The 2010 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships continued in Jeonju, Republic of Korea, on Friday with the Ladies Free Skating and the Free Dance.

Mao Asada (JPN) claims Ladies title
Mao Asada of Japan rebounded from a disappointing Short Program to claim the gold in the Ladies event. Japan’s Akiko Suzuki took the silver medal and Caroline Zhang (USA) captured the bronze.

Skating to the powerful Prelude op 3 “Bells of Moscow” by Sergei Rachmaninov, Asada nailed her two triple Axels as well as four triple jumps and showed difficult spins to post a seasons best of 126.74 points (68.58 element score/58.16 program component score). Overall she racked up 183.96 points to move up from third place to first to recapture the title she had won in 2008 for the first time. “I am satisfied with today’s performance and I think it will be good towards the Olympic Games”, Asada told the press. “I am very happy that I tried two triple Axels and to have done them will help me at the Olympic Games.”

Suzuki’s lively performance to “Westside Story” included six triple jumps, but the Lutz was shaky. She only popped a loop. With a score of 114.84 points (62.20/52.64), the Grand Prix Final bronze medalist was ranked second in the Free Skating and slipped to second overall at 173.72 points. It was Suzuki’s first medal at an ISU Championship. She had finished 8th in her two previous appearances at Four Continents in 2009 and 2002. “This is the first time I was first after the short program in a (major) international event, but I didn’t want to think about that. I just wanted to perform the Westside Story. I missed one jump, and there were some little mistakes, but stayed focused until the end. That was good”, the 24-year-old said.

Zhang completed five clean triples and strong spins in her routine to “The Nutcracker”. The only mistake came when she stumbled on an underrotated triple Lutz. The 16-year-old earned 105.68 points (56.80/48.88) and pulled up to the podium with 160.58 points. “I think it was a pretty good overall performance. The mistake on the Lutz was surprising and confusing; I didn’t even rotate at all. That could have been a lot better. But I’m really happy with how I placed here. I didn’t expect to be so high. It’s a pretty good comeback from how I skated at nationals”, Zhang offered. “I didn’t expect any international assignments after nationals and I tried to make the best out of the opportunity and I think I did pretty well.”

Amanda Dobbs (USA) dropped to fourth after falling on a triple flip attempt (158.23 points). Haruka Imai completed a successful day for team Japan by finishing fifth in her international senior-level debut (155.29 points).

Weaver/Poje (CAN) dance to the gold
Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje of Canada danced to their first gold medal in an ISU Championship. The silver went to Allie Hann-McCurdy/Michael Coreno, also from Canada, while Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell (USA) earned the bronze. It was the first medal at Four Continents for all three couples.

Weaver/Poje delivered a passionate performance of their “Phantom of the Opera” program that was highlighted by beautiful lifts. The Canadians were awarded a seasons best of 85.07 points and stayed on top with a total of 166.16 points. They stepped on to the podium at an ISU Championship for the first time since they took the bronze at the 2007 ISU World Junior Championships in 2007 in their first year as a team. “We were very happy with our Free Dance today. Our goal coming into the Free Dance was to have a joyous performance and try to overlook anything that felt off. We just wanted to show this program the best we could the last time we will be doing it for an audience. I think we accomplished that. We also raised our technical mark from yesterday, and that was also a thought throughout the program”, Weaver said.

Hann-McCurdy/Coreno danced to “La Strada” and made no error as well to score 81.46 points, which was a seasons best as well. Overall, the team accumulated 159.56 points. “I just have to thank the fans today, because right from the start of our program they got into it and they started clapping along. I can’t tell you how much that helps. The energy was high”, Coreno explained.

Hubbell/Hubbell produced an upbeat dance to a medley of songs of Lenny Kravitz. Keiffer Hubbell stumbled on the synchronized twizzles, but the brother-and-sister team nevertheless earned a new seasons best with 77.69 points and grabbed the bronze medal with a total of 154.20 points, although they were ranked fourth in the Free Dance. “We just wanted to skate our program well and I think I did that. I had a mistake in the twizzles, but other than that it was a strong skate for us”, Keiffer Hubbell commented. “It felt like a great way to end the season. I think we’re just excited to go into our next events”, his sister added.

Xintong Huang/Xun Zheng (CHN) slipped to fourth. They had two deductions for a fall of Huang and an extended lift (150.38 points). 2009 World Junior Champions Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein (USA) came in fifth (148.92 points).

The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships conclude Saturday with the Men’s Free Skating and the Exhibition Gala.

For full entry lists and results please refer to: Live Results