Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) athlete Kailani Craine has stamped her intentions on the world figure skating scene, with a personal best free program score of 108.80, and ninth place at the Four Continents Championships in Taipei last night.
After her short program left her in 16th place, the performance raised her to finish in 13th place overall with a PB score of 157.82.
The PB in the free program smashed her previous best by over ten points, and elevated her ISU Season’s world ranking to 34.
With selection to the World Championships on the line and coming from behind after a flat short program with an error on the triple loop combo, the pressure was on the teenager to deliver her best-ever.
Fortunately she did enough, and Craine has now been notified of her selection for the World Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Boston, USA from March 28th until April 3rd with coverage on SBS.
“What a roller coaster,” Craine said this morning from Taipei. “I trained so hard, and to miss the combo (in the short program) for the first time was awful. We had a day between the short and the free and it was the longest time to have to think about it.”
“I was more positive going into the free program; pumping myself up more, and I kind of knew I had a job to do,” Craine added.
Edge calls and under rotations have dogged Craine all season, and while the lutz jump still isn’t perfect, the triple loop/triple sal jump sequence achieved 10.40 points, helping to deliver a much-needed 58.98 technical points, ranking her 7th in the ‘Technical Element Score’, and ahead of celebrated skaters such as US Champion Gracie Gold and Japan’s Kanako Murakami.
Japan’s 17-year-old Satoko Miyahara dominated the short and free programs winning the Four Continents title with 214.91 points, ahead of surprise silver medallist Marai Nagasu from the United States (193.86), with Rika Hongo of Japan third.
Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han skated a strong short program placing 14th, landing her triple flip combo and maximising her trademark spins, scoring an impressive 52.80, but mistakes in the free program were costly.
She finished 17th with 135.75 points.
Australia’s third entry, Katie Pasfield finished in 21st at her first senior international championship.
In the Men’s, OWIA athlete Brendan Kerry placed 19th overall, finishing with a total score of 172.26. Kerry missed the opening quad toe and struggled on the other two jump elements.
It was an improved performance in the free program, where Kerry placed 18th, with a highlight being a triple lutz sequence.
Teammate Andrew Dodds finished in 20th position.
IMAGE: Australian Ladies Team in Taipei - From left: Brooklee Han, Kailani Craine and Katie Pasfield
After her short program left her in 16th place, the performance raised her to finish in 13th place overall with a PB score of 157.82.
The PB in the free program smashed her previous best by over ten points, and elevated her ISU Season’s world ranking to 34.
With selection to the World Championships on the line and coming from behind after a flat short program with an error on the triple loop combo, the pressure was on the teenager to deliver her best-ever.
Fortunately she did enough, and Craine has now been notified of her selection for the World Figure Skating Championships, which will be held in Boston, USA from March 28th until April 3rd with coverage on SBS.
“What a roller coaster,” Craine said this morning from Taipei. “I trained so hard, and to miss the combo (in the short program) for the first time was awful. We had a day between the short and the free and it was the longest time to have to think about it.”
“I was more positive going into the free program; pumping myself up more, and I kind of knew I had a job to do,” Craine added.
Edge calls and under rotations have dogged Craine all season, and while the lutz jump still isn’t perfect, the triple loop/triple sal jump sequence achieved 10.40 points, helping to deliver a much-needed 58.98 technical points, ranking her 7th in the ‘Technical Element Score’, and ahead of celebrated skaters such as US Champion Gracie Gold and Japan’s Kanako Murakami.
Japan’s 17-year-old Satoko Miyahara dominated the short and free programs winning the Four Continents title with 214.91 points, ahead of surprise silver medallist Marai Nagasu from the United States (193.86), with Rika Hongo of Japan third.
Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han skated a strong short program placing 14th, landing her triple flip combo and maximising her trademark spins, scoring an impressive 52.80, but mistakes in the free program were costly.
She finished 17th with 135.75 points.
Australia’s third entry, Katie Pasfield finished in 21st at her first senior international championship.
In the Men’s, OWIA athlete Brendan Kerry placed 19th overall, finishing with a total score of 172.26. Kerry missed the opening quad toe and struggled on the other two jump elements.
It was an improved performance in the free program, where Kerry placed 18th, with a highlight being a triple lutz sequence.
Teammate Andrew Dodds finished in 20th position.
IMAGE: Australian Ladies Team in Taipei - From left: Brooklee Han, Kailani Craine and Katie Pasfield
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