INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER NO 40 JANUARY 2010

INSIDE• ISU NEWS• GRAND PRIX REVIEW• WORLD CUP REPORTS• OLYMPIC REVIEW• MEDICAL REPORT• RESULTS

2

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: Meng Wang (CHN) ahead of Katherine Reutter (USA) and Seung-Hi Park (KOR), Photo by Emmanuel Dunand ©AFP/Getty Images Photography: © Getty Images/AFP : Toru Yamanaka, David Boily, Jonathan Ferrey, Doug Pensinger, Henning Kaiser, Bob Martin

ISU COUNCILAt its autumn meeting on October 25-28, 2009 in Istanbul/Turkey, the ISU Council accepted the application by the Ice Skating Association of Malaysia to join the ISU as a provisional Figure Skating and Speed Skating Member. The 2010 Grand Prix of Figure Skating calendar was also agreed at the meeting and the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating allotments made. The full decisions including the Provisional Allotments of 2012 ISU Championships have been published in ISU Communication 1600 and 1596, available on the www.isu.org website.

ISU SPORTS DIRECTORATEThe Sports Directorate worked closely with ISU bodies and stakeholders again this sea-son and in October met with the ISU Council to discuss proposals and initiatives to further improve the sport. The Draw for the panel of Judges for the forthcoming ISU Cham-pionships, the six ISU Grand Prix events and the preparation and monitoring the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Tokyo (Junior and Senior) were the event highlights of this first half of the season. Numerous contacts and exchanges also took place with the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Winter Games 2010 in Vancouver and with the Organizing Committees of the Championships to ensure a successful Olympic season. The 100th anniversary of ISU World Figure Skating Championships to be celebrated in Torino, Ita-ly in March is an area of special planning and ongoing attention. Another field of activity was the preparation of the 2010 ISU Congress in Barcelona, including discussions with the Technical Committees and the preparations of important proposals.

ISU TECHNICAL COMMITTEESIn preparation for the 2010 ISU Congress the ISU Technical Committees have in coopera-tion with the Sports Directorate reviewed input from ISU Members on possible changes in Technical Rules, and submitted their recom-mendation for changes as well as amend-ments to the Special Regulations for the provisional Congress agenda to be published by the end of January.

Single & Pair SkatingThe Single and Pair Skating Technical Committee have in recent months evaluated judging at the ISU Events together with the Officials Assessment Commission. Members

Dear readers of the ISU World. I have good news today for the world of ice skating. We are in the middle of a boom. There is a terrific development in the number of individuals who are showing interest towards our sport disciplines. The interest is not just in being a fan, but in being active in the sport: as a skater and as a participant in competition.

One must admit that it sounds a bit strange. How can diffi-cult technical sports attract a large number of people? This simple remark is more than enough to allow an explanation that may cover many different aspects.

1. Ice skating gives the skater a unique sensation, moving in a different way than walking or running, with a higher speed and with the satisfaction derived from gliding.

2. Individual skating is constantly devoted to finding the best way to introduce a new mo-vement. It is this continuous research that is somewhat magical. Also, in a few words, not so many activities permit improvement in concentration skills to the degree that ice skating does.

3. For that which is exposed in above point 2, ice skating is not a dangerous sport. It can be practiced by skaters of both genders at any age: very young as well as with an age when these kinds of movements help a lot to maintain coordination skills. Now however a question can certainly be expected. Why point out such a promising situa-tion? Many individuals would like to skate and also to compete. This is positive news, but what is the significance and what will be the outcome?

The ISU is ready to accompany the passion of people willing to be involved with ice skating. A first step would be to encourage all national associations to work out a plan of competi-tions with a technical package affordable by the majority of skaters.

It is obvious that the most talented skaters, those having a position in the World Standings or Rankings, would not see this area as necessarily relating directly to them. But to increase the number of competitions is becoming a must.

We cannot say to skaters who would like to compete that there is not an opportunity due to a lack of events. On the other hand there is not a huge group of individuals who will become or who are great champions. In sport disciplines with very high technical content it is not feasible to expect that there is a large mass of people who could reach the highest standard. The conclusion is that the ISU needs to develop activities based on reasonable standard.

This is the reason for which the ISU is committed to proceed with a constructive evaluation to give the expansion of ice skating an adequate possibility to exist and to develop.

Ottavio CinquantaPresident, International Skating Union

3

ISU NEWSof the Committee have also again in this first half of the season served as Referees and Technical Controllers at various ISU Events and International Competitions. The January Committee Meeting will be held at the time of the European Championships at which time the Committee will discuss among other matters the contents of almost 100 Referees’ Reports and the same number of Technical Controllers’ Reports.

Ice DanceAn Ice Dance Development Training Seminar for Novice/Junior skaters and coaches will be held March 30th to April 11th moderated by top, world-class coaches. The aim of the Seminar is the development of Ice Dance couples to a high level and the introduction of Ice Dance in new areas where it is not yet traditionally pursued. This Seminar, which was inaugurated with great success last year, is expected to attract even more Federation activity this year. See Communication 1592 for more details. Also see ISU Communication 1597 for information about ISU Recognized Ice Dance Judges’ Seminars 2010. Informa-tion sessions concerning the proposed new Dance format whereby Ice Dance events would include only 2 parts have been sche-duled by the Technical Committee for skaters, coaches and interested parties at each of the 2010 Championships.

Synchronized SkatingEducation remained at the forefront of Techni-cal Committee activity with a Technical Panel Officials Seminar successfully held in Duben-dorf, Switzerland in October, moderated by Joanne Shaw and Cathy Dalton. The seminar focussed on updating for International and ISU level Technical Controllers and Technical Specialists as to clarifications for the coming season and was attended by 20 Officials from 10 Members. Also in October was a Synchro-nized Skating Recognized Referee/Judges Seminar in Vienna, Austria which gathered 13 Judges from 7 Members and which was moderated by Paolo Pizzocari with the partici-pation of Sibylle Huber. The ISU Synchronized Skating Technical Committee will be conduct-ing Official Trial Judging in conjunction with International Synchronized Skating competi-tion, the French Cup, which will be held in Rouen, France in the first week of February. The Synchronized Skating Judges Examina-tion will be held on the occasion of the ISU Synchronized Skating Junior World Challenge Cup 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden on March 11-13, 2010.

Speed SkatingThe bi-annual ISU course for Speed Ska-ting starters was successfully held at the Kolomna ice rink, on the occasion of a large competition for the Moscow region 16-18

October, 2009. 38 Starters from 14 ISU Mem-bers participated. Workshops for ISU referees were held on the occasion of the World Cup competitions in Berlin (6-8 November) and Calgary (4-6 December). In Calgary attending ISU Referees acted as instructors at a regio-nal course for International Referees. The new Olympic Qualification system, based on results from Speed Skating World Cup competitions, gave an additional dimension to the five Essent ISU World Cup competi-tions held in November and December. All the competitions were defined as qualifying competitions for the national entry quotas for the Vancouver Games. The Technical Committee has made an updated list of the qualification status available on the ISU web site after each of the qualifying competitions, and the Committee will be involved also in the process of verifying the actual entries for OWG 2010 with respect to requirements for national and individual entries.

The pre-OIympic World Cup season had a great finale at the Utah Olympic Oval in Salt Lake City 11-13 December, with 3 new World Records. The ISU Junior World Cup series kic-ked off with 3 regional events held in parallel in the last part of November, in Calgary (CAN), Harbin (CHN) and Groningen (NED).

Short TrackThe World Cup season came to a conclusion at the Olympic Qualifier Events in Montreal, Canada and Marquette, United States before the New Year. The Technical Committee reported that the new qualification system worked very well and can be expected to produce a highly competitive field for the upcoming Olympic Games. The Committee further reported improvements to the level of the World Cups with a notable increase in the number of athletes and the number of Mem-bers in attendance at each event again this season. The first ever Referee’s only course at the outset of the season also showed excellent results in this first part of the year. The course had focused on knowledge, inter-pretation and application of rules, consistency in rules interpretation, video analyses and Officials organization and team work

ISU Medical Commission Chair Jane Moran (left) bearing the 2010 Olympic Torch ISU WEBSITE: WWW.ISU.ORG

4

ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING

43 Men, 40 Ladies, 32 Pairs and 33 Ice Dance couples from 26 ISU members competed in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating this year. The series began in October in Paris (FRA) and Moscow (RUS) before moving on to Beijing (CHN) and Nagano (JPN) followed by Lake Placid (USA) and Kitchener (CAN). The Grand Prix season concluded in December with the combined ISU Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Tokyo (JPN), where the top six skaters and couples (senior) and the top eight ranked junior skaters and couples in each discipline competed for the Grand Prix titles.

Reigning World Champion Evan Lysacek (USA) confirmed his leading role by winning a gold and a silver medal in his Grand Prix

Reigning World Champion 19-year-old Yu-Na Kim (KOR) won the titles in Paris and Lake Placid before taking her third Grand Prix Final gold medal. Kim established a new personal best of 210.03 points at the Trophée Bompard and is the first and only woman so far to have passed the mark of 210 points. 2007 World Champion Miki Ando (JPN) struck gold in her two Grand Prix competitions and earned the silver in the Final – her first medal in this event in what was her fifth appearance. Akiko Suzuki (JPN) not only qualified for the Final for the first time in her career with a win at the Cup of China, but jumped on to the podium right away. Ashley Wagner (USA), Joannie Rochette (CAN) and Alena Leonova (RUS) also qualified for the Final after medalling in their Grand Prix events. Wagner and World Junior Champion Leonova competed for the first time in the Final.

Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA) established themselves as top contenders this season by taking three gold medals home: The reigning Four Continents Champions won the Rostelecom Cup, NHK Trophy and the Grand Prix Final and picked up a new personal best score of 201.97 points en route. Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (CAN) came back to the Grand Prix series after missing it last season due to injury. The 2009 World bronze medallists danced to victory in their two events and took the silver in the Final. Bronze medallists Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA) stood on the podium of the Final for the first time. They had qualified with two silver medals from the circuit. Sinead Kerr/John Kerr (GBR), Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte (ITA) and Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) all competed in their first Grand Prix Final. Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto (USA) were qualified with two gold medals but had to withdraw citing an infected tooth (Belbin). 2009 World Champions Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin had to skip the series as he recovered from a knee injury. The defending Grand Prix Champions Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA) didn’t compete in the series as she gave birth in October.

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao (CHN) started their successful comeback to competition after a break of two years with solid wins at their two Grand Prix events and followed up by taking the sixth Grand Prix Final title of their career in Tokyo. En route they achieved the highest score any Pair has achieved so far with 214.25 points. Defending Grand Prix Final Champions Qing Pang/Jian Tong Yu Na Kim (KOR)

events before claiming his first title in the Grand Prix Final with a new personal best score of 249.45 points. Nobunari Oda (JPN) shone with two gold medals on the circuit and the silver in the Final. 2008 World bronze medallist Johnny Weir (USA) repeated last year’s Grand Prix success with a second bronze medal in the Final, posting a new personal best of 237.35 points. Defending Grand Prix Champion Jeremy Abbott (USA), Daisuke Takahashi (JPN) and Tomas Verner (CZE) also competed in the Final. Brian Joubert (FRA) had qualified, but withdrew due to injury. Michal Brezina (CZE) competed in his first Grand Prix season at the senior level and was an alternate for the Final after capturing the bronze medal at NHK Trophy. 2006 Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko (RUS) started his international comeback with a victory in Moscow, but didn’t compete in a second event.

5

FIGURE SKATING

(CHN) earned the silver in the Final after securing two gold medals on the circuit and established a new personal best of 201.86 points. Reigning World Champions Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (GER) won in Canada and placed third in Paris before settling for the bronze in the Final. Maria Mukhortova/Maxim Trankov (RUS), Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (RUS) and Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang (CHN) competed as well in the Final.

JUNIOR GRAND PRIX

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series saw 97 junior men, 145 junior ladies, 36 junior pairs and 75 dance teams coming from 52 ISU Members compete this season. The junior circuit started in Budapest (HUN), went on to Lake Placid (USA), Torun (POL), Minsk (BLR), Dresden (GER), Zagreb (CRO) and ended in Istanbul (TUR) in October. Turkey hosted a Junior Grand Prix event for the first time. 14-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) emerged as

2010 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPSFIGURE SKATINGEuropean ChampionshipsVenue: Tallinn (EST)Dates: 18 - 24 January

2009 European ChampionsLadies: Laura Lepistö (FIN)Men: Brian Joubert (FRA)Pairs: Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy (GER)Ice Dance: Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski (RUS)

Four Continents ChampionshipsVenue: Jeonju City (KOR)Dates: 25 - 31 January

2009 Four Continents Champions Ladies : Yu-Na Kim (KOR)Men : Patrick Chan (CAN)Pairs : Qing Pang / Jian Tong (CHN)Ice Dance : Meryl Davis / Charlie White (USA)

World Junior Figure Skating ChampionshipsVenue: The Hague (NED)Dates: 8 - 14 March

2009 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Alena Leonova (RUS)Men: Adam Rippon (USA)Pairs: Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze (RUS)Ice Dance: Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein (USA)

World ChampionshipsVenue: Torino (ITA)Dates: 22 - 28 March

2009 World ChampionsLadies: Yu-Na Kim (KOR)Men: Evan Lysacek (USA)Pairs: Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy (GER)Ice Dance: Oksana Domnina / Maxim Shabalin (RUS)

World Synchronized Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Colorado Springs (USA)Dates: 9 - 10 April

2009 World ChampionsTeam: Team Canada 1

an up and coming star after winning in his two Junior Grand Prix events and taking the gold in his first Final. Nan Song (CHN) and Ross Miner (USA) qualified for the first time for the Finals with medals on the circuit and went on to claim the silver and bronze in Tokyo.

The USA and Russia dominated in the Junior Ladies and were represented with four respectively three entries in the Final. But the title in the Final went to Kanako Murakami (JPN), who had also claimed victory in her two Junior Grand Prix events. Newcomers Polina Shelepen (RUS) and Christina Gao (USA) stood on the podium of the Final in their first year on the Junior Grand Prix.

Pair Skating was concentrated in four events in the USA, Poland, Belarus and Germany. Asian couples left a strong impression and for the first time, the podium in the Junior Final was all Asian with gold medallists Wenjing Sui/Cong Han

From left to right: Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China

SPEED SKATING

6

FIGURE SKATINGAsada wants to follow in the footsteps of 2006 Olympic Champion Shizuka Arakawa (JPN), but struggled with inconsistency in the earlier part of the season. The competition seems open again with a strong group competing for the three medals. 2007 World Champion Miki Ando (JPN) finished 15th in her Olympic debut in 2006 and is determined to do better. She has a successful Grand Prix season under her belt. Reigning World silver medalist Joannie Rochette (CAN) will enjoy the support of the home crowd in Vancouver. Europe’s top skaters at the Games should be 2008 World silver medalist Carolina Kostner (ITA), European Champion Laura Lepistö (FIN) and Alena Leonova (RUS). At the time of writing, it was not yet determined who will be on the U.S. team. 2008 World Junior Champion Rachael Flatt and Grand Prix Finalist Ashley Wagner had good chances. 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen (USA) has announced her comeback but didn’t compete yet by the end of December.In the Pairs event, two-time Olympic bronze medalists Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao (CHN) celebrated a successful comeback by winning each event they entered this season so far. Competition should come from two-time and reigning World Champions Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (GER) and Grand Prix Final runners-up Qing Pang/Jian Tong (CHN). Maria Mukhortova/Maxim Trankov (RUS), Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (RUS), Dan Zhang/Hao Zhang (CHN) and Jessica Dubé/Bryce Davison (CAN) are also all in the running.The Ice Dance event promises an exciting and close competition. The young teams Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA) and Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (CAN) shone on the Grand Prix series, taking gold and silver in the Final. However, the more experienced couples were missing and want to be ready for the showdown in Vancouver. Reigning World silver medalists Tanith Belbin/Benjamin Agosto (USA) won two Grand Prix events but withdrew from the Final as Belbin suffered from an infected tooth. Reigning World Champions Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin (RUS) sat out the Grand Prix series as he recovered from a knee injury. 2008 World Champions Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA) didn’t compete in the first half of the season either as Delobel had a baby. Other couples to watch include Nathalie Péchalat/Fabian Bourzat (FRA), Jana Khokhlova/Sergei Novitski (RUS), Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali (ITA) and Sinead Kerr/John Kerr (GBR).

(CHN), silver medallists Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (JPN) and bronze medallists Yue Zhang/Lei Wang (CHN). While the silver and bronze medallists had competed in the Final before, the remaining qualified teams all were newcomers.

Eight couples from four ISU members qualified for the Final in the Ice Dance event with Russia filling four spots. The gold and silver medals in the Final went to newcomers Ksenia Monko/ Kirill Khaliavin (RUS) and Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov (RUS). Reigning World Junior silver medallists Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA) settled for the bronze medal.

OLYMPIC REVIEWThe Men’s Olympic event promises tough competition. The generation of current top skaters, led by reigning World Champion Evan Lysacek (USA), will be challenged by 2006 Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko (RUS), who makes a comeback after sitting out three seasons. He won his one and only Grand Prix competition in a convincing

manner. 2006 Olympic silver medalist Stéphane Lambiel (SUI) is also returning to competition this season. Lysacek followed up on his world title from last spring with strong performances on the Grand Prix and won the Final. Jeremy Abbott (USA), Grand Prix Final bronze medalist Johnny Weir (USA), 2009 World silver medalist Patrick Chan (CAN) are also medal contenders. Japan’s hopes rest on Grand Prix Final silver medalist Nobunari Oda and 2008 Four Continents Champion Daisuke Takahashi, who sat out the past season due to injury. Reigning European Champion Brian Joubert (FRA) was forced out of the Grand Prix Final when he injured his foot like he did in 2007, but it didn’t stop him from becoming World Champion that year. 2008 European Champion Tomas Verner (CZE) is another top contender.

The Ladies’ event seemed to focus on the duel between 2009 World Champion Yu-Na Kim (KOR), who could become the first Korean figure skater in history to win a medal at the Olympic Winter Games, and 2008 World Champion Mao Asada (JPN).

From left to right: Charlie White and Meryl Davis of United States

7

SPEED SKATING

From left to right : Apolo Anton Ohno (USA), Charles Hamelin (CAN) and Francois-Louis Tremblay (CAN)

SHORT TRACKThe 2009-2010 ISU World Cup Short Track season concluded in November after four exciting events across Asia, and North American. At each competition the men’s and ladies races were held over 500m, 1000m and 1500m and single distances determined the winners. The Asian competitions were held in Beijing (CHN) and Seoul (KOR) in September. Short Trackers then competed in North America for the second segment of the series in Montreal (CAN) and Marquette (USA) in November. Both Marquette and Montreal were

2010 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPSSHORT TRACK

World Junior Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Taipei City (TPE)Dates: 8 - 10 January

2009 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Ah-Reum Noh (KOR) Men: Cheon-Ho Um (KOR)

European Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Dresden (GER)Dates: 22 - 24 January

2009 European ChampionsLadies: Arianna Fontana (ITA)Men: Nicola Rodigari (ITA)

World Short Track Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Sofia (BUL)Dates: 19 - 21 March

2009 World ChampionsLadies: Meng Wang (CHN)Men: Ho-Suk Lee (KOR)

World Short Track Speed Skating Team ChampionshipsVenue: Bormio (ITA)Dates: 27 - 28 March

2009 World Team ChampionsLadies: ChinaMen: Republic of Korea

Olympic Qualifying Competitions, crucial for many athletes vying for Olympic berth, while others were trying to get the maximum quota for their respective countries. Canada, USA, China and Korea showed their strength this season. Meng Wang of China was the queen of the 500m distance, winning the four events of the season. She also clinched the distance title in the 1000m ladies. Yang Zhou (CHN) took the 1500m title also winning with her teammates the Ladies Relay event for China. In the men’s event it was Charles Hamelin of Canada who took the 500m distance title with his teammate Francois-Louis Tremblay on his heels in second place. On the 1000m men’s distance the four events saw four different winners but finally Jung-See Lee (KOR) dominated the distance by accumulating the most points overall while Apolo Anton Ohno (USA) took second place. Jung-See Lee also clinched the 1500m distance and the Korean men took the Men’s Relay title.The athletes had from mid November to prepare for the Olympic Games. The European skaters will have an opportunity to fine tune their preparation at the European Short Track Speed Skating Championships on January 22-24 in Dresden, Germany. Meanwhile the first ISU event of the new year is the ISU World Junior Short Track Championships in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei kicking off early January.

OLYMPIC REVIEWThe Pacific Coliseum will host, among other events, eight Olympic Short Track competitions; the Men’s and Ladies’ 1500m, 1000m and

500m as well as the Men’s 5000m Relay and the Ladies’ 3000m Relay with competition extending over five days, with at least one medaled event on each day.Unlike ISU Championship events the Olympic format focuses on single distances. In the Men’s and Ladies 500m and 1000m there are eight preliminary heats with four skaters in each. The first two athletes in each heat go through to the quarter-finals and semi-finals until only four skaters remain for the final. The third and fourth placed skaters from each semifinal (a total of four) race in the ‘B’ final which determines 5th to 8th place. A number of athletes have shown medal potential this season. In the Men’s and ladies’ 1500m, six preliminary heats determine which 18 skaters (three skaters from each heat) go on to compete in three semifinal races with six skaters. The first and second placed skaters from each semi-final (a total of six) will compete in the ‘A’ final, while the 3rd and 4th placed skaters from each race (a total of six) will be in the ‘B’ final which determines 7-12 place.If last Olympics are anything to go by we can expect surprises and great skating in Vancouver. In 2006 Korean athletes scooped up six of the eight gold medals and took a phenomenal 10 medals in total. The remainder of the short track medals were shared among China, Canada, USA, Italy and Bulgaria. This Olympics could well see some of the traditionally strong short track speed skating nations rivaled by emerging talent. 19 Members at the time of printing had earned entry spots in the ladies and men’s events respectively.

8

From left to right: Qiuhong Liu (CHN), Kalyna Roberge (CAN), Alison Dudek (USA) and Eun-Byul Lee (KOR)

2010 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPSSPEED SKATING

European Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Hamar (NOR)Dates: 9 - 10 January

2009 European ChampionsLadies: Claudia Pechstein (GER)Men: Sven Kramer (NED)

World Sprint Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Obihiro (JPN)Dates: 16 - 17 January

2009 World Sprint ChampionsLadies: Beixing Wang (CHN)Men: Shani Davis (USA)

World Junior Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Moscow (RUS)Dates: 12 - 14 March

2009 World Junior ChampionsLadies: Roxanne van Hemert (NED)500 meters: Olga Fatkulina (GER) 1000 meters: Roxanne van Hemert (NED)1500 meters: Roxanne van Hemert (NED)3000 meters: Yvonne Nauta (NED)Team Pursuit Ladies: Netherlands

Men: Koen Verweij (NED)500 meters: Mitchell Whitmore (USA)1000 meters: Jan Daldossi (ITA)1500 meters: Pim Cazemier (NED)5000 meters: Koen Verweij (NED)Team Pursuit Men: Netherlands

World Allround Speed Skating ChampionshipsVenue: Heerenveen (NED)Dates: 19 - 21 March

2009 World ChampionsLadies: Martina Sábliková (CZE) Men: Sven Kramer (NED)

2009 World Single Distances ChampionsLadies:

500 meters: Jenny Wolf (GER) 1000 meters: Christine Nesbitt (CAN)1500 meters: Anni Friesinger (GER)3000 meters: Renate Groenewold (NED)5000 meters: Martina Sábliková (CZE)Team Pursuit: Canada

Men: 500 meters: Kang-Seok Lee (KOR)1000 meters: Trevor Marsicano (USA)1500 meters: Shani Davis (USA)5000 meters: Sven Kramer (NED)10000 meters: Sven Kramer (NED)Team Pursuit: Netherlands

9

SPEED SKATINGIn the Ladies’ Team Pursuit, Canada leads with 280 points and a world record in Calgary of 2:55.79. Russia has 230 points and surpri-singly won the last race. Japan and Germany both have 190 points and the Netherlands follow with 185. Also in time these teams were close.

MenIn the 8 races 500m races so far there were 6 different winners. First Kang-Seok Lee (KOR), then Tucker Fredricks (USA), Keiichiro Na-gashima (JPN), Joji Kato (JPN), Mika Poutala (FIN) and then Kyou-Hyuk Lee (KOR) three times in a row. The latter has 521 points only 2 points behind Kang-Seok Lee. Mika Poutala is third with 501 points. Yuya Oikawa (JPN), Ronald Mulder and Jan Smeekens (NED) and Jamie Gregg (CAN) reached the podium.

Shani Davis (USA) won all four 1000m races and leads with 400 points. Tae-Bum Mo (KOR) is second overall with 215 points. Kyou-Hyuk Lee is third in the rankings with 212 points. Denny Morrison (CAN), Yevgeny Lalenkov (RUS), Joon Mun (KOR), Simon Kuipers (NED) and Mika Poutala all reached the podium once.

Davis won four out of five 1500m races and finished in second place behind compatriot Chad Hedrick in Calgary. Davis took a world

Mika Poutala (FIN)

SPEED SKATINGThe Essent ISU World Cup season for 2009/2010 consists this season of seven events of which five took place before the Olympic Winter Games 2010.

LadiesLeading the 500m ladies Jenny Wolf (GER) sharpened her world record to 37.00. She lost two races to Beixing Wang (CHN), who finished second the races she did not win, Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR) is third in the rankings. She had one shared silver with Wang and three more podium finishes. Also Annette Gerritsen (NED) had three podium finishes, Japanese champion Nao Kodaira raced to the podium only in the first race, but she and Margot Boer (NED) belong steadily to the top-6. Wolf leads with 760 points, Wang follows with 680 and Sang-Hwa Lee is third with 505.

On the 1000 meter, Christine Nesbitt (CAN) has won all four races and has 400 points. Second in the ranking is Annette Gerritsen with two silver places and 205 points, Nao Kodaira follows with 202 (including a second and a third place), then Beixing Wang (180) and German Monique Angermüller (170). Also Margot Boer and Kristina Groves (CAN) are above 160 points and anything can still happen in the rankings behind Nesbitt. Natasja Bruintjes (NED) skated to third place in Heerenveen and Marianne Timmer did that in Berlin, but a severe fall on the 500m the next week took her out of the competition for a longer period of time.

Kristina Groves leads on the 1500m with 410 points after two victories, a silver, a bronze and a fourth place. Her compatriot Christine Nesbitt is second with 360, after two victories and two second places. Also Ireen Wüst (NED) won a 1500m race and finished second once. She has 257 points now. Martina Sábliková (CZE) is not far behind her and also finished on the podium twice. Canadian Brittany Schussler, Elma de Vries (NED) and Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) took the remaining third places.

Martina Sáblíková leads the ladies’ long distance. She won three out of five races and was second in the others, which were won by Stephanie Beckert (GER), who finished second twice and once in third place, when Masako Hozumi from Japan took the silver. Sáblíková has 460 points, Stephanie Bekcert 80 and Daniela Anschütz-Thoms (GER) 315. The latter finished three times in third place, Kristina Groves was the bronze medalist in the last race.

record in Salt Lake City and brought it to 1:41.04, from 1:41.80. He has 480 points. Behind him Håvard Bøkko (NOR) is second, was twice the runner-up and then had a bronze, and just missed the podium twice after that. His 350 points are ahead of Hedrick who has 268. Denny Morrison with 218 had two podium races, Mark Tuitert (NED) has 200 points, Lucas Makowsky (CAN) made his po-dium debut with silver in Hamar and has 198 points, Russian Ivan Skobrev is one behind him, and Dutch Stefan Groothuis has 190 points (and bronze in Heerenveen). Tae-Bum Mo had a third place in the last race.

Dutchman Sven Kramer secured the lead in the long distance World Cup rankings by winning the first four races and has 400 points. Bob de Jong (NED) has finished second three times and was third twice. He has 380 points in five races. Ivan Skobrev follows with 325, after three podium finishes, one of them silver. Håvard Bøkko reached the podium in the first two races, and is fourth with 305 points. Enrico Fabris (ITA) recovered his former strength and skated an impressive 6:06.06 in Salt Lake City, which is the fastest time this season.

The Dutch lead the Men’s Team Pursuit, after two victories, with 260 points. Norway has

SPEED SKATING

this fall will be vying for the title alongside others including teammate Kristina Groves, several Dutch, Nao Kodaira (JPN) and Beixing Wang (CHN). The Ladies 1500m has seen a battle of strength this season between two Canadians, Kristina Groves and Christine Nes-bitt, at the Olympics they face competition also from Ireen Wüst (NED), Elma de Vries (NED), Brittany Schussler (CAN), Jennifer Rodriguez (USA) and Martina Sábliková (CZE) among others. In the past years, Martina Sáblikova (CZE) has been the strongest in the Ladies Olympic 3000m and 5000m distances. She is facing tough competition this year from young Stephanie Beckert (GER). Also Daniela Anschütz-Thoms (GER), Kristina Groves (CAN), Masako Hozumi (JPN) and on the 5000 Olympic champion Clara Hughes (CAN) will be looking to medal. Ireen Wüst is the last Olym-pic champion on the 3000. The qualification of Catrine Grage from Denmark is notewor-thy. There have been few Danish skaters in history, but Grage qualified directly for both 3000 and 5000m. For the Team Pursuit the ladies from Canada, Russia, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, the USA and Poland have qualified (China is reserve). The Cana-

230 and won one race. Canada is third with 186. The USA has 180, they won the first race and shared the victory with the Dutch men. Also Italy has been on the podium twice.The next Essent ISU World Cup race will take place in Erfurt (GER) before the series comes to a conclusion in Heerenveen (NED) in March.

OLYMPIC PREVIEWWith six Ladies’ and six Men’s Speed Skating Events at the Olympics, Speed Skating is one of the world’s most medalled Olympic winter sports, but the race to the podium is high-paced; a hundredth of a second can separate gold from silver.

The Ladies 500m will see stiff competition with world champion Jenny Wolf (GER) and Beixing Wang (CHN) in contention. Sang-Hwa Lee (KOR), Annette Gerritsen (NED), Nao Kodaira (JPN) and Margot Boer (NED) are also strong on this distance. On the 1000m Marianne Timmer (NED) is injured and can not pursue her third Olympic 1000m title. Chris-tine Nesbitt (CAN) has won all 1000m races

Jenny Wolf (GER)

dian ladies set a world record in Calgary and are looking good this season. They face the Russian ladies in the first heat, and after that the USA or Poland. In the other half the Dutch ladies start against the Koreans and Japan faces Germany.

MenIn the Men’s 500m in the first 6 races this season there were 6 different winners. Looking good on this distance are Kang-Seok Lee and Kyou-Hyuk Lee from Korea, Keiichiro Nagashima, Yuya Oikawa and Joji Kato from Japan and Fengtong Yu from China. Europe will bring Mika Poutala (FIN) and Ronald Mulder or Jan Smeekens (NED). Canadians Jamie Gregg and Jeremy Wotherspoon as well as the American Tucker Fredricks are also particularly strong on the distance among others. The Men’s 1000m Shani Davis (USA), currently holding the world record will be looking to defend his 2006 title. Last year he lost in the Single Distance Championships to his team mate Trevor Marsicano, who had a fast period at the end of last season. Other key medal contenders include Koreans Kyou-Hyuk Lee, Tae-Bum Mo or Joon Mun, the Dutch Simon Kuipers, Stefan Groothuis or Mark Tuitert and Canadians Denny Morrison and Jeremy Wotherspoon. On ice that is less fast, the 1500m skaters have a good chance on the 1000m. On the 1500m, Shani Davis, Chad Hedrick (USA), Håvard Bøkko (NOR) and others are looking strong. The 2006 Men’s 1500 champion Enrico Fabris has not reached the podium so far this year, but is capable of putting in outstanding races, finishing almost as fast as he starts. From Canada there is also Lucas Makowsky, for who the Vancouver ice may give better results than the Calgary ice and several Dutch will be in contention. In the longer distances World Cup leader Sven Kramer has hopes for both the 5000 and 10,000m. Russian Ivan Skobrev also looks good as does Bob de Jong (NED) who was on each and every podium this season. Håvard Bøkko also is in contention. Enrico Fabris has presented himself strongly when winning the 5000m in a track record when Kramer was absent. There are also some ‘new’ skaters progressing rapidly, including Dutch marathon skater Bob de Vries, Seung-Hoon Lee from Korea, Frenchman Alexis Contin, Harald Silovs from Latvia and Shane Dobbin from New Zealand.

In the Team Pursuit, the Dutch men should meet Norway in the first heat, Sweden meets Korea, Canada faces the USA and Italy is paired with Japan. The expected final would be between the Netherlands and the USA. There may well be some Olympic records in this discipline which only became a part of the Olympic program in 2006.

10

11

MEDICAL REPORT2009 H1N1 OR “SWINE” INFLUENZA REVIEWThere has been a great deal of attention given to the “swine flu” recently, with some of it for good reason, and given the influenza and ska-ting seasons are upon us perhaps a review of what is known about this disease may be in order. The 2009 H1N1 influenza is a new virus causing illness in people, to the extent that as of June 2009 the World Health Organization declared a pandemic of this disease was un-derway, which means that it can spread easily and sustainably among humans and can cause serious illness by those affected by it.

Why is it called the “swine flu”?Not because you can get infected by eating pork- rather laboratory tests showed that many of the genes in this new virus were noted to be similar to influenza viruses that do occur in pigs. However further study has shown this new virus also has different gene-tic characteristics from what is seen in pigs alone. Therefore it is not felt likely to get this directly from eating pork.

How is the H1N1 virus spread?The spread of H1N1 virus is thought to occur in the same way our regular “seasonal flu” varieties spread- flu viruses are spread from person to person by ingesting or inhaling particles released by a person that does have the influenza when they cough or sneeze. Sometimes a person may become infected by touching an object or surface that has the flu virus particles on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

What are the symptoms of this virus?The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu include fever (although that is not always seen in people), cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Occasionally vomiting and diarrhea can occur.

How severe can the illness become?The severity of illness noted with 2009 H1N1 flu can range from mild, where most people with the illness have recovered without needing medical treatment, to severe, with hospitalizations and even death having occur-red in those with the illness. A large majority (70% according to some sources) hospitalized with the 2009 H1N1 virus also were noted to have one or more other medical conditions, such as pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or kidney disease. Young children are also felt to be at high risk of significant complications from this type of flu, just as in other varieties of influenza. Therefore, while generally not a serious health threat it should not be ignored as significant illness can occur, even in otherwise strong healthy individuals.

plies of these medications may be limited or expensive, and they generally are being used to treat those that are very sick or to treat those with other medical conditions as noted above that might be prone to experience more complications of the illness. Health care providers are generally best at deciding whether these medicines are needed. Again, most cases of the 2009 H1N1 flu have been mild and have not required medical care.

Is it safe to travel?If you have symptoms suggestive of influenza you should avoid travel. Wearing a mask may help to cover your nose and mouth and thereby avoid spreading infection to others, but it must be worn correctly to be effective. Otherwise it may even increase the chance of spreading it to others. The best option, if you are not feeling well, is to avoid the travel. If you are not sick you do not need to wear a mask. Your best protection to avoid catching the infection is to practice the measures noted earlier regarding general good hygiene. Other options that may be helpful to avoiding getting ill would include improving airflow in living spaces by opening windows as well as practicing other good health habits such as getting adequate sleep, maintaining a nutri-tious diet, and staying physically active. Some of these measures may be more difficult to achieve than others, particularly if you are a skater, official, or spectator attending skating events this season. But trying to follow these generally healthy practices will make a difference in avoiding 2009 H1N1 flu, as well as other illnesses as well. Further information can be obtained from your national health agency or the World Health Organization (www.who.int). Stay healthy! Dr. Joel Schobe,ISU Medical Commission Member

What can one do to protect oneself from getting sick? A flu vaccine is the most important means in protecting against flu infection, whether it is 2009 H1N1 or seasonal influenza. Othe-rwise general everyday actions can also help the spread of germs that cause the flu, like washing your hands often with soap and warm water (for 15 – 20 seconds) or an alcohol-based hand cleaner, avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth, and trying to avoid close contact with sick people. To avoid potentially infecting others cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and throw the tissues in the trash af-ter using it. If you are sick with flu-like illness, it is recommended that you stay home, or at least try to keep away from others as much as possible, for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone. This may not completely protect others, as people with flu illnesses can shed the virus and thereby infect others from one day before developing flu-like symptoms to 5 – 7 days after, but trying to isolate yourself from others is felt to be helpful.

When should one seek medical attention?With a mild case of seasonal or H1N1 flu you probably do not need to go to a clinic or hospital. However any symptoms of difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, dizziness or lightheadedness, confusion, or severe or persistent vomiting should prompt one to seek medical attention quickly. In children these symptoms, or also symptoms of the child not drinking enough fluids, not waking up appro-priately, being more irritable or inconsolable, or having a fever with a rash should lead one to have them evaluated.

Can medicines be used to treat 2009 H1N1 infections? “Anti-viral drugs” can be used to help patients improve and potentially avoid serious complications of the infection. However sup-

H1N1 Influenza Vaccine

12

Trophée Cup of Russia SAMSUNG Cancer.Net HomeSense Ladies Eric Rostelecom Anycall Cup NHK Skate Skate Canada Total Bompard Cup of China Trophy America nternationa Points

1 Yu-Na Kim KOR 1st 1st 302 Miki Ando JPN 1 st 1 st 303 Joannie Rochette CAN 3 rd 1 st 264 Alena Leonova RUS 3 rd 2 nd 245 Ashley Wagner USA 2 nd 3 rd 246 Akiko Suzuki JPN 1 st 5 th 227 Rachael Flatt USA 4 th 2 nd 228 Alissa Czisny USA 4 th 2 nd 229 Mao Asada JPN 2 nd 5 th 2010 Yukari Nakano JPN 3 rd 4 th 2011 Laura Lepistö FIN 5 th 3 rd 1812 Kiira Korpi FIN 8 th 2 nd 1613 Julia Sebestyen HUN 6 th 3 rd 1614 Mirai Nagasu USA 5 th 4 th 1615 Fumie Suguri JPN 7 th 4 th 1316 Caroline Zhang USA 4 th 8 th 1217 Carolina Kostner ITA 6 th 6 th 1018 Elene Gedevanishvili GEO 7 th 6 th 919 Amelie Lacoste CAN 7 th 6 th 920 Cynthia Phaneuf CAN 6 th 7 th 921 Alexe Gilles USA 5 th 722 Elena Glebova EST 5 th 723 Yan Liu CHN 7 th 424 Emily Hughes USA 7 th 425 Jenna Mccorkell GBR 8 th 3

Trophée Cup of Russia SAMSUNG Cancer.Net HomeSense Men Eric Rostelecom Anycall Cup NHK Skate Skate Canada Total Bompard Cup of China Trophy America nternationa Points

1 Nobunari Oda JPN 1 st 1 st 302 Evan Lysacek USA 2 nd 1 st 283 Brian Joubert FRA 4 th 1 st 244 Jeremy Abbott USA 5 th 1 st 225 Daisuke Takahashi JPN 4 th 2 nd 226 Johnny Weir USA 4 th 2 nd 227 Tomas Verner CZE 2 nd 5 th 208 Michal Brezina CZE 3 rd 4 th 209 Takahiko Kozuka JPN 2 nd 7 th 1710 Shawn Sawyer CAN 8 th 2 nd 1611 Sergei Voronov RUS 6 th 3 rd 1612 Adam Rippon USA 3 rd 6 th 1613 Samuel Contesti ITA 4 th 5 th 1614 Evgeni Plushenko RUS 1 st 1515 Alban Preaubert FRA 7 th 3 rd 1516 Artem Borodulin RUS 3 rd 8 th 1417 Yannick Ponsero FRA 5 th 5 th 1418 Ryan Bradley USA 3 rd 1119 Florent Amodio FRA 4 th 920 Adrian Schultheiss SWE 6 th 7 th 921 Stephen Carriere USA 6 th 8 th 822 Kevin Reynolds CAN 8 th 6 th 823 Kevin Van Der Perren BEL 5 th 724 Chao Yang CHN 8 th 7 th 725 Brandon Mroz USA 7 th 8 th 7

Final - Pairs

1 Xue Shen / Hongbo Zhao CHN 2 Qing Pang / Jian Tong CHN 3 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER 4 Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov RUS 5 Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov RUS 6 Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang CHN

Final - Ladies

1 Kanako Murakami JPN 2 Polina Shelepen RUS 3 Christina Gao USA 4 Ksenia Makarova RUS 5 Anna Ovcharova RUS 6 Angela Maxwell USA 7 Kiri Baga USA 8 Ellie Kawamura USA

Final - Pairs

1 Wenjing Sui / Cong Han CHN 2 Narumi Takahashi / Mervin Tran JPN 3 Yue Zhang / Lei Wang CHN 4 Tatiana Novik / Mikhail Kuznetsov RUS 5 Kaleigh Hole / Adam Johnson CAN 6 Britney Simpson / Nathan Miller USA 7 Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov RUS 8 Alexandra Vasilieva / Yuri Shevchuk RUS

FIGURE SKATING Grand Prix of Figure Skating – standings after six of six events (full results on www.isu.org ) The top six skaters/ couples in each category qualified for the Grand Prix Final

JUNIOR GRAND PRIX3 – 6 December,

GRAND PRIX3 – 6 December,

Final - Ladies

1 Yu-Na Kim KOR 2 Miki Ando JPN 3 Akiko Suzuki JPN 4 Ashley Wagner USA 5 Joannie Rochette CAN 6 Alena Leonova RUS

13

Trophée Cup of Russia SAMSUNG Cancer.Net HomeSense Pairs Eric Rostelecom Anycall Cup NHK Skate Skate Canada Total Bompard Cup of China Trophy America nternationa Points

1 Xue Shen / Hongbo Zhao CHN 1 st 1 st 302 Qing Pang / Jian Tong CHN 1 st 1 st 303 Maria Mukhortova / Maxim Trankov RUS 1 st 2 nd 284 Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy GER 3 rd 1 st 265 Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov RUS 2 nd 2 nd 266 Dan Zhang / Hao Zhang CHN 2 nd 3 rd 247 Jessica Dube / Bryce Davison CAN 2 nd 3 rd 248 Tatiana Volosozhar / Stanislav Morozov UKR 3 rd 2 nd 249 Keauna McLaughlin / Rockne Brubaker USA 3 rd 4 th 2010 Rena Inoue / John Baldwin USA 4 th 3 rd 2011 Caydee Denney / Jeremy Barrett USA 4 th 5 th 1612 Mylene Brodeur / John Mattatall CAN 6 th 5 th 1213 Huibo Dong / Yiming Wu CHN 6 th 6 th 1014 Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay CAN 4 th 915 Meagan Duhamel / Craig Buntin CAN 4 th R 916 Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov RUS 4 th 917 Amanda Evora / Mark Ladwig USA 5 th 718 Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze RUS 5 th 719 Nicole Della Monica / Yannick Kocon ITA 5 th 720 Adeline Canac / Maximin Coia FRA 5 th 721 Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch CAN 6 th 522 Brooke Castile / Benjamin Okolski USA 6 th 523 Ksenia Krasilnikova / Konstantin Bezmaternikh RUS 6 th 5

Trophée Cup of Russia SAMSUNG Cancer.Net HomeSense Ice Dance Eric Rostelecom Anycall Cup NHK Skate Skate Canada Total Bompard Cup of China Trophy America nternationa Points

1 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA 1 st 1 st 302 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir CAN 1 st 1 st 303 Tanith Belbin / Benjamin Agosto USA 1 st 1 st 304 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA 2 nd 2 nd 265 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte ITA 2 nd 2 nd 266 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr GBR 3 rd 2 nd 247 Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski RUS 2 nd 4 th 228 Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier CAN 4 th 3 rd 209 Alexandra Zaretski / Roman Zaretski ISR 5 th 3 rd 1810 Ekaterina Rubleva / Ivan Shefer RUS 5 th 3 rd 1811 Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitri Soloviev RUS 4 th 4 th 1812 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje CAN 6 th 3 rd 1613 Emily Samuelson / Evan Bates USA 4 th 5 th 1614 Anna Zadorozhniuk / Sergei Verbillo UKR 4 th 6 th 1415 Kimberly Navarro / Brent Bommentre USA 6 th 5 th 1216 Federica Faiella / Massimo Scali ITA 3 rd 1117 Xintong Huang / Xun Zheng CHN 7 th 5 th 1118 Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein USA 8 th 6 th 819 Madison Hubbell / Keiffer Hubbell USA 8 th 6 th 820 Kristina Gorshkova / Vitali Butikov RUS 7 th 7 th 821 Anastasia Platonova / Alexander Grachev RUS 5 th 722 Ekaterina Riazanova / Ilia Tkachenko RUS 6 th 523 Lucie Mysliveckova / Matej Novak CZE 7 th 424 Carolina Hermann / Daniel Hermann GER 7 th 425 Cathy Reed / Chris Reed JPN 7 th 4

Final - Men1 Evan Lysacek USA 2 Nobunari Oda JPN 3 Johnny Weir USA 4 Jeremy Abbott USA 5 Daisuke Takahashi JPN 6 Tomas Verner CZE

Final - Ice Dance

1 Meryl Davis / Charlie White USA 2 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir CAN 3 Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat FRA 4 Sinead Kerr / John Kerr GBR 5 Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte ITA 6 Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier CAN

Final - Men

1 Yuzuru Hanyu JPN 2 Nan Song CHN 3 Ross Miner USA 4 Richard Dornbush USA 5 Grant Hochstein USA 6 Artur Gachinski RUS 7 Stanislav Kovalev RUS 8 Kento Nakamura JPN

Final - Ice Dance

1 Ksenia Monko / Kirill Khaliavin RUS 2 Elena Ilinykh / Nikita Katsalapov RUS 3 Maia Shibutani / Alex Shibutani USA 4 Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill CAN 5 Ekaterina Pushkash / Jonathan Guerreiro RUS 6 Isabella Cannuscio / Ian Lorello USA 7 Lorenza Alessandrini / Simone Vaturi ITA 8 Marina Antipova / Artem Kudashev RUS

FIGURE SKATING Grand Prix of Figure Skating – standings after six of six events (full results on www.isu.org ) The top six skaters/ couples in each category qualified for the Grand Prix Final

OF FIGURE SKATING FINALTokyo, Japan

OF FIGURE SKATING FINALTokyo, Japan

14

SPEED SKATING

ESSENT ISU WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING – overall standings after five of seven events

Total Ladies 500m Points

1 Jenny Wolf GER 7602 Beixing Wang CHN 6803 Sang-Hwa Lee KOR 5054 Nao Kodaira JPN 3615 Annette Gerritsen NED 3556 Margot Boer NED 3157 Yuliya Nemaya RUS 2818 Sayuri Yoshii JPN 2649 Shuang Zhang CHN 19710 Thijsje Oenema NED 178

Total Ladies 1000m Points

1 Christine Nesbitt CAN 4002 Annette Gerritsen NED 2053 Nao Kodaira JPN 2024 Beixing Wang CHN 1805 Monique Angermüller GER 1706 Margot Boer NED 1657 Kristina Groves CAN 1618 Sayuri Yoshii JPN 1309 Laurine Van Riessen NED 11310 Jennifer Rodriguez USA 110

Total Ladies 1500m Points

1 Kristina Groves CAN 4102 Christine Nesbitt CAN 3603 Ireen Wüst NED 2574 Martina Sábliková CZE 2285 Brittany Schussler CAN 1916 Daniela Anschütz-Thoms GER 1847 Jennifer Rodriguez USA 1728 Katarzyna Bachleda-Curus POL 1729 Diane Valkenburg NED 14210 Yekaterina Shikhova RUS 139

Total Ladies 3000/5000m Points

1 Martina Sábliková CZE 4602 Stephanie Beckert GER 4303 Daniela Anschütz-Thoms GER 3154 Kristina Groves CAN 2905 Masako Hozumi JPN 2226 Maren Haugli NOR 2177 Clara Hughes CAN 2108 Ireen Wüst NED 1749 Brittany Schussler CAN 15310 Shiho Ishizawa JPN 130

Total Ladies Team Pursuit Points

1 Canada 2802 Russia 2303 Japan 1904 Germany 1905 Netherlands 185

Total Men 500m Points

1 Kang-Seok Lee KOR 5232 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 5213 Mika Poutala FIN 5014 Tucker Fredricks USA 4685 Keiichiro Nagashima JPN 4076 Joji Kato JPN 3737 Yuya Oikawa JPN 3288 Ronald Mulder NED 2669 Jan Smeekens NED 24210 Jamie Gregg CAN 214

Total Men 1000m Points

1 Shani Davis USA 4002 Tae-Bum Mo KOR 2153 Kyou-Hyuk Lee KOR 2124 Mark Tuitert NED 1705 Mika Poutala FIN 1626 Denny Morrison CAN 1577 Chad Hedrick USA 1578 Joon Mun KOR 1439 Jan Bos NED 12410 Simon Kuipers NED 116

Men 1500m Points

1 Shani Davis USA 4802 Håvard Bøkko NOR 3503 Chad Hedrick USA 2684 Denny Morrison CAN 2185 Mark Tuitert NED 2006 Lucas Makowsky CAN 1987 Ivan Skobrev RUS 1978 Stefan Groothuis NED 1909 Enrico Fabris ITA 15310 Rhian Ket NED 136

Total Men 5000/10000m Points

1 Sven Kramer NED 4002 Bob de Jong NED 3803 Ivan Skobrev RUS 3254 Håvard Bøkko NOR 3055 Carl Verheijen NED 2306 Enrico Fabris ITA 2237 Wouter Olde Heuvel NED 1768 Chad Hedrick USA 1399 Seung-Hoon Lee KOR 13710 Shani Davis USA 132

Total Men Team Pursuit Points

1 Netherlands 2602 Norway 2303 Canada 1864 USA 1805 Italy 178

15

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING

ESSENT ISU WORLD CUP SPEED SKATING – overall standings after five of seven events ISU WORLD CUP SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATING – final standings

Total Ladies 500m Points

1 Meng Wang CHN 30002 Kalyna Roberge CAN 22403 Nannan Zhao CHN 19524 Marianne St-Gelais CAN 13155 Jessica Gregg CAN 12726 Qiuhong Liu CHN 10827 Arianna Fontana ITA 9748 Katherine Reutter USA 8409 Erika Huszar HUN 75810 Seung-Hi Park KOR 654

Total Ladies 1000m Points

1 Meng Wang CHN 26002 Katherine Reutter USA 23123 Yang Zhou CHN 17384 Eun-Byul Lee KOR 17225 Ha-Ri Cho KOR 14966 Seung-Hi Park KOR 14907 Qiuhong Liu CHN 14148 Kalyna Roberge CAN 9069 Arianna Fontana ITA 68210 Jessica Smith USA 640

Total Ladies 1500m Points

1 Yang Zhou CHN 26402 Eun-Byul Lee KOR 24403 Katherine Reutter USA 19684 Linlin Sun CHN 17225 Qiuhong Liu CHN 15476 Ha-Ri Cho KOR 13277 Min-Jung Kim KOR 7868 Tatiana Borodulina AUS 7549 Arianna Fontana ITA 66710 Kalyna Roberge CAN 624

Total Ladies Relay Points

1 China 30002 Republic of Korea 22103 USA 21124 Canada 19205 Japan 16406 Netherlands 10827 Italy 10088 Hungary 8529 Bulgaria 59810 Germany 485

Total Men 500m Points

1 Charles Hamelin CAN 23282 François-Louis Tremblay CAN 20243 Si-Bak Sung KOR 16084 Yoon-Gy Kwak KOR 15785 Jialiang Han CHN 14726 Jeff Simon USA 14147 Thibaut Fauconnet FRA 8778 Simon Cho USA 8759 Apolo Anton Ohno USA 83510 Olivier Jean CAN 748

Total Men 1000m Points

1 Jung-Su Lee KOR 26002 Apolo Anton Ohno USA 17223 Charles Hamelin CAN 16504 Francois Hamelin CAN 15625 Si-Bak Sung KOR 15126 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 10137 Yoon-Gy Kwak KOR 8748 Thibaut Fauconnet FRA 8409 Jordan Malone USA 80010 Travis Jayner USA 746

Total Men 1500m Points

1 Jung-Su Lee KOR 24402 Charles Hamelin CAN 21523 Si-Bak Sung KOR 18694 Ho-Suk Lee KOR 18005 Apolo Anton Ohno USA 15746 Seoung-Il Kim KOR 13627 Weilong Song CHN 9478 Yuri Confortola ITA 7649 Pieter Gysel BEL 69710 Travis Jayner USA 666

Total Men Relay Points

1 Republic of Korea 30002 Canada 26003 China 20804 USA 17225 Italy 14346 Germany 11027 Great Britain 8248 Netherlands 8009 Russia 56410 France 537

Total Ladies Team Points

1 China 40002 Republic of Korea 27523 Canada 25924 USA 24645 Japan 14106 Italy 12927 Hungary 10628 Netherlands 9359 Bulgaria 59210 Germany 522

Total Men Team Points

1 Republic of Korea 38002 Canada 32403 USA 27204 China 19465 Italy 15946 France 9747 Germany 9268 Japan 8769 Netherlands 71310 Great Britain 689

PAST MASTER

BRIAN BOITANO (USA) BORN 1963

Olympic Winter GamesMen’s Gold Medal 1988

ISU World Figure Skating ChampionshipsMen’s Gold Medal 1986, 1988Men’s Silver Medal 1987Men’s Bronze Medal 1985

ISU World Junior Figure Skating ChampionshipsMen’s Bronze Medal 1978

Brian Boitano became recognized as an international talent to watch at the age of 15 when he won his first ISU medal at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 1978. At the event he scooped the bronze ahead of a young Canadian Brian Orser who was to become Boitano’s most well known rival on the international circuit. At senior level the two contended for the World title and medals for several consecutive years. Orser took the World Silver Medal in 1985 ahead of Boitano who the following season made his mark by becoming World Champion ahead of Orser. The following year the medal order was reversed. Boitano crowned his career however in 1988 with an Olympic gold medal and a World Gold medal ahead of his rival. In 1996 Boitano was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and US Hall of Fame.