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)

Post from: EveryJoe

World Short Track Speedskating Results

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 in the free skate. The long-legged teenager hasn’t received the press attention that her competitors have, but she seamlessly combined athleticism and grace. She’s sure to be someone to watch as we approach the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

The US Figure Skating Championships conclude on Sunday with the men’s free skate in the afternoon and the Smucker’s Skating Spectacular exhibition in the evening. If you happen to be in Cleveland, tickets are still available to both events. Otherwise, the men’s competition is being televised on NBC.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Czisny Wins Ladies Title at US Figure Skating Championships

“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 week and hasn’t regained enough strength in it to compete. Said Hughes,

“I just don’t have enough strength in my ankle to perform my programs. I plan to resume training when my ankle heals and to compete again as soon as possible.”

It’s disappointing that these two ladies won’t be at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena later this week, but the women’s competition should still be exciting.

^{(photo © Newscom)}

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Hughes and Meissner Withdraw from US Figure Skating Championships

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)}

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Speedskater Davis Wins World Championship

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).

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Skate Canada Results

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 Silver Medalist, Brian Orser.

Below is Kim’s winning performance from yesterday afternoon:

^{(photo © newscom)}

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Kim Wins Skate America

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 Lysacek, also of the United States, won the Bronze Medal.

The Pairs Gold went to Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany. The Silver was awarded to Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker of the United States and the Bronze went to Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia.

The womens individual competition is still underway as I write this. We will have the results of that competition tomorrow.

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Skate America Kicks Off ISU Grand Prix Season

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 Toledo and himself a cancer survivor.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.

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Scott Hamilton and Friends to Perform

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 one of the athletes to watch in Vancouver. Said Buttle to the Associated Press: “Having the Olympics here in Vancouver is important to me, but winning them wasn’t.”

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Canada’s Jeffrey Buttle to Retire

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 City (2002).

^{(photo © Newscom)}

Post from: EveryJoe

Michelle Kwan to Join US Delegation