With their Olympic qualification events behind them, figure skaters Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine alongside short track speed skater Deanna Lockett are heading into this weekend’s Shanghai Trophy with a weight off their shoulders.
The three Aussie skaters secured their place on the invitational event’s start list through their strong performance at their respective World Championships in March this year.
Having already secured his place on the Australian Winter Olympic Team for 2018, Shanghai will present the perfect opportunity for Kerry to reclaim the ice after he previously described his performance at the Grand Prix in Regina, Canada as “the worst”.
Now, just a few days out from the event, Kerry said that he was “hoping to achieve a strong core and re-gain some confidence”.
“Preparation for Shanghai has been going really well. Not planning as much technical difficulty, rather trying to just go out and focus on a more polished performance,” he said.
“I started the season out really strong and then had a disastrous skate at my GP. All part of sport – but I just want to go out and get my mojo back!”.
The five-time Australian Men’s Figure Skating Champion and Sochi 2014 Olympian was named alongside Craine two weeks ago as one of four figure skating athletes to compete at PyeongChang this February.
Kerry, who will contest the men’s individual event, said that “being selected for the Olympic team again is a huge motivation” while for Craine it’s made her “push harder”.
“I think now that I have qualified, my training feels a little more free and I can push myself to try harder elements and also really push my run throughs without being worried of making a mistake,” Craine said.
The three Aussie skaters secured their place on the invitational event’s start list through their strong performance at their respective World Championships in March this year.
Having already secured his place on the Australian Winter Olympic Team for 2018, Shanghai will present the perfect opportunity for Kerry to reclaim the ice after he previously described his performance at the Grand Prix in Regina, Canada as “the worst”.
Now, just a few days out from the event, Kerry said that he was “hoping to achieve a strong core and re-gain some confidence”.
“Preparation for Shanghai has been going really well. Not planning as much technical difficulty, rather trying to just go out and focus on a more polished performance,” he said.
“I started the season out really strong and then had a disastrous skate at my GP. All part of sport – but I just want to go out and get my mojo back!”.
The five-time Australian Men’s Figure Skating Champion and Sochi 2014 Olympian was named alongside Craine two weeks ago as one of four figure skating athletes to compete at PyeongChang this February.
Kerry, who will contest the men’s individual event, said that “being selected for the Olympic team again is a huge motivation” while for Craine it’s made her “push harder”.
“I think now that I have qualified, my training feels a little more free and I can push myself to try harder elements and also really push my run throughs without being worried of making a mistake,” Craine said.
“Preparing for Shanghai is a little different to a regular competition since we only perform our Free Program. So basically I’ve just been running my free program a lot and building up really good stamina and confidence with the program.
“Training has been going really well, I have a lot of confidence in myself leading into this competition so hopefully I can just perform how I do in training every day!”
The 19-year-old skated to gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany earlier this year, securing an Olympic berth for Australia at PyeongChang 2018 and impressing judges with her Free Skate to ‘Moulin Rouge’.
The routine featured five triple jumps, three level-four spins and level-four footwork, skills that picked up the Newcastle native 109.43 points.
“My local rink has set up a big TV screen where my free program from the Olympic Qualifying competition plays on repeat, which is such good motivation for me to push myself so I can feel those kind of moments at the Olympic Games,” she said.
Lockett, Australia’s top female short tracker, wrapped up her World Cup season last weekend ranking seventh in the 1500m and 19th in the 1000m – with the top 32 skaters in each distance securing Olympic quotas for their nation.
“Training has been going really well, I have a lot of confidence in myself leading into this competition so hopefully I can just perform how I do in training every day!”
The 19-year-old skated to gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany earlier this year, securing an Olympic berth for Australia at PyeongChang 2018 and impressing judges with her Free Skate to ‘Moulin Rouge’.
The routine featured five triple jumps, three level-four spins and level-four footwork, skills that picked up the Newcastle native 109.43 points.
“My local rink has set up a big TV screen where my free program from the Olympic Qualifying competition plays on repeat, which is such good motivation for me to push myself so I can feel those kind of moments at the Olympic Games,” she said.
Lockett, Australia’s top female short tracker, wrapped up her World Cup season last weekend ranking seventh in the 1500m and 19th in the 1000m – with the top 32 skaters in each distance securing Olympic quotas for their nation.
With the Olympic qualification period behind her and this event having no impact on her rankings, Lockett will be more “relaxed” and able to “enjoy a little bit more racing with no pressure,” according to her coach Lachlan Hay.
“She will be able to focus on some new things and some new strengths to use at PyeongChang” Hay said.
“It will be a great chance to get used to the loud noise from the crowd which will be expected in Korea 2018.
“It’s a huge event they put on and very exciting, showcasing the best of the best in speed skating and figure skating as well.”
Lockett will contest the individual 1000m and 1500m event and will likely throw her hat in the ring for “a really fun chance to skate with other skaters and make a relay team” in the 444m, 777m and 2000m international mixed gender relay events.
The 2017 Shanghai Trophy will take place from 24 – 26 November. You can follow the live results HERE.
David Barden / Georgia Thompson
OWIA / Olympics.com.au
“She will be able to focus on some new things and some new strengths to use at PyeongChang” Hay said.
“It will be a great chance to get used to the loud noise from the crowd which will be expected in Korea 2018.
“It’s a huge event they put on and very exciting, showcasing the best of the best in speed skating and figure skating as well.”
Lockett will contest the individual 1000m and 1500m event and will likely throw her hat in the ring for “a really fun chance to skate with other skaters and make a relay team” in the 444m, 777m and 2000m international mixed gender relay events.
The 2017 Shanghai Trophy will take place from 24 – 26 November. You can follow the live results HERE.
David Barden / Georgia Thompson
OWIA / Olympics.com.au
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