Figure skatingChan makes statement at GP Final

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Canada's Patrick Chan earned a season-best score of 259.75 to win gold at the prestigious Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images)

Of all the surprises at this past weekend's ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, the best was seeing the reigning world junior champions in both the pairs and ladies events not only qualify but win a medal in their first senior Grand Prix Final.

The Chinese pair of Wenjing Sui and Cong Han exploded onto the senior scene this season, reaching the podium in both their Grand Prix events to qualify for the Final in Beijing. There, they backed up their reputation with season-best scores in the short, free and overall to take the bronze.

Their teammates and defending world champions, Qing Pang and Jian Tong, were a little lackluster, but still skated strong enough to take the silver. The title went to the German team of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, who dominated both the short and the free to take the GP Final title for the second time in their career. The 2008 and '09 world champions seem determined to let nothing stand in their way in their quest to reclaim the world title.

Too little, too late for Ando

Former ladies world champion Miki Ando of Japan was a favourite coming into her event but, despite winning the women's free program, remained in fifth place overall in a case of "too little, too late." Teammate and defending world junior champion Kanako Murakami stepped up and, with a second-place finish in the free, captured the bronze. She finished a mere 0.01 points behind silver medallist Carolina Kostner of Italy.

Kostner, a three-time European champion, demonstrated that by performing "well enough" in both segments while the competition bombs in one or the other, you can win a medal. My question, though, is where does she hide the horseshoe?

I'm simultaneously delighted and surprised for American Alissa Czisny, who was able to hold onto first despite a third-place free program. She capitalized on the lead she created in the short to take the gold. Little by little, Czisny is regaining her international reputation after a disastrous 2009-10 season in which she failed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, finishing 10th in her national championship despite coming in as the reigning champ.

Hungarians surprise

The ice dance went as predicted, with American champions and Olympic and world silver medallists Meryl Davis and Charlie White winning the title for the second year in a row. The French team of Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat took the silver, and Canadians Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier got the bronze.

The big surprise came at the conclusion of the short dance, when the scoreboard showed the Hungarian team of Nora Hoffmann and Maxim Zavozin in third place (What?! How did that happen?). The Hungarians came into the event with an unimpressive resume: after finishing fourth in their first Grand Prix, they placed second at the Cup of Russia, but only after three of the eight teams withdrew before the free dance. Qualifying for the Final is based on points assigned by placements over the course of the Grand Prix series, so Hoffmann and Zavozin earned their spot fair and square. But they couldn't close the deal, posting the worst score in the free dance to fall to last place.

Crone and Poirier, who placed a disappointing fifth in the short dance, had to pour on the steam to move up to the bronze medal position, proving once again that holding back in any segment of the competition should not be a skater's strategy of choice.

Chan joins worlds contenders

The men's event was an exciting one where results were earned with solid skating, not a case of who performed the "least terribly." Canadian champion and two-time reigning world silver medallist Patrick Chan took the title by way of winning the free program with a season-best score that moved him up from second after the short. In doing so, Chan announced himself as a serious contender for the world title in March 2011.

His biggest challenger was Nobunari Oda, who led Japan's three-man contingent by charging to the front in the short. A solid, but not perfect, free program left him with the silver. The bronze medallist, Takahiko Kozuka, showed some weakness but was still strong enough with a second-place free program to move up from fourth. Defending world champion Daisuke Takahashi completely unraveled, dropping from third after the short to fourth overall with a last-place finish among the six men in the free.

Missed the Grand Prix final? CBC will have coverage on Dec. 26 and Jan. 1, including a live chat with me on CBCSports.ca. Stop by - there will be lots to talk about!

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