Figure skatingTough weekend for Canada's synchro skaters

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The ISU World Synchronized Skating Championship wrapped up over April 9-10 in Colorado Springs, Colo.  

Of the 23 teams participating from 18 countries, Canada sent two teams: Canada 1, the 2009 reigning world and national champion Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., and Canada 2, Black Ice from Toronto.

This was the 11th world championship since the discipline first received official recognition from the International Skating Union in 1994.  

The title had flip-flopped between Sweden (five times) and Finland (four times) until Canada's Nexxice took the title in 2009, breaking the Scandinavian stranglehold.

At the start of the event all eyes were on Canada 1 as the "team to beat," with two beautiful programs and skating skills that are at the top of the field.

A disastrous fall in their short program, which took down two skaters, carried with it a two-point deduction as well as a reduced technical score and resulted in a sixth place finish.  

Canada 2 was the picture of strength, confidence and superior technicality in the short program and headed into the free in third place.  

Both Canadian teams were really at their best in the free but weren't able to challenge for the podium, with a fifth place finish for Canada 1 and a fourth place finish for Canada 2.

Finland wins the title

When it was all said and done, Finland 1 (Rockettes) held on to the sizeable lead they created in the short program to take their first world title since 2008.  

The American national champions, USA 1 (The Haydenettes) dropped from second after the short to take the bronze.  

The Cinderella story of the night belonged to Finland 2 (Marigold Ice Unity) whose second place performance was strong enough to vault them on to the podium with a silver medal after a fifth place short program finish.  

In terms of results, there were a couple of interesting firsts: It was the first time that Finland had finished in first and second although they had two teams on the podium before on four separate occasions. And this was also the first time that Sweden was left off the podium since the very first world synchro event took place in 2000.

Finishing among the top-five countries in the world will qualify a national federation for two spots at next year's world championships.

This is the proverbial silver lining for Canada as well as  Finland, the United States, Sweden, and Russia, who will all be sending two teams to worlds in Helsinki, Finland in 2011.

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