Canadian gold medallist Joannie Rochette, centre, is flanked by silver medallist Alissa Czisny, left, from the U.S. and bronze medallist Laura Lepisto of Finland during Saturday's medal ceremony. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)Canada's Joannie Rochette overcame a couple of flaws to capture gold in the women's singles event at Skate Canada International in Kitchener, Ont., on Saturday.
The 23-year-old from Île-Dupas, Que., scored 112.90 points for her free-skate rendition of Samson and Delilah for an overall score of 182.90 but turned two planned triple jumps into doubles.
"I know I can do this program much better, but it's really challenging physically to do and I think my last minute missed a bit of power, I need to work on that," Rochette said.
American Alissa Czisny won the silver with a total of 163.53 points while Finland's Laura Lepisto was third with 158.52.
Rochette, who captured silver at the world championships last spring, is debuting a new challenging long program this season that builds in momentum to the final seconds.
"I feel this is the best program I've ever had," Rochette said. "I think this program can be very good, it's just a matter of training it. Of course, it's more challenging but I think it's very doable. I think I have to approach it one element at a time and I really believe in this program."
Rochette has earned a spot in next month's Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, and despite the long trek said she'd appreciate getting one more performance under her belt.
"I'm happy to have qualified, it's a prestigious event and I think it's going to be great, especially after this long program tonight," Rochette said. "I'm really excited to have one more chance to do my programs internationally before Olympics."
