating Memorandum has been revised. Members of the Sports Directorate also met with the ISU Short Track Technical Committee in March to discuss initiatives to further increase public interest and spectator appeal in this discipline.

The Sports Directorate and the Development Coordinator discussed project applications put forward by Members for ISU support. Guidance was given to the applying Members and project modifications made as required. The Sports Directorate will continue to work on ensuring more Members are integrated into development program initiatives especially in the area of Synchronized Skating and Pair Skating.

Novice categories across all disciplines are under evaluation and will be discussed at the next ISU Congress in Monaco.

ISU TECHNICAL COMMITTEESAhead of the 2008 Congress the Technical Committees submitted proposed changes to the Special Regulations and Technical Rules and reviewed proposals put forward by Members.

Single & Pair SkatingThe annual Technical Committee meetings were held in March in Sweden and in May in Italy. These meetings allowed the Committee to give its recommendations on the List of all categories of Officials for the season 2008-2009. Time was devoted to preparing proposed changes in the Scale of Value Charts, Levels Charts and Grade of Execution guidelines which were then presented by the Committee, approved by the Sports Directorate and published in an ISU Communication. Coaches and skaters will use this information to prepare their new programs. Members of the Technical Committee served as Technical Controllers and Referees at several ISU Championships including the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships and ISU World Figure Skating Championships. They served as Moderators at Sponsored and Recognized Judges Seminars. Alexander Lakernik moderated in Berlin (GER), Junko Hiramatsu in Seoul (KOR) and Rita Zonnekeyn in Warsaw (POL).

Ice DanceThe annual meeting between the Technical Committee, Ice Dance Coaches and Skaters brought together more than 50 coaches, skaters and judges who discussed proposed changes to the requirements for the next season. Ideas for the further development of Ice Dance and in particular the role of Compulsory Dances in Junior and Senior events were also reviewed in detail. The new Ice Dance Communication for Season 2008/2009 has been prepared. Changes can be expected to the composition of the Original Dance and Free Dance for next season. There are also plans to update the levels of dance elements. A further Communication outlining the ISU educational materials available in Ice Dance will be released shortly along with relevant materials for the new compulsory Dance - the Finnstep. ISU Recognized educational seminars have taken place in Italy and Poland this spring. See ISU Communication 1489 for more information.

Synchronized SkatingThis year’s Synchronized Skating ISU Judges’ Examination was held during the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in Budapest Hungary on March 28-30. Two judges, from Netherlands and United

States took the examination, both of whom successfully passed. The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2008 also provided the opportunity to hold a coaches meeting which was moderated by Cathy Dalton. Earlier in the season trial judging took place in Rouen, France during the French Cup in February 2008. Judges were sent by Great Britain, New Zealand and Republic of South Africa.

Speed SkatingThe Speed Skating Technical Committee met once this year in Berlin (GER) in February. During the season Technical Committee members attended 5 ISU Championships and 10 other ISU Speed Skating Events, supervising the technical organisation of the competitions and performing comprehensive controls of logos/trademarks on team uniforms and racing suits. Special attention was paid to monitoring ice conditions. Dedicated equipment was used to collect data in addition to information provided by the local ice technicians. This will allow comparisons across venues and give the Technical Committee representatives a better basis to fulfil their Ice Commission duties. Photo-finish equipment has been put in place at all ISU Speed Skating Events and procedures were developed to review multiple time-keeping sources in order to establish the correct results. During the season these procedures were streamlined and further rule adjustments have been proposed for Congress. The programme and regulations for the 2008/09 World Cup has been prepared in detail, partly based on input from this year’s season evaluation meeting with coaches.

Short TrackA record number of athletes participated in this season’s Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track series held in six different locations across Asia, North America and Europe. The number of athletes participating in the ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships was also a historical high indicating solid development among the younger age group. Officiating at ISU Events this season continued to improve further to measures being taken to ensure consistency. The ISU Short Track Speed Skating Technical Committee met in March in the Republic of Korea on the occasion of the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships to address issues related to protection for athletes, officiating at the events, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Novice programs.

ISU WEBSITE: WWW.ISU.ORGISU President Ottavio Cinquanta with Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden as she cuts the ribbon to open the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2008

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EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPSIn January the ISU European Figure Skating Championships returned to Zagreb for the third time after 1974 and 1979. The reigning Champions in all four disciplines had come back to defend their titles, and two did so successfully. Carolina Kostner (ITA) scored 171.28 points and kept the European crown ahead of last year’s silver medallist Sarah Meier (SUI), who won the Free Skating and moved up from fourth in the Short Program to second. Like last season, the bronze went to Finland, but this time newcomer Laura Lepistö stood on the podium. Former European Champion Julia Sebestyen (HUN) placed fourth and 2007 European bronze medallist Kiira Korpi was fifth.

Aliona Savchenko/ Robin Szolkowy (GER) claimed their second consecutive title with Russia’s Maria Mukhortova/Maxim Trankov and Yuko Kawaguchi/Alexander Smirnov finishing second and third. The Germans posted a new personal best total score of 202.39 points and cracked the 200 points for the first time in their career. Both Russian couples debuted at the event. Tatiana Volosozhar/Stanislav Morozov (UKR) were fourth ahead of Arina Ushakova/Sergei Karev (RUS).Tomas Verner (CZE) upset two-time World Champion Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) and defending European Champion Brian Joubert (FRA) to take the first European title for a Czech man since 1992. He collected a new personal best total score of 232.67 points. Sergei Voronov (RUS) finished fourth in his debut at Europeans and Kevin van der Perren (BEL) was fifth.

In what was an exciting dance competition, last year’s silver medallists Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin (RUS) overtook defending Champions Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA) in the Free Dance to claim their first European title with a new personal best of 207.14 points. Jana Khokhlova/Sergei Novitski (RUS) earned the bronze, their first ISU Championships medal. Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali (ITA) were ranked fourth ahead of Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA). Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy (GER)

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SINGLE AND PAIR / ICE DANCEFOUR CONTINENTS CHAMPIONSHIPSThe tenth edition of the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships took place in Goyang City, (KOR) on February 11-17.

Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) landed two quadruple toeloops in the Free Skating and accumulated a new record total score of 264.41 points on his way to his first Four Continents title.

Jeffrey Buttle (CAN) won the silver medal ahead of defending Champion Evan Lysacek (USA). Stephen Carriere (USA) came in fourth in his debut at an ISU senior level Championship ahead of Jeremy Abbott (USA).

Tessa Virtue/ Scott Moir (CAN) accumulated 207.32 points and danced to victory in the Ice Dancing event followed by Meryl Davis/Charlie White and Kimberly Navarro/Brent Bommentre (both USA). It was the first medal for Davis/White at an ISU senior level Championships and the first ISU Championships medal for Navarro/Bommentre. Jennifer Wester/Daniil Barantsev (USA) and Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje (CAN) came in fourth and fifth.

Mao Asada nailed a beautiful triple Axel on her way to the gold medal. She picked up 193.25 points. Joannie Rochette (CAN) beat 2007 World Champion Miki Ando (JPN) for the silver medal. A new talent from the host country, Na-Young Kim, placed fourth. Mira Leung (CAN) finished fifth. Yu-Na Kim (KOR) was absent due to injury.

Qing Pang/Jian Tong (CHN) prevailed with 187.33 points over their teammates Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang in the Pairs event. Brooke Castile/Benjamin Okolski (USA) captured their first ISU Championships medal, a bronze. Last year’s bronze medallists Rena Inoue/John Baldwin (USA) were ranked fourth this time and Jessica Miller/Ian Moram (CAN) were fifth. Mao Asada (JPN)

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Jeffrey Buttle (CAN)

Asada, who was a runner-up last year, claimed the gold in a close Ladies event with 185.56 points. Kostner became the first Italian Lady to win a silver medal at Worlds (184.68 points) and Yu-Na Kim (KOR) took her second consecutive bronze medal (183.23 points). She was ranked fifth in the Short Program but won the Free Skating to move up two spots. Yukari Nakano (JPN) came in fourth with Rochette following in fifth. Defending Champion Ando suffered a muscle injury and was forced to withdraw during the Free Skating.

Delobel/Schoenfelder stood on the top of the podium in the dance event and earned 212.94 points. Virtue/Moir continued their ascent by winning the silver medal with 208.80 points, and Khokhlova/Novitski captured the bronze (203.26 points). All three couples medalled for the first time at World Championships and set a new personal best for themselves. Top contenders Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto (USA) finished fourth. A fall in the Compulsory Dance cost them dearly. Faiella/Scali (ITA) placed fifth. European Champions Domnina/Shabalin withdrew before the event started as he had an aggravated knee injury. Buttle won the first gold in the men’s event for Canada in 11 years and improved his personal best by 11.15 to now 245.17 points. The 25-year-old turned in two excellent performances. Joubert rallied back from a fall in the Short Program and soared from sixth to second at 231.22 points. Johnny Weir (USA) claimed the bronze, his first World medal (221.84 points). Takahashi finished fourth followed by Lambiel.

WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPSThe 2007/2008 season of the junior skaters cumulated with the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia (BUL) on February 25 - March 2. Junior Worlds was once again a showcase for the emerging talent from all over the world. The event set a new record with 207 entries from 50 ISU Members. Brazil was represented for the first time at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships and entered two competitors in Ladies and Men’s singles. Rachael Flatt led the second consecutive podium sweep at Junior Worlds for team USA in the Ladies event. In her debut, the 15-year-old gave two flawless

ISU World Championships with an entry in the Ladies division.

Savchenko/Szolkowy skated off with the gold medal, the first World title for Germany in 11 years. They also slightly improved their personal best by accumulating 202.86 points total. Zhang/Zhang (CHN) settled for the silver with 197.82 points and Jessica Dubé/Bryce Davison (CAN) were the surprise winners of the bronze medal. Kawaguchi/Smirnov (RUS) became the first couple to perform a quadruple throw Salchow at the ISU World Championships and finished fourth ahead of Pang/Tong (CHN).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPSThe ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2008 were a huge success with more than 78,000 spectators following the exciting and high-level competition from March 17-23 in the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The World Championships returned to Gothenburg for the first time in 32 years. The twelve medals went to nine different ISU Members. A record number for World Championships of 203 skaters/couples from 48 countries competed in the event. Puerto Rico was represented for the first time at

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performances to score a new personal best of 172.19 points and edged out defending champion Caroline Zhang (USA) by 0.35 points. The bronze medal went to Mirai Nagasu (JPN). Jenni Vähämaa (FIN) was fourth like last year. Yuki Nishino (JPN) was ranked fifth.

Adam Rippon (USA) was another newcomer to Junior Worlds and skated off with the gold with two strong outings that earned him 199.90 points. Artem Borodulin (RUS) earned the silver medal and Jinlin Guan (CHN) claimed the bronze. Brandon Mroz (USA) finished fourth like he had last year and Michal Brezina (CZE) came in fifth.

After winning two bronze medals in their previous appearances at Junior Worlds, Ksenia Krasilnikova/Konstantin Bezmaternykh (RUS) now stepped on to the top of the podium and accumulated 148.12 points. Liubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze (RUS) came in second in what was their first international competition. They won the Free Skating and collected 144.86 points. Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu (CHN) moved up from fifth to capture the bronze medal. Ekaterina Sheremetieva/Mikhail Kuznetsov (RUS) completed the success of the Russian pairs in fourth place. Jessica Rose Paetsch/Jon Nuss (USA) were ranked fifth.

After withdrawing from Junior Worlds in the middle of their Free Dance due to injury last year, Emily Samuelson/Evan Bates (USA) now came back to take the title with a new personal best of 181.66 points. Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) captured the silver ahead of Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov (RUS). Maria Monko/Ilia Tkachenko (RUS) and Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell (USA) were fourth and fifth.

WORLD SYNCHRONIZED CHAMPIONSHIPSThe 2007/2008 Figure Skating season concluded with ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships on March 28-29, 2008. 22 teams from 17 countries competed in the ninth edition of the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships in the Papp Laszlo Sport Arena in Budapest (HUN). Team Finland 1 celebrated a huge comeback and retained the title they had

won in 2002, 2004 and 2006 after not even qualifying for the World Championships last year. The Finns accumulated 210.48 points. Team Sweden 1, the five time and defending World Champions, settled for the silver this time at 205.71 points. Team Canada 1 claimed their second consecutive bronze medal in the event. Team Finland 2 finished fourth ahead of Team USA 1.

ISU WORLD STANDING BONUSThe ISU awarded the ISU World Standing Bonus for the 2007/2008 to the three skaters/couples having earned the most

SINGLE AND PAIR / ICE DANCE

Isabelle Delobel / Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA)

World Standing points during the season. Kostner earned the World standing bonus of 45,000 US$. Asada came in second (27,000 US $) and Kim was third in this season’s bonus race (18,000 US$). Takahashi pocketed the top prize in the Men’s category like he did last year. He edged Van Der Perren by just 1 point. Weir finished third. Savchenko/Szolkowy took the bonus for the Pairs (67,500 US$). Zhang/Zhang were second (40,500 US$) while Dubé/Davison were third (27,000 US$). Delobel/Schoenfelder picked up the top prize in the ice dance category. Virtue/Moir came in second ahead of Domnina/Shabalin.

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Radanova won the 1,000 meter race. Fontana won the superfinal and became overall champion, Radanova took the silver and Nina Evteeva (RUS) the bronze. Great Britain won the 3000 meter ladies relay and the 5000 meter men’s relay was won by the Italian team.

World ChampionshipsOver 150 athletes from 32 countries participated in the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2008 from March 7-9, 2008 in Gangneung City (KOR). The Gangneung sports complex was full to capacity throughout the championships. Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) took the World Short Track title for the men and Meng Wang (CHN) is the ladies 2008 World Short Track Champion.Ohno won the men’s title with total of 68 points picked up by a golden finish in the 500m distance and a silver in the 1000m distance. He had come in third in the 3000m Super Finals. Korea took second and third place overall. Ho-Suk Lee earned 63 points and Kyung-Taek Song was third with 62 points. The Ladies champion Meng Wang took her title with ease on a total of 107 points. She had had a sublime competition winning triple gold in the 500m, 1,000m, and 1,500 meters. Team mate Yang Zhou took second place with 76 points, Shin-Young Yang of Korea was third overall on 37 points. Korea won both the men’s and ladies’ relay.

Team ChampionshipsHarbin, China was the venue for the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Team

Meng Wang (CHN) ahead of Seung-Hi Park (KOR)

SHORT TRACKWorld Junior ChampionshipsThe ISU World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships 2008 in Bolzano (ITA) in January was the first short track event of the calendar year. Yun-Jae Kim, Jung-Su Lee and Han-Bin Lee made it a 1-2-3 for Korea in the men’s event. Ah-Reum Noh and Eu-Byul Lee (both KOR) won gold and silver in the ladies’ event with Qichao Zhang (CHN) in third.

European ChampionshipsThe ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championship brought new champions to the podium with Arianna Fontana (ITA) and Haralds Silovs (LAT) becoming respectively the ladies’ and men’s 2008 European champions. In the men’s event Haralds Silovs (LAT) racing in front of a home crowd won the 1500 meter race at the outset of the competition. British sprinter Jon Eley won the 500 meter men’s race. Silov was outpaced by Niels Kerstholt (NED) in the 1000 meter final, but the Latvian’s silver medal was sufficient to give him the edge before the superfinal. The 3000 meter super final race in the men’s event was held with raucous support from the local crowd as Haralds Silovs skated to the gold medal overall. Niels Kerstholt was second overall and Nicola Rodigari took third place.The young Italian Arianna Fontana won the 1500 meter competition in the ladies event. Annita Van Doorn (NED) took the 500m sprint and the most titled European athlete Evgenia

Championships 2008. China and United States won the ladies’ and men’s competitions respectively. In the men’s event the United States team of Apolo Anton Ohno, Jeff Simon, Charles Ryan Leveille, JP Kepka and Jordan Malone had a solid competition. The team won the relay and were rarely out of the top two in the individual races. Defending champions Canada won silver and Korea took the bronze. Meng Wang, Yang Zhou, Quihong Liu, Nannan Zhao and Tian Yu Fu comprised the winning ladies’ team from China. They underlined their strength winning in the relay and showing aptitude in the individual races. Korea took second place and Canada third.

Samsung ISU World Cup Short Track The ISU World Cup Short Track series finished on a high note with two sold out events in February in Quebec City (CAN) and then in Salt Lake City (USA). After six events across Asia, Europe and North America it was China and Korea who confirmed their competitive excellence with Meng Wang (CHN) topping again this year the ladies 500m World Cup Short Track classification and China topping the ladies Relay and ladies Team classification. However the biggest winner overall was Korea who had a particularly successful World Cup. Korean Sun-Yu Jin finished first place overall for the ladies 1000m and 1500m distances. For the Men Si-Back Sung (KOR) finished in first place overall in the 500m, Hyun-Soo Ahn (KOR) took the 1000m, Ho-Suk Lee(KOR) topped the 1500m and Korea took the top spot in both Men’s Relay and Team classification.

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Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR)

SPEED SKATINGSPEED SKATINGThe Dutch energy company Essent, title sponsor of the Speed Skating World Cup since 1998, has decided to reinforce its presence at ISU Events. Essent has signed a four year deal starting in 2009 as title sponsor of the ISU World and European Speed Skating Championships. The sponsorship will start on January 10, 2009 with the Essent ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2009.

Essent ISU World Cup Speed Skating

100m and 500m LadiesThis season the 500m ladies was dominated by Jenny Wolf (GER), who whittled her world record down to 37.02 and won the distance with 1460 points, more than 500 points lead over Annette Gerritsen (NED), who finished second. Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) was third. Wolf also successfully defended her 100m title, ahead of Judith Hesse (GER) and Shihomi Shinya (JPN).

1000m LadiesAnni Friesinger (GER) won the 1000m convincingly. She lost only twice, once to Beixing Wang and once to Chiara Simionato (ITA), who both could not skate in the second half of the season. Ireen Wüst (NED) finished in second place and Shannon Rempel (CAN) took third place after gradually improving her results throughout the season.

1500m LadiesThe 1500m ladies competition was tight. Christine Nesbitt (CAN) had been leading the World Cup from the start of the year, but Kristina Groves (CAN) had the strongest finish this season, Nesbitt with a groin injury settled for second. Last year the two had a similar battle but for the bronze. Ireen Wüst, Anni Friesinger and Paulien Van Deutekom (NED) also won some races. Anni Friesinger decided to focus on the 1000m and lost a possible podium place in the last World Cup to Ireen Wüst.

3000m/5000m LadiesMartina Sáblîková (CZE) had already secured the long distance World Cup before the last race, dominating the long distances as she had done last year. Claudia Pechstein (GER) finished in second place, Kristina Groves, Daniela Anschütz-Thoms (GER) and Renate Groenewold (NED) battled to overtake Clara Hughes (CAN) who missed out on taking third position. It was Groenewold who took the third place on the podium.

100m and 500m MenIn the men’s World Cup 500m, Jeremy Wotherspoon (CAN) came back from a sabbatical year in style. He took a world record of 34.03 in the 500m. Behind him, Korean skater Kang-Seok Lee finished ahead of the other competitors. Dmitrij Lobkov from Russia beat Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR), Mika

Poutala (FIN) and Joon Mun (KOR) to finish in third place. In the 100m, competition was of a high level. Kang-Seok Lee took the 100m, with one absence, a win and a second place, gathering 220 points in total. Mika Poutala also had 220 points, but no single win, and therefore had to settle for silver. Joji Kato won the final race, which edged him up enough to earn third place overall with 210 points.

1000m MenShani Davis (USA) won the 1000m World Cup, with Denny Morrison (CAN) taking second place. Simon Kuipers (NED) was heading for the podium, but had some untimely health problems. Experienced Dutchman Jan Bos took the third spot. The season started with a world record of 1:07.00 by Finnish Pekka Koskela, but a groin injury kept him away from racing for much of the season.

1500m MenShani Davis (USA) took home his second World Cup of the season in the 1500m. He was followed by the Dutch trio Simon Kuipers, Mark Tuitert and Erben Wennemars (NED). The top three skaters from last year finished fourth, fifth and sixth on this distance this year. Erben Wennemars who last year won the 1000m and 1500m started the season equalling the world record held by Davis (1:42.32) on the 1500m, but couldn’t keep his shape throughout the year and finished fourth.

SPEED SKATING

Ladies Team Pursuit - Netherlands

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5000/10000m MenYoung Norwegian Håvard Bøkko won the long distance World Cup breaking the Sven Kramer (NED) stronghold. Kramer lost only the first long distance this season, to Enrico Fabris (ITA), who consequently held the world record (6:07.40) for a week until Kramer skated a new record 6:03.32 in Calgary. Kramer skipped the 10,000m races and Bøkko moved ahead. Bøkko consistently skated well in spite of a shoulder injury. Kramer was runner-up. Fabris finished in third. In the World Cup Team Pursuit, the Canadians beat the German ladies ahead of Russia. The Dutch men successfully defended their Team Pursuit World Cup title ahead of Canada and Norway.

European ChampionshipsThe ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2008 were held in the impressive new skating centre in Kolomna, Russia. It was a double Dutch victory as Sven Kramer took the title for the men and Ireen Wüst for the ladies. Championships records were set by Yekaterina Lobysheva (RUS) on the 500m and by Martina Sábliková in the 3000 and 5000m. Sven Kramer also improved the championships records on the long distances (5000m and 10,000m).

Sven Kramer won three distances, including the 500m, but not the 1500m where he finished third behind Yevgeny Lalenkov (RUS) and Enrico Fabris. The Italian runner-up from last year, Fabris took third place as Håvard Bøkko crept ahead of him to second place. Kramer brought the championships record points to 147,716. In the ladies’ event, Ireen Wüst not only won the 1500m, but also finished second on both long distances, not too far behind last year’s champion Martina Sáblîková, who finished third overall. The second place was for Wüst’s team-mate Paulien Van Deutekom, who finished second in the 1500m and third in the other distances. Wüst gathered a championships record amount of points, 160.533.

World Sprint ChampionshipsJenny Wolf (GER) and Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR) were crowned the ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Champions of 2008 in Heerenveen (NED). Kyou-Hyuk Lee defended his title from last year, now coming from behind by winning both distances the second day, and beating his main rival Jeremy Wotherspoon head-to-head in the final pair.

Defending champion Anni Friesinger gave up her title to Wolf who won the 500m races. Wolf skated 37,64 and 37,60, both a new rink

and championships record and the fastest times ever on a lowland rink. She also had improved her 1000m. Anni Friesinger and Ireen Wüst shared the first two places on the 1000m. Friesinger thus got second overall, Annette Gerritsen, who made both the 500m and 1000m podium, finished in third. In the men’s competition, Jeremy Wotherspoon won the first 500m in a track record of 34,81, and Jan Bos won the 1000m, and seemed the one to battle with Wotherspoon for the title. But in the second 500m, Bos fell in front of Wotherspoon, who lost his concentration briefly. This opened the way for Kyou-Hyuk Lee, who pulled off a winning 1000m defending his World Sprint Speed Skating title. Wotherspoon finished second and Joon Mun finished third overall.

World Allround ChampionshipsTwo Dutch skaters topped the ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships in Berlin (GER). Paulien Van Deutekom and Sven Kramer were crowned 2008 World Champions for the ladies and men respectively. In the ladies competition, Van Deutekom won the 3000m ahead of Sábliková and Groves. Wüst made it to the 500m podium and won the 1500m, but her lead on Van Deutekom was narrow and Van Deutekom took a podium finish in the 5000m with a 2.4

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The International Skating Union travels to Monaco for the 52nd ISU Ordinary Congress on 16-20 June 2008. Delegates will meet in the Meridian Beach Plaza in the heart of Monte-Carlo. Over 250 participants are expected, representing ISU Office Holders and Member Federations. Every Congress sees major decisions about the future direction of the ISU. For 2008 a total of nearly three hundred proposals are present. The Congress begins on 16 June with workshops followed by one day of debate on the Constitution and General Regulations. Joint Members for Figure Skating and Speed Skating have two votes on each proposal whereas Members for Figure Skating or Speed Skating alone are entitled to one vote. Wednesday and Thursday will be dedicated to parallel Figure Skating and Speed Skating sessions, before a concluding, plenary session on Friday 20 June. Proposals require a two thirds majority of Members in favor in order to be accepted.

THE PROPOSALSThe full agenda has been published on the ISU website, www.isu.org. Some of the proposals from the ISU Council and Technical Committees covering a number of key areas are summarized below

GeneralProposals for Congress include the introduction of a Novice category age group consistent across all ISU disciplines. This initiative aims to further reinforce the role of youth and youth related activities, thus enhancing the development of skating at a grass roots level. There are also proposals to bring further improvements to the Sports Directorate. This body has been working successfully since June 2006.A proposed update of ISU membership requirements and corresponding procedures has also been put forward. And in the area of trademarks to facilitate sponsor support for competitive Figure Skating athletes, changes to the size of trademarks on clothing and technical equipment will be reviewed.

Speed Skating An extension to the program of the World Junior Speed Skating Championships so as to include single distance competitions on all Olympic distances is proposed. Other Speed Skating items include revised entry quotas and format of the last distance of the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships. A revised qualification procedure for the

ISU CONGRESS PREVIEWsecond margin on Wüst. This was enough to bring Van Deutekom the title. Martina Sábliková won the 5000m in a new track record time of 6:59.26. In the men’s event Sven Kramer skated a track record on the longest distance, and also won the 5000m. He already had a significant advantage after three distances and took the title. Håvard Bøkko came in second. Shani Davis finished third overall.

World Junior ChampionshipsDutch skaters Jan Blokhuijsen and Marrit Leenstra became the 2008 World Junior Champions in Changchun (CHN) in February. The Dutch had their best ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships ever, winning also the team pursuit ladies and men. The Canadian team also had one of their most successful events in several years, taking four medals in total (distances and classification).

World Single Distances ChampionshipsNagano (JPN) hosted the World Single Distances Championships in March and there were track records in all distances apart from the 1000m men. Jeremy Wotherspoon confirmed his strength in the 500m by winning both races. Both times, World Sprint champion Kyou-Hyuk Lee was the runner-up. Joji Kato reached the podium pleasing the home crowd with a good second run. For the ladies 500m Jenny Wolf won, taking both races. Beixing Wang was second, and Annette Gerritsen earned the bronze.Shani Davis confirmed his 1000m excellence, as he won again the men’s 1000m, with Yevgeny Lalenkov in second place and Denny Morrison close behind him. Morrison beat Davis on the final day in the 1500m, winning in a 1:45.22 track record. Davis finished 0.1 second slower, but had to share the second place with Sven Kramer. Anni Friesinger won the 1500m as well as the 1000m ladies. In the 1500m she was followed by Paulien van Deutekom and Kristina Groves. In the 1000m by Groves and Annette Gerritsen. Kristina Groves won her first world title in the 3000m, with Paulien van Deutekom and Daniela Anschütz-Thoms joining her on the podium. Martina Sábliková did not medal in the 3000m but defended her 5000m title with another sub-7 race. Clara Hughes narrowly beat strong Groves to the silver. Sven Kramer won both the 5000m and the 10,000m men’s gold, beating Enrico Fabris who took silver both times. Håvard Bøkko could not participate due to shoulder surgery. Wouter Olde Heuvel (NED) finished third in the 5000m, Bob de Jong was third in the 10,000m. The Dutch ladies and men won the Team Pursuit. The Canadian ladies and Italian men took silver, the German ladies and men bronze.

Congress Program

Sunday 15 JuneArrival and Welcome Reception

Monday 16 – Tuesday 17 JuneWorkshop and Full Congress Session

Wednesday 18 – Thursday 19 JuneCongress / Sections Figure Skating and Speed Skating

Friday 20 JuneFull Congress and Closing Banquet

Olympic Winter Games is put forward. Reviewed use of different time keeping technologies and enhanced recognition of the photo finish system will also be decided on.

Short TrackThere is a proposal to introduce a World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Relay Champion title (ladies and men) thus enhancing the value of this race. Proposed revisions of the qualification procedure for the Olympic Winter Games have been put forward. For the Super Final over 3000m Congress will decide on a proposal aimed at raising the strategic importance of the first part of the race and improving attractiveness of the competition.

Single and Pair Skating / Ice DancingThe introduction of a new team event called the ISU World Team Trophy in Figure Skating is presented for ratification. Thus Single and Pair Skating /Ice Dance will have a team event as of April 2009 (NB Short Track and Speed Skating already have a team event).For Compulsory Dances decisions will be taken on the introduction of a new Compulsory Dance called the “Finnstep” and on a new procedure to determine which Compulsory Dances are to be skated.

Synchronized SkatingHarmonization of rules- the Synchronized Skating Technical Committee propose making the rules consistent with Ice Dance and Single and Pair Skating regulations. Well Balanced Program – adjustments could be made to the required elements for the Short Program and Free Skating.

FIGURE SKATING

SYNCHRONIZED SKATING

WORLD STANDINGS POINTS 2007/2008Ladies1 Carolina Kostner ITA2 Mao Asada JPN3 Yu-Na Kim KOR

Men1 Daisuke Takahashi JPN2 Kevin Van Der Perren BEL3 Johnny Weir USA

Pairs1 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkow GER2 Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang CHN3 Jessica Dube / Bryce Davison CAN

WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 17 - 23 March 2008, Gothenburg (SWE)Ladies1 Mao Asada JPN2 Carolina Kostner ITA3 Yu-Na Kim KOR4 Yukari Nakano JPN5 Joannie Rochette CAN6 Sarah Meier SUI7 Kimmie Meissner USA8 Laura Lepisto FIN9 Kiira Korpi FIN10 Beatrisa Liang USA

Men1 Jeffrey Buttle CAN2 Brian Joubert FRA3 Johnny Weir USA4 Daisuke Takahashi JPN5 Stephane Lambiel SUI6 Kevin Van Der Perren BEL7 Sergei Voronov RUS8 Takahiko Kozuka JPN9 Patrick Chan CAN10 Stephen Carriere USA

Pairs1 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER2 Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang CHN3 Jessica Dube / Bryce Davison CAN4 Yuko Kawaguchi / Alexander Smirnov RUS5 Qing Pang / Jian Tong CHN6 Meagan Duhamel / Craig Buntin CAN7 Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov RUS8 Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay CAN9 Tatiana Volosozhar / Stanislav Morozov UKR10 Rena Inoue / John Baldwin USA

Ladies 1 Rachael Flatt USA2 Caroline Zhang USA3 Mirai Nagasu USA4 Jenni Vahamaa FIN5 Yuki Nishino JPN6 Alena Leonova RUS7 Joshi Helgesson SWE8 Sarah Hecken GER9 Katarina Gerboldt RUS10 Myriane Samson CAN

Men1 Adam Rippon USA2 Artem Borodulin RUS3 Jinlin Guan CHN4 Brandon Mroz USA5 Michal Brezina CZE6 Kevin Reynolds CAN7 Ivan Bariev RUS8 Jeremy Ten CAN9 Tommy Steenberg USA10 Florent Amodio FRA

Pairs1 Ksenia Krasilnikova / Konstantin Bezmaternikh RUS2 Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze RUS3 Huibo Dong / Yiming Wu CHN4 Ekaterina Sheremetieva / Mikhail Kuznetsov RUS5 Jessica Rose Paetsch / Jon Nuss USA6 Maria Sergejeva / Ilja Glebov EST7 Yue Zhang / Lei Wang CHN8 Monica Pisotta / Michael Stewart CAN9 Amanda Velenosi / Mark Fernandez CAN10 Chelsi Guillen / Danny Curzon USA

WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 25 February - 2 March 2008, Sofia (BUL)

Ladies1 Mao Asada JPN2 Joannie Rochette CAN3 Miki Ando JPN4 Na-Young Kim KOR5 Mira Leung CAN6 Katrina Hacker USA7 Cynthia Phaneuf CAN8 Ashley Wagner USA9 Anastasia Gimazetdinova UZB10 Fumie Suguri JPN

Men1 Daisuke Takahashi JPN2 Jeffrey Buttle CAN3 Evan Lysacek USA4 Stephen Carriere USA5 Jeremy Abbott USA6 Chengjiang Li CHN7 Vaughn Chipeur CAN8 Takahiko Kozuka JPN9 Shawn Sawyer CAN10 Jialiang Wu CHN

Pairs1 Qing Pang / Jian Tong CHN2 Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang CHN3 Brooke Castile / Benjamin Okolski USA4 Rena Inoue / John Baldwin USA5 Jessica Miller / Ian Moram CAN6 Jiaqi Li / Jiankun Xu CHN7 Mylene Brodeur / John Mattatall CAN8 Tiffany Vise / Derek Trent USA9 Marina Aganina / Dmitri Zobnin UZB

FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 11 - 17 February 2008, Goyang City (KOR)

Ladies1 Carolina Kostner ITA2 Sarah Meier SUI3 Laura Lepisto FIN4 Julia Sebestyen HUN5 Kiira Korpi FIN6 Valentina Marchei ITA7 Elene Gedevanishvili GEO8 Jenna McCorkell GBR9 Ksenia Doronina RUS10 Jenni Vahamaa FIN

Men1 Tomas Verner CZE2 Stephane Lambiel SUI3 Brian Joubert FRA4 Sergei Voronov RUS5 Kevin Van Der Perren BEL6 Adrian Schultheiss SWE7 Kristoffer Berntsson SWE8 Andrei Lutai RUS9 Sergei Davydov BLR10 Alban Preaubert FRA

Pairs1 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER2 Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov RUS3 Yuko Kawaguchi / Alexander Smirnov RUS4 Tatiana Volosozhar / Stanislav Morozov UKR5 Arina Ushakova / Sergei Karev RUS6 Stacey Kemp / David King GBR7 Mari Vartmann / Florian Just GER8 Melodie Chataigner / Medhi Bouzzine FRA9 Dominika Piatkowska / Dmitri Khromin POL10 Marika Zanforlin / Federico Degli Esposti ITA

EUROPEAN FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 21 - 27 January 2008, Zagreb (CRO)

WORLD SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 28 - 30 March 2008, Budapest (HUN)

Teams1 Team Finland 1 4 Team Finland 2 7 Team Germany 10 Team Russia 2 13 Team Sweden 22 Team Sweden 1 5 Team USA 1 8 Team Russia 1 11 Team Italy 14 Team Hungary3 Team Canada 1 6 Team Canada 2 9 Team USA 2 12 Team Switzerland 15 Team Czech Republic

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SPEED SKATING

Ice Dance1 Isabelle Delobel / Olivier Schoenfelder FRA2 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir CAN3 Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin RUS

Ice Dance1 Isabelle Delobel / Olivier Schoenfelder FRA2 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir CAN3 Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski RUS4 Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto USA5 Federica Faiella / Massimo Scali ITA6 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA7 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA8 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr GBR9 Alexandra Zaretski / Roman Zaretski ISR10 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte ITA

Ice Dance1 Emily Samuelson / Evan Bates USA2 Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier CAN3 Kristina Gorshkova / Vitali Butikov RUS4 Maria Monko / Ilia Tkachenko RUS5 Madison Hubbell / Keiffer Hubbell USA6 Ekaterina Riazanova / Jonathan Guerreiro RUS7 Alisa Agafonova / Dmitri Dun UKR8 Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill CAN9 Isabella Pajardi / Stefano Caruso ITA10 Karen Routhier / Eric Saucke-Lacelle CAN

Ice Dance1 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir CAN2 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA3 Kimberly Navarro / Brent Bommentre USA4 Jennifer Wester / Daniil Barantsev USA5 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje CAN6 Allie Hann-Mccurdy / Michael Coreno CAN7 Cathy Reed / Chris Reed JPN8 Xiaoyang Yu / Chen Wang CHN9 Xintong Huang / Xun Zheng CHN10 Danielle O’Brien / Gregory Merriman AUS

Ice Dance1 Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin RUS2 Isabelle Delobel / Olivier Schoenfelder FRA3 Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski RUS4 Federica Faiella / Massimo Scali ITA5 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA6 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr GBR7 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte ITA8 Alexandra Zaretski / Roman Zaretski ISR9 Pernelle Carron / Mathieu Jost FRA10 Kristin Fraser / Igor Lukanin AZE

Ladies 100 m Points

1 Jenny Wolf GER 3502 Judith Hesse GER 2703 Shihomi Shinya JPN 1754 Svetlana Kaykan RUS 1665 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 135

Ladies 500 m Points

1 Jenny Wolf GER 14602 Annette Gerritsen NED 9283 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 7144 Svetlana Kaykan RUS 6815 Sayuri Yoshii JPN 6486 Marianne Timmer NED 6007 Beixing Wang CHN 5208 Shannon Rempel CAN 3659 Aihua Xing CHN 34410 Yuliya Nemaya RUS 325

Ladies 1000 m Points

1 Anni Friesinger GER 10102 Ireen Wust NED 6023 Shannon Rempel CAN 5164 Chiara Simionato ITA 4405 Annette Gerritsen NED 4296 Christine Nesbitt CAN 3707 Cindy Klassen CAN 3348 Marianne Timmer NED 2989 Paulien Van Deutekom NED 27310 Sayuri Yoshii JPN 273

Ladies 1500 m Points

1 Kristina Groves CAN 5552 Christine Nesbitt CAN 5083 Ireen Wust NED 3384 Paulien Van Deutekom NED 3305 Anni Friesinger GER 3126 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER 2837 Claudia Pechstein GER 2648 Jorien Voorhuis NED 2079 Martina Sablikova CZE 20610 Diane Valkenburg NED 205

Ladies 3000 / 5000 m Points

1 Martina Sablikova CZE 7302 Claudia Pechstein GER 4903 Renate Groenewold NED 3554 Kristina Groves CAN 3105 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER 3056 Clara Hughes CAN 2857 Ireen Wust NED 2628 Catherine Raney USA 2399 Cindy Klassen CAN 21210 Katrin Mattscherodt GER 185

Ladies Team Pursuit Points

1 Canada 3502 Germany 3303 Russia 3304 Japan 3055 Poland 155

Men 100 m Points

1 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 2202 Mika Poutala FIN 2203 Joji Kato JPN 2104 Maciej Ustynowicz POL 2005 Jan Smeekens NED 155

Men 500 m Points

1 Jeremy Wotherspoon CAN 10802 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 7753 Dmitry Lobkov RUS 7254 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 7145 Mika Poutala FIN 7146 Joon Mun KOR 6757 Joji Kato JPN 5868 Tucker Fredricks USA 5679 Keiichiro Nagashima JPN 54010 Ki-Ho Lee KOR 373

Men 1000 m Points

1 Shani Davis USA 8402 Denny Morrison CAN 7363 Jan Bos NED 5504 Simon Kuipers NED 4715 Jeremy Wotherspoon CAN 4566 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 4337 Joon Mun KOR 3878 Mark Tuitert NED 3009 Erben Wennemars NED 29010 Mika Poutala FIN 269

Men 1500 m Points

1 Shani Davis USA 4602 Simon Kuipers NED 4263 Mark Tuitert NED 4134 Erben Wennemars NED 3975 Enrico Fabris ITA 3596 Denny Morrison CAN 3567 Sven Kramer NED 3208 Yevgeny Lalenkov RUS 3099 Håvard Bøkko NOR 30510 Ivan Skobrev RUS 210

Men 5000 / 10000 m Points

1 Håvard Bøkko NOR 4452 Sven Kramer NED 4303 Enrico Fabris ITA 3004 Bob De Jong NED 2845 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 2506 Chad Hedrick USA 2507 Carl Verheijen NED 2208 Tom Prinsen NED 2209 Arne Dankers CAN 21510 Øystein Grødum NOR 184

Men Team Pursuit Points

1 Netherlands 3752 Canada 3603 Norway 3304 Russia 3055 Germany 156

ESSENT ISU WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING – FINAL STANDINGS

16 Team France 19 Team Australia 17 Team Japan 20 Team Croatia 18 Team Austria 21 Team Great Britain 22 Team Serbia

13

Men1 Sven Kramer NED2 Håvard Bøkko NOR3 Shani Davis USA4 Chad Hedrick USA5 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED

WORLD ALLROUND SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 9 - 10 February 2008, Berlin (GER)Ladies1 Paulien Van Deutekom NED2 Ireen Wüst NED3 Kristina Groves CAN4 Christine Nesbitt CAN5 Martina Sablikova CZE

WORLD SPRINT SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 19 - 20 January 2008, Heerenveen (NED)

Ladies1 Jenny Wolf GER2 Anni Friesinger GER3 Annette Gerritsen NED4 Chiara Simionato ITA5 Marianne Timmer NED

Men1 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR2 Jeremy Wotherspoon CAN3 Joon Mun KOR4 Simon Kuipers NED5 Keiichiro Nagashima JPN

Ladies1 Marrit Leenstra NED2 Justine L’Heureux CAN3 Jorieke Van Der Geest NED4 Roxanne Van Hemert NED5 Nicole Garrido CAN

Team Pursuit Ladies1 Netherlands2 Germany3 China4 Canada

Men1 Jan Blokhuijsen NED2 Koen Verweij NED3 Berden De Vries NED4 Trevor Marsicano USA5 Xingyu Song CHN

Team Pursuit Men1 Netherlands 2 Italy3 USA4 Japan

WORLD JUNIOR SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 22 - 24 February 2008, Changchun (CHN)

SPEED SKATING

Men 500 m combined times

1 Jeremy Wotherspoon CAN 1.09.462 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 1.10.013 Joji Kato JPN 1.10.324 Joon Mun KOR 1.10.355 Dmitry Lobkov RUS 1.10.38

Men 1000 m 1 Shani Davis USA 1:08.992 Yevgeny Lalenkov RUS 1:09.393 Denny Morrison CAN 1:09.424 Jeremy Wotherspoon CAN 1:09.675 Jan Bos NED 1:09.71

Men 1500 m 1 Denny Morrison CAN 1:45.222 Sven Kramer NED 1:45.322 Shani Davis USA 1:45.324 Enrico Fabris ITA 1:45.835 Simon Kuipers NED 1:46.34

Men 5000 m 1 Sven Kramer NED 6:17.242 Enrico Fabris ITA 6:20.223 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 6:24.054 Carl Verheijen NED 6:29.415 Shani Davis USA 6:30.00

Men 10 000 m 1 Sven Kramer NED 12:57.712 Enrico Fabris ITA 13:18.813 Bob De Jong NED 13:25.014 Øystein Grødum NOR 13:28.095 Mark Ooijevaar NED 13:31.34

Team Pursuit Men 1 Netherlands 3:41.692 Italy 3:46.763 Germany 3:47.71

WORLD SINGLE DISTANCES SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 6 - 9 March 2008, Nagano (JPN)

Ladies 500 m combined times

1 Jenny Wolf GER 1.15.622 Beixing Wang CHN 1.16.283 Annette Gerritsen NED 1.17.20 4 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 1.17.22 5 Sayuri Yoshii JPN 1.17.30

Ladies 1000 m 1 Anni Friesinger GER 1:15.372 Kristina Groves CAN 1:16.013 Annette Gerritsen NED 1:16.354 Christine Nesbitt CAN 1:16.445 Paulien Van Deutekom NED 1:16.89

Ladies 1500 m 1 Anni Friesinger GER 1:56.062 Paulien Van Deutekom NED 1:57.363 Kristina Groves CAN 1:57.634 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER 1:58.815 Christine Nesbitt CAN 1:58.85

Ladies 3000 m 1 Kristina Groves CAN 4:05.032 Paulien Van Deutekom NED 4:05.493 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER 4:05.764 Martina Sablikova CZE 4:05.925 Claudia Pechstein GER 4:08.40

Ladies 5000 m 1 Martina Sablikova CZE 6:58.222 Clara Hughes CAN 7:04.793 Kristina Groves CAN 7:04.944 Claudia Pechstein GER 7:05.445 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER 7:07.23

Team Pursuit Ladies 1 Netherlands 3:02.192 Canada 3:02.87 3 Germany 3:07.57

EUROPEAN SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 12 - 13 January 2008, Kolomna (RUS) 

Ladies1 Ireen Wüst NED2 Paulien Van Deutekom NED3 Martina Sablikova CZE4 Claudia Pechstein GER5 Daniela Anschütz Thoms GER

Men1 Sven Kramer NED2 Håvard Bøkko NOR3 Enrico Fabris ITA4 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED5 Ivan Skobrev RUS

14

Ladies 500 m Points

1 Meng Wang CHN 60002 Tian Yu Fu CHN 41923 Nannan Zhao CHN 39044 Seung-Hi Park KOR 27325 Kalyna Roberge CAN 25406 Sae-Bom Shin KOR 21367 Evgenia Radanova BUL 20968 Qiuhong Liu CHN 16409 Jessica Gregg CAN 107110 Tatiana Borodulina AUS 1050

Ladies 1000 m Points

1 Sun-Yu Jin KOR 45022 Meng Wang CHN 43223 Shin-Young Yang KOR 37724 Yang Zhou CHN 30745 Katherine Reutter USA 23156 Eun-Ju Jung KOR 20507 Evgenia Radanova BUL 17888 Seung-Hi Park KOR 16409 Qiuhong Liu CHN 131210 Amanda Overland CAN 1305

Ladies 1500 m Points

1 Sun-Yu Jin KOR 41722 Eun-Ju Jung KOR 38823 Yang Zhou CHN 36584 Shin-Young Yang KOR 33155 Qiuhong Liu CHN 19936 Katherine Reutter USA 19047 Sae-Bom Shin KOR 18008 Mika Ozawa JPN 15809 Kalyna Roberge CAN 157410 Xiaoxue Meng CHN 1529

Ladies Relay Points

1 China 40002 Republic of Korea 28243 Italy 26104 Canada 23625 USA 20026 Japan 18707 Russia 16408 Bulgaria 12809 Netherlands 112810 Germany 926

Ladies Team Points

1 China 5400 1 Republic of Korea 5400 3 Canada 3584 4 USA 2618 5 Japan 2234 6 Bulgaria 1720 7 Italy 1640 8 Russia 1337 9 Netherlands 1231 10 Germany 908

Men 500 m Points

1 Si-Bak Sung KOR 56002 Yoon-Gy Kwak KOR 41043 Francois-Louis Tremblay CAN 36004 Charles Hamelin CAN 34405 Satoru Terao JPN 24976 J.P. Kepka USA 15017 Jon Eley GBR 14388 Alex Boisvert-Lacroix CAN 12179 Jialiang Han CHN 102410 Satoshi Sakashita JPN 980

Men 1000 m Points

1 Hyun-Soo Ahn KOR 38002 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 35923 Kyung-Taek Song KOR 28244 Charles Hamelin CAN 24325 Si-Bak Sung KOR 20006 Jordan Malone USA 18737 Bao Ku Sui CHN 17868 Francois-Louis Tremblay CAN 15629 Zhiqiang Zhang CHN 147710 Seung-Hoon Lee KOR 1420

Men 1500 m Points

1 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 52002 Hyun-Soo Ahn KOR 36403 Seung-Hoon Lee KOR 28104 Kyung-Taek Song KOR 23425 Jordan Malone USA 22316 Yuri Confortola ITA 22137 Charles Hamelin CAN 20808 Si-Bak Sung KOR 20009 Weilong Song CHN 137610 Ryan Bedford USA 1312

Men Relay Points

1 Republic of Korea 40002 Canada 30403 China 27524 USA 21325 Italy 21206 Great Britain 17067 Russia 15628 Japan 13989 Germany 136410 France 926

Men Team Points

1 Republic of Korea 6000 2 Canada 4640 3 USA 3514 4 China 3252 5 Japan 2132 6 Great Britain 1706 7 Italy 1614 8 Russia 1270 9 Germany 1018 10 France 907

SAMSUNG ISU WORLD CUP SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING –  Final Standings

WORLD JUNIOR SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 11 - 13 January 2008, Bolzano (ITA) 

Ladies1 Ah-Reum Noh KOR2 Eu-Byul Lee KOR3 Qichao Zhang CHN4 Arianna Fontana ITA5 Soo-Min Son KOR

SHORT TRACK

WORLD SINGLE DISTANCES SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 6 - 9 March 2008, Nagano (JPN)

Men1 Yun-Jae Kim KOR2 Jung-Su Lee KOR3 Han-Bin Lee KOR4 Guillame Blais Dufour CAN5 John Celski USA

EUROPEAN SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 18 - 20 January 2008, Ventspils (LAT)

Ladies1 Arianna Fontana ITA2 Evgenia Radanova BUL3 Nina Evteeva RUS4 Erika Huszar HUN5 Annita Van Doorn NED

Ladies Relay1 Great Britain2 Bulgaria3 Germany4 Poland

Men1 Haralds Silovs LAT2 Niels Kerstholt NED3 Nicola Rodigari ITA4 Jon Eley GBR5 Tyson Heung GER Men Relay1 Italy2 Great Britain3 France 4 Russia

WORLD SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS, 15 - 16 March 2008, Harbin (CHN)

Ladies1 China 2 Republic of Korea3 Canada4 USA

Men1 USA 2 Canada3 Republic of Korea4 China

WORLD SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 7 - 9 March 2008, Gangneung City (KOR)

Ladies1 Meng Wang CHN 2 Yang Zhou CHN 3 Shin-Young Yang KOR 4 Kalyna Roberge CAN 5 Qiuhong Liu CHN Ladies Relay1 Republic of Korea 2 Canada 3 China4 Italy

Ladies 500 m1 Meng Wang CHN 2 Qiuhong Liu CHN 3 Kalyna Roberge CAN

Ladies 1000 m1 Meng Wang CHN 2 Yang Zhou CHN 3 Kalyna Roberge CAN

Ladies 1500 m1 Meng Wang CHN 2 Shin-Young Yang KOR 3 Yang Zhou CHN

Men1 Apolo Anton Ohno USA2 Ho-Suk Lee KOR3 Kyung-Taek Song KOR4 Seung-Hoon Lee KOR5 Charles Ryan Leveille USA Men Relay1 Republic of Korea 2 Canada3 Great Britain 4 USA

Men 500 m1 Apolo Anton Ohno USA2 Charles Hamelin CAN 3 Kyung-Taek Song KOR

Men 1000 m1 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 2 Apolo Anton Ohno USA 3 Kyung-Taek Song KOR

Men 1500 m1 Kyung-Taek Song KOR2 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 3 Charles Ryan Leveille USA

15

PAST MASTERS

Olympic Ice Dance Champions 1994 and 1998

World Ice Dance Champions 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997

World Ice Dance Silver Medalists 1993

World Ice Dance Bronze Medalists 1992

European Ice Dance Champions 1996, 1997, and 1998

European Ice Dance Silver Medalist 1993 and 1994

European Ice Dance Bronze Medalist 1992

Oksana Gritschuk and Evgeny Platov marked Ice Dancing in the 90’s with an immaculate competitive history. After winning a first Olympic Gold in 1994, they went on to take four consecutive World titles before making history by winning their second Olympic Ice Dance gold medal in 1998. To date they remain the only Ice Dance couple to have won two consecutive Ice Dance Olympic gold medals. Their dance technique and ability to combine difficulty and speed earned them 14 Olympic, World and European medals over just six years between 1992 and 1998. Prior to teaming up both had been Junior World Champions with their former partners.

OKSANA GRITSCHUK (RUS) born 1972

EVGENY PLATOV (RUS) born 1967