J.R. Celski of the United States (pictured above) captured the Gold at the Short Track Speedskating World Championships in Vienna this past weekend in the men’s 3000m event. He was followed by South Korea’s Lee Ho-suk and Canada’s Charles Hamelin.
In the men’s 1000m, former Olympic champion Apollo Anton Ohno was bested by Lee and finished second. Celski finished third in that event.
The US won the men’s 5000 relay, with China and Japan finishing second and third respectively.
(photo credit: Newscom)

The temperature may be hovering below freezing in Cleveland, but the atmosphere in Quicken Loans Arena was anything but frosty Saturday night for the Championship Ladies Free Skate. A near-capacity crowd watched as 21-year-old, Ohio native, Alissa Czisny won the competition over two up-and-coming skaters—16-year-old Rachael Flatt and 15-year-old Caroline Zhang.
Czisny wasn’t perfect. She won the short program and placed third in the free skate, but her elegant lines and graceful style won the appreciation of the well-versed spectators as did her stellar performance after finishing ninth in last year’s competition. Also impressive, if somewhat raw, was Flatt’s performance …read more

Two of the most well-known female figure skaters have withdrawn from the US Figure Skating Championships in Cleveland this week due to injuries. Kimmie Meissner (pictured above), the 2006 World and 2007 US Champion, withdrew early Monday due to a hip injury sustained in off-ice training about a week ago and aggravated by training for the US championships. Said Meissner,
“The decision wasn’t easy and was not made lightly. I’m very disappointed I won’t be there in Cleveland to compete.”
Also forced to withdraw today is Emily Hughes, the US Silver Medalist in 2007. Hughes sustained an ankle injury last …read more

Defending Olympic speedskating champion, Shani Davis showed that he’s still in top form at the World speedskating championship in Moscow on Saturday. The 26-year-old, 6′ 2″ skater took top honors in the 1000m event, the same race that earned him the Gold Medal in Turin in 2006.
Davis, a senior at Northern Michigan University, is currently ranked #1 in the world in the 1000m. He also competes in the 1500m and 5000m events.
Holland’s Simon Kuipers finished second in the Moscow race, with his countryman, Stefan Groothuis finishing third.
(photo © Newscom)

Skate Canada, a Grand Prix figure skating event, was held this past weekend in Ottawa. Here are the results:
Mens: Patrick Chan (Canada), Ryan Bradley (USA), Evan Lysacek (USA). Below is the Gold-Medal-winning performance:

Ladies: Joannie Rochette (Canada), Fumie Suguri (Japan), Alissa Czisny (USA).

Pairs: Yuko Kawaguchi/Alexander Smirnov (Russia), Jessica Dube/Bryce Davison (Canada), Keauna McLaughlin/Rockne Brubaker (USA).

Ice Dancing: Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA), Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (Canada), Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (France).

Eighteen-year-old Korean, Yu-Na Kim handily won the womens individual competition at Skate America in Everett Washington yesterday. Although Kim’s performance wasn’t perfect, it had a grace and fluidity that the other skaters’ routines lacked. Even more amazingly, this was her first appearance at Skate America, the first ISU Grand Prix event of the year.
Kim is definately a name to keep in mind for the Vancouver Games in 2010. She is a former world junior champion and two-time bronze medalist in the World Championships. Kim, who is ranked #2 in the world, is coached by former Olympian, Canadian mens singles two-time …read more

This weekend, the world’s best figure skaters gathered in Everett Washington (outside of Seattle) for the 2008 Skate America competition, the first ISU Grand Prix event of the 2008/2009 season. Below are the winning performances:
Ice Dancing: the Gold Medal went to Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (France), whose winning performance is featured below. Taking the Silver Medal were Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the United States. Sinead Kerr and John Kerr of the United States finished in third place.

The mens individual Gold went to Takahiko Kozuka of Japan. Johnny Weir of the United States won the Silver and Evan …read more

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If you happen to live in or near Northeast Ohio, Olympic Figure Skater, Scott Hamilton, in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic, is performing with Grammy Award-winner, Kenny Loggins for a one-night show in Cleveland on November 8. The show is at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland at 5pm. Tickets range from $24.50 to $59.50 with a $5 discount for children 2-12, those 55 and older, and cancer survivors.
Hamilton is a four-time US and four-time world mens figure skating champion and won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo. He is a native of …read more

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In a somewhat surprising move, Canadian figure skater, Jeffrey Buttle announced yesterday that he will be retiring from the sport to concentrate on his studies. Buttle will certainly be going out on top. He is the current mens world champion and three-time Canadian national champion. He also earned the Bronze Medal in 2006 at the Turin Olympic Games.The move is somewhat surprising not only because he is just 26 years old and in top form, but because the 2010 Winter Games will be held in Vancouver, in Canada. In fact, we had already mentioned Buttle as …read more

Former Olympic Figure Skater, Michelle Kwan has been chosen to be a part of the United States delegation for the closing ceremonies in Beijing. Also attending are Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice; Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao; Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Michael O. Leavitt; US Ambassador to China, Clark T. Randt; US Olympic Committee President, Peter Ueberroth; and Karen Hughes, former Undersecretary of State and Global Vice Chair of Burson-Marsteller.
Kwan, who is of Chinese heritage, was nine-time US Champion and five-time World Champion. She won the Silver Medal at Nagano (1998) and the Bronze Medal in Salt Lake …read more