Under an unusual format for international ice sports, the invitational only Shanghai Trophy in China combined figure skating, short track  and synchronised team competitions over four days culminating in an ‘All On Ice’ gala on Sunday evening.

Australia was represented in the limited-entry events in figure skating by Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine and in Short Track by Deanna Lockett.

The competition formats with only a free program for the figure skaters and varying distances for short track provided a change from the usual routine.

The best result came from Brendan Kerry who placed fourth of six competitors in the free program with 149.15 points, landing one quad jump and two triple axels scoring less than four points shy of his personal best.

“The event was fun and much less tiring as I didn’t have to perform the short program beforehand,” Kerry said of the new-look competition.

“We all enjoyed such a small event. Everyone gets along really well, so it’s safe to say we all had that competitive mentality but also all enjoyed it.”

Kerry, who has changed coaches to Nikolai Morozov and changed his training base to New Jersey, USA, took away a few positives from Shanghai.  

“Overall the PCs (Program Components) were much lower than what I would’ve liked. I  wanted to throw out some triples seeing as I managed not to do too many at my last event. So not the greatest I’ve ever done but I still took away some good stuff headed to the Games.”

Kailani Craine, who was called up to the event with just two weeks’ notice, also enjoyed the new experience and placed fifth with a spirited skate.  

“I've had a really different competition experience in China, only a free program,” Craine said.

“In training I was trying more ‘tano’ variations on most of the jumps which unfortunately I didn't showcase here in China, but I think they will be ready for my next competition.”

“All of these different experiences help me build into a better skater. There’s always more you can learn.”

Being guaranteed a gala exhibition at the conclusion of the event is exactly the sort of skating which the Newcastle 19-year-old enjoys.  

“I've had a really good time in China. The people are so friendly and I can't wait to perform in the exhibition,” she said before the gala.
 
 

Australia’s current Junior World Pair Figure Skating Champions Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor have struck their fourth career gold medal and fifth podium in Estonia overnight, returning to the scene of their first Junior gold medal last year in Tallinn.
 
The Tallinn Trophy is part of the senior ten-event International Skating Union’s Challenger Series and will accrue additional world standings points and experience for the up and coming team going in the PyeongChang Olympics next February. The ISU Challenger Series sits underneath the top tier Grand Prix series of events, which includes the best athletes in the World. 
 
After a dazzling short program the previous night highlighted by a soaring triple twist and an effortless lift at speed that scored the Sydney-based team a PB of 66.80, the free program, which sealed their first senior international gold medal, was harder work.
 
Last to skate and performing to the soundtrack from The Mask, the opening of the free program was heavy going with difficulties on both side-by-side solo triple jumps but they worked the 4.30 minute program to the end with strength and determination.
 
“It’s our first senior gold. That’s cool,” Windsor said.
 
“We were pretty confident going into the short and were doing clean run throughs in training whether we were feeling good or bad. We’re happy that our program component scores are going up - giving us extra points. We got mid sevens here, whereas last comp it was high sixes, so it’s a decent jump,” Windsor said.  
 
Alexandrovskaya, ever the perfectionist, was happy with short, saying, “It was season’s best, but little bits were wrong. The toe loop wasn’t perfect like we can do. All elements were not bad.”
 
Scoring 112.50 points and well under their best for the free program, Windsor and Alexandrovskaya were able to amass an overall total of 178.90 points, well ahead of second placed Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin from Russia on 162.62. Third went to another Russian pair, Anastasia Poluianova and Dmitry Sopot on 161.60.
 
“We didn’t have a practice on the day, just the six-minute warm up,” 21-year-old Windsor said. “When I do practice in the morning it gets my muscles activated and without that it was hard. Our senior pairs free program isn’t exactly easy.”
 
Alexandrovskaya intends to learn from the experience.
“We didn’t have skating for one full day – 24 hours. Of course, it (the win) is good points for us, especially with so many mistakes in the program. It was not perfect. I like to check mentally my jumps, throws and lifts in practice,” she said.  
 
The senior Challenger gold medal follows their Junior Grand Prix win in Poland last month and bronze in the Senior Olympic Qualifying Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in late September.
 
Transitioning to senior ranks during the season has entailed switching between junior and senior programs at alternating international events. Next up for Australia’s history-making pair will be the prestigious Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan from December 7 to 10, which will mark the end of their ground-breaking junior career before a solid push to PyeongChang.  
 
“This will be one hard week between here (Tallin) and the Junior Grand Prix Final (JGPF). Of course we will work hard,” 17-year-old Alexandrovskaya said.
 
“It’s going to be a hell of lot easier than a senior program. I’m looking forward to that. Now that we have pretty good results this season so far, we are more experienced than last year and events like the JGPF are no longer an intimidating thought,” Windsor added.   
 
PyeongChang is less than 80 days away and this young team’s expectations are in check.
 
“We do not expect to get a medal but want to skate two good programs in Korea,” they both said.
 
“Our transition from Junior is going well and we look more mature on the ice, stronger and more senior. In the free program here, we again got a level 4 for the twist but this time with +3s for the grade of execution,” said Windsor.
 
“Just do what we can and a perfect skate for us. We can’t have a medal, but we can skate good and clean,” Alexandrovskaya said of PyeongChang.  
 
In their international career to date Windsor and Alexandrovskaya have made the podium five times with four golds in a mix of top tier Junior events and Challenger level senior competitions - Junior Grand Prix Tallinn 2016, Junior World Championships 2017, Junior Grand Prix Gdansk 2017, Tallinn Trophy Senior Challenger 2017 and bronze Nebelhorn Trophy Senior Challenger 2017.
 
The Australian Olympic figure skating team of Brendan Kerry, Kailani Craine, Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor were named to PyeongChang earlier this month, with Windsor making world-wide news as Australia’s first indigenous Winter Olympian to be selected. 

Belinda Noonan
OWIA
 
 

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.

​“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.

​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

Dynamic figure skating duo Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya have their eyes set on gold as they head into this week’s International Skating Union Challenger in Tallinn, Estonia.
 
The pair, who have both been selected to represent Australia at PyeongChang 2018 in February, have been training hard for Tallinn but they’re keeping things simple and sticking to what they know, according to Windsor.
 
“Our preparation for Tallinn is just like every other competition, we haven’t changed much in terms of training,” he said.
 
“Going into this comp we are feeling good, training is going good so we expect to get a medal and [we’re] hoping for gold.
 
The pair’s selection to represent Australia at the Winter Games has been a massive motivation to continue to strive towards greatness.
 
Windsor said that the news “was a massive step” this season and that both he and Alexandrovskaya, “hope to use this comp and more mental preparation leading into February and also our Grand Prix Final”.
 
“Being selected for the Olympic team, I think, has helped us a lot,” Alexandrovskaya added.
 
“We know what we are capable of [and] we think we can always get better and improve.”
 
Galina Pachin, who coaches the pair with her husband Andrei, said that the duo’s selection for the Winter Games was “their dream come true” and that it would drive them to “skate their best at upcoming competitions to get better rankings before the Olympics”.
 
“Being selected for the Olympic team has an effect of greater responsibility for what they do on ice every day,” she said.
 
“Preparation for the Tallinn Trophy was good. Harley and Katia practiced in Sydney for four weeks and almost all their programs run through were of good quality.”
 
Earlier this year, Windsor and Alexandrovskaya made history as the first Australian figure skaters to win the Junior World Paris Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki.
 
The duo, who will have been skating together for two years this December, won a bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany this September behind the World silver medallists and European champions, qualifying them to the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang next February.
 
The Tallinn Trophy will take place from 23  to 25 November. You can follow the live results HERE. 


David Barden
​OWIA

PYEONGCHANG 2018: Australia has made plenty of Winter Olympic history over the past 20 years and now figure skating sensation Harley Windsor is set to rewrite the history books himself as he becomes Australia’s first ever Indigenous athlete to compete at a Winter Games.


Windsor was today selected onto the Australian Winter Olympic Team for PyeongChang 2018 where he will compete alongside his Pairs partner Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya.

Australia has had 51 Indigenous athletes pull on the green and gold at the Summer Olympic Games and come February Windsor will be the nation’s first Indigenous Winter Olympic athlete.

“It hasn’t completely sunk in yet but it feels like an amazing and mind-blowing accomplishment to have been named as Australia’s first Indigenous Winter Olympian,” the 21-year-old said, who won the Pairs Junior World Championship with partner Alexandrovskaya earlier this year.

“I grew up in the Aboriginal community and have always been around Aboriginal culture so it’s been a huge part of my life and something that I’m very proud of.”

Windsor is hoping his selection will inspire other Indigenous Australians just as he was inspired by fellow Indigenous trailblazers throughout his youth.

“I was a massive supporter of Cathy Freeman and how hard she worked to achieve what she achieved.

“She was such a great athlete and such a great inspiration for me when I was young.

“I hope I can give other young Indigenous athletes some inspiration that they are able to get to the highest level in Winter Olympic sports just like we’ve done in Summer sports.

“I hope I can continue to push forward and give them someone to look up to.”

Just as any family would be, Windsor’s relatives are exceptionally proud of his achievements to date and his history-making selection to compete at PyeongChang 2018.

“My parents know their son is now going to be an Olympian and compete for Australia at the Winter Olympic Games so they are really proud which is great.”

Australian Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman has witnessed the rise of winter sports in Australia, having led the Winter Olympic Team at the past six Games, and knows this is a landmark moment for Indigenous Australians as well as winter sports.

“Having Harley on the Team, as Australia’s first Indigenous Winter Olympian is of huge significance,” Chesterman said.

“It reflects the increasing growth of Winter Sports across all Australian states and territories.”

Australian Olympic Committee CEO Matt Carroll added; “This is an historical day for Indigenous sport and the Olympic movement in Australia. Just as Harley has stated he wants to, we hope that he provides inspiration to young Indigenous athletes that they can follow in his path and compete at a high level in Winter Sports.”

Windsor, who grew up in Rooty Hill in Sydney’s west, created history earlier in the year by becoming the first Australian ever to become a figure skating Junior World Champion with Alexandrovskaya.

The pair then went on to finish third at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany, to secure Australia the quota spot for PyeongChang 2018.

Windsor’s involvement at PyeongChang will come 82 years after Australia first competed at the Winter Olympics at the 1936 Garmisch Games when Ken Kennedy lined up in four speed skating events.

To date Australia has had 51 Indigenous Summer Olympic athletes that have won 12 medals between them. You can find out more about Australia’s Indgenous Summer Olympic history here>>>

Alongside Windsor, Alexandrovskaya, Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine were also named to the Australian Winter Team for PyeongChang 2018. Find out about the figure skating team’s selection here>>>

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au