Weaver, Poje win gold at Four Continents
Canada finishes 1-2 in ice dancing
Last Updated: Friday, January 29, 2010 | 9:10 AM ET
The Canadian Press
Ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver of Toronto and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., took gold Friday at the Four Continents figure-skating competition in Jeonju, South Korea.
The pair led through all three portions of the competition, including the free dance Friday when they scored a season-best 85.07 points for a grand total of 166.16 for the event.
“We wanted to make sure we finished strong because this was probably the last time we’ll skate this program,” Poje told Skate Canada. “We showed a lot of fluidity and our transitions were seamless. Every movement flowed into one another.”
The two had to overcome a wardrobe malfunction 30 seconds into the program, as Weaver's necklace unhooked — but instead of letting that distract her, she slid the necklace into her dress and continued with the routine.
“I was panicking initially,” Weaver said. “I didn’t know what to do and I whispered to Andrew what to do. He said throw it but I never got the chance. I just hoped it wouldn’t fall to the ice. I held it in my hand for the twizzles then put it in my dress just before going into the spin.”
Canadians top podium
Weaver and Poje recently won bronze at the Canadian figure-skating championships in mid-January. This is the couple's first career gold in international competition.
They were joined on the podium by Allie Hann-McCurdy of Nanaimo, B.C., and Michael Coreno of Delhi, Ont., who finished second in the free dance with 81.46 points, giving the two a total of 159.56. It earned them a silver medal, their first podium finish in international competition.
“It’s amazing,” said Coreno. “We’ve been through quite a bit. It’s nice to accomplish this in our last event of the season. The free dance tonight is a character-oriented piece and it really showed our personalities. We just had a great time out there.”
Madison Hubbell and Keiffer Hubbell of the United States won bronze (154.20).
Mao Asada nailed two triple axels to win the women's title in a breakthrough victory just weeks before the Vancouver Olympics.
The feat pushed Japan's four-time national champion ahead of compatriot Akiko Suzuki, who was first after the short program but settled for silver after faltering on her combination jump.
U.S. skater Caroline Zhang, the 2007 world junior champion, came in third with her best performance of the season. She edged out fellow American Amanda Dobbs and Japan's Haruka Imai, who finished fourth and fifth.
Triple axel specialist
For Asada, the win was a boost as she gears up to take on world champion Kim Yu-na of South Korea for the Olympic gold next month.
The triple axel, a jump few women attempt, is her not-so-secret weapon. Asada made skating history in 2008 when she landed it cleanly twice to beat Kim on her home turf for the Grand Prix title.
Landing it twice again Friday showed she's still in the fight after a lacklustre 2009.
"I landed both triple axels at the Grand Prix finals and again today, so I am very happy with my competitions here in South Korea," she told reporters. "What I need to do now for the Olympics is to just do my best with every element in my program."
Many medal contenders at the Olympics are sitting out the Four Continents competition to get prepared for the Vancouver Games in less than two weeks time. No Canadian Olympians are participating.
The men's free skate is on Saturday, with Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., leading after the short program.
With files from CBCSports.ca
