At the second of six ISU Grand Prix events in Regina, Canada, figure skaters Brendan Kerry and Kailani came away with a mixed bag of results in a topsy turvy event that included Olympic and world medallists.
 
Ranked 15th in the world, Kerry was aiming for a two-quad short program and three quad free program, testing his technical arsenal in Skate Canada’s power-packed men’s field, which including Olympic, World and European medallists.   
 
For Kerry, the short did not go well, with the opening quad popping to a double and errors on the following quad salchow and triple axel leaving him trailing the field in 12th and well below his personal best.
 
In the free program Kerry had it all to do and shook off the previous day’s disappointment, landing three quads and being one of only two men to do so along with winner Shoma Uno from Japan.
 
The back end of his free program that includes the usually reliable triple jumps mostly popped out to doubles and whilst Kerry climbed to 9th in the free, his overall result only improved to 11th.
 
“The men’s event here in Canada was a very, very interesting one. A lot of great skates and a lot of not so great skates,” Kerry said.
 
“Unfortunately, I went out and delivered the worst possible short program I could have. The long was also not ideal in not delivering the triples at the end of the program. However, I think that there is always something good to take away from each skate headed towards Pyeong Chang.”
 
“For instance, it was awesome to be able to go and throw down three quads in the free skate. I made a lot of silly mistakes on the easier elements. But that’s sport - everyone has their good and bad days. Onwards and upwards from here on out,” he said.
 
The men’s Skate Canada title went to Shoma Uno, silver to USA’s Jason Brown and bronze to Alexander Samarin of Russia. An epic melt down in the free by Canada’s Sochi silver medallist and three-time world champion Patrick Chan saw him slip from second to 4th after a technically weak final performance.
 
In the ladies, Kailani Craine was a surprise invitee to the prestigious Grand Prix circuit two weeks ago and came into the field ranked near the tail.
 
Her trademark enthusiasm and infectious performance quality saw the debut GP skater deliver a blistering short program, which included her first successful attempt at a triple/triple this season placing ninth ahead of 2016 World Junior Champion Marin Honda from Japan and two Canadians.
 
In an attacking free program, Craine went after the jumps but was penalised for under rotations, finishing the event a creditable 10th overall.
 
The three-time national champion was initially disappointed in her free program score.
 
“The free program skate wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be. I had higher standards and expectations for myself but at the same time I'm proud of myself and the way that I've represented my country,” she said.
“I believe that I benefit so much from different experiences and emotions, and this competition will make me a much stronger skater for upcoming competitions and this Olympic Season.”
 
“I feel really great about my season so far and I was so excited to be invited to my first Senior Grand Prix. I hit a lot of new goals that I set for this competition including hitting a triple triple combo in the second half of my short program, and also no edge calls.”
 
“My short program was technically up to date to be competitive in this field and I needed to get the triple triple combo out there before Four Continents. I was hoping for a much higher score but regardless I have gained much more confidence with this element.”
 
The ladies Skate Canada gold was won in emphatic style by Kaetlyn Osmond from Canada, silver to Maria Sotskova (Russia) and bronze to Ashley Wagner (USA).  
 

Australian champions Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine open their 2017 Grand Prix account this coming weekend at Skate Canada in Regina, Saskatchewan.

For Craine, the invitation to compete in her first Grand Prix follows her stunning victory at the Olympic qualifier in Germany last month and was a welcome surprise.

“Honestly, I am so grateful to be competing with the top ladies in the world. I'm not sure how I expect to feel when I am there since it is a new experience for me, but I really just want to show how hard I've been working, and how much I enjoy being out on the ice,” Craine said from her,” Los Angeles training base on the weekend.  

The pressure at the top end of the Ladies event is intense with Canadian and US champions Kaetlyn Osmond and Karen Chen among a hot field with top Russians and Japanese skaters all vying for the Grand Prix podium.

The four-time national champion has bagged a gold and silver in the Challenger events this season but knows that she has stepped up the international ladder.

“This season has been going really well as I've medalled a fair few times and picked up some personal best scores.”
“However, I can always improve on my skating and my goal for Skate Canada is to lay out a more technically difficult short program. For my free program I feel like I can make a personal best score as I've been working on areas that need to be improved since Nebelhorn.”

“My short program I kept from last season because I feel like it deserves an Olympic moment and it highlights the happiness that I feel when I skate.”

“I am completely in love with my free program (to Moulin Rouge) this season. My choreographer and I spent a lot of time making the cuts and storyline just right. I am kind of challenging something cryptic and ancient, like an awakening. This program really brings out an inner intensity and fire that I needed to feel for this season.”

Brendan Kerry is no stranger to the Grand Prix circuit and top echelon of the men’s field. Skate Canada will be his fifth career GP in a field that includes Canadian Sochi silver medallist Patrick Chan and 2017 World silver medallist Shoma Uno from Japan.

The technical advance in quad jumps for the men since the Sochi Olympics has been profound and was highlighted again on the weekend at the first Grand Prix in Moscow when USA’s Nathan Chen overcame Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu with two quads in the short and four in the free program. Hanyu, who won the free program portion of the event with three quads had to settle for silver to the new US men’s star.

Kerry, who is coming off a successful Challenger series with two bronze medals, is upping his quad content.
“In Regina, I want to hit a two-quad short and then an overall PB score.”

“As far as the level of skating that the top-ten is currently at, the only mental preparation for me is to focus on myself and my skating - not the other competitors.”

 “The aim is to reach the goals I've set for myself rather than focus on a finish I can't control.”

Kerry finished a career-high fifteenth at the World Championships in March and is knocking on the door of the top 12.  
Leaving his relatively safe character performers from last season behind, Kerry has taken a more serious-minded approach to his music choices for the Olympic season with two different choreographers in Mark Pillay for the short and Nikolai Morozov for the free.  

“The inspiration behind the short to ‘Everyone Wants To Rule The World’ was to just go out and do something completely different, be more serious and to play to my skating strengths.”

“The free program to Pink Floyd was Nikolai's idea and I love it because I feel as though it's super outside of the realm of skating. It's edgy and different,” Kerry said.

Skate Canada opens with the Ladies Short Program on Friday 1pm local time (Saturday, 6am AEDT). The men’s event begins at 6pm local time (Saturday, 11am AEDT). The final free programs will be competed the following day. Results can be found here

By Belinda Noonan
owia.org
 

Australia has secured two more Figure Skating qualification spots at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games with an individual gold medal from Kailani Craine and a Pairs bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. 
 
19-year-old Craine skated to gold on Saturday night, securing not only the Ladies title but an Olympic berth for Australia. 
 
After dominating the Short Program the night before, Craine continued her strong form 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.
 
A combined total of 167.45 points from both skates saw Craine take the gold by only 0.44 points. 
 
“I felt really good in my free program today. I felt really prepared for this competition. It wasn’t the best free program that I’ve done, but it was enough to get me first place and to qualify an Olympic spot,” Craine said. 
 
“I don’t think anything really can compare with what the Olympic Games are going to be like. It’s been a dream since I started skating, so I really just want to be able to skate my best, but I want to soak up every single moment.”
 
Rounding out the podium was Matilda Algotsson of Sweden and Alexia Paganini of Switzerland who earned the silver and bronze medals respectively, as well as 2018 qualification spots for their countries. 
 
In Friday night’s Pairs event, World silver medallists Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia took out the top spot on the podium ahead of Germany’s European Champions Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot.
 
Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya of Australia stunned the world with a performance of a lifetime to take the bronze. The Australians and four more couples earned an Olympic spot each for their country.
 
Skating to ‘The Mask’, the pair executed a perfect triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and triple toe-double toe-double toe as well a throw triple flip and Salchow. 
 
The Junior World Champions secured a huge personal best, scoring 125.80 points for the Free Skating and 190.31 points overall, securing a ticket to the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics for Australia. 
“Obviously it is very exciting for us. We skated really, really well and we also qualified (an Olympic spot) for Australia. So that was a huge step for us,” 20-year-old Windsor said.
 
With pairs from Russia, Germany, Canada and USA having already booked their spot to the Games, the Australians will be joined by new pairs from Austria, Czech Republic, Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea and Israel on the Olympic program.
 
Australia is now qualified in three figure skating disciplines with Men, Pairs and Ladies, also resulting in eligibility into the Olympic Team Event for the top ten nations in the world.
Australian Men’s champion Brendan Kerry earned Australia the men’s spot with his 15th palce at the 2017 World Championships in March.
 
For the Olympic Team Event, Australia would unofficially currently be ranked 12th. The top ten nations will be determined on a points basis after the Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix series has been completed in early December.