Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine have recorded victories at the 2014 ISA Australian Figure Skating Championships at the Iceworld Olympic Ice Rink in Boondall, Brisbane.

Kerry’s win makes it three National titles for the 2014 Sochi Olympian, which he did in commanding style winning both the short and free program. Brendan performed the first ever successful quad salchow by an Australian to open his free program. 

With three Australian junior titles to her name, Craine can now add her first senior title to her trophy cabinet after winning the ladies event.

After the short program, 2014 Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han was in first place, with Craine in second, but the 16-year-old NSW skater reversed the tables in the free program. Craine recorded an overall score of 154.37 points to move into first place with Han a close 2.18 points behind in second.

Both Craine and Han landed triple lutzes in their programs.

Overall Results

Senior Men
1) Brendan Kerry (NSW) 183.28 Points
2) Cameron Hemmert (NSW) 147.58 Points
3) Andrew Dodds (QLD) 138.43 Points

Senior Ladies
1) Kailani Craine (NSW) 154.37 Points
2) Brooklee Han (VIC) 152.19 Points
3) Jaimee Nobbs (WA) 92.5 Points

IMAGE: Kailani Craine in action at the National Championshipsin Brisbane © Michael Santer

There is no stage bigger for a figure skater than the Olympic Games, and tonight that stage shone with thrills, spills and unheralded shocks as the men’s individual event got underway under the bright lights of the Iceberg Skating Palace. Australia’s Brendan Kerry gave a spirited performance but was disappointed to make some costly errors early in his piece, ending his short program below his best on 47.12.

The 19-year-old was in the second group of skaters, alongside hometown hero and Olympic legend of the sport, Evgeni Plushenko. 

During warm-up, the Russian crowed roared for their local hero who was out to become the most decorated figure skater in history.

It wasn’t to be. 

With less than three minutes before the start of his program, the 31-year-old, who has already won gold at Sochi 2014 in the team event, unsuccessfully attempted a triple axel. After skating around holding his back and then unsuccessfully trying the jump again, Plushenko officially withdrew from the event for medical reasons.

As the announcer told the crowd, you could have heard a pin drop.

Speaking to the media, Plushenko’s coach Alexei Mishin said: "At the end of the free skating (in the team event) he was feeling unsure. I have worked with him for 20 years. We have had lots of success. This is one incident in 20 years when he was not successful. Please be positive to him and respect him."

Plushenko then faced the packed media room to offer explanation of his injury.

"Yesterday, I fell on the quad toe in training and I felt a problem in my back,” he said. “Today I went into training to see what I could do but I couldn't jump."

"In the warm-up I did the triple loop and triple lutz, but after the first triple axel I stepped out and felt terrible pain in my leg and the second one was just a terrible landing. I couldn't feel my legs after it. It hurt and that was it, I had to withdraw."

Plushenko’s withdrawal meant that Kerry was the second skater to take to the ice, but the events did not disrupt the Sydneysider, who said he didn’t really know what had happened until after, and was just thrilled to have had the chance to share the rink with one of his heroes during warm-up.

“That was amazing,” Kerry said of his experience. 

“Practice [for me] has been terrible since getting here. I have been distracted by the cameras and all the people and I wasn’t focusing on what I was doing. But it was strange - as soon as I was on practice with him [Plushenko] I was just focusing on trying to do well, because not many people get to do that in a lifetime so I want to make sure I do it properly.

“I was paranoid, I didn’t want to get in his way! It was amazing, all my friends were jealous.”

Skating to a classical rendition of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, Kerry got off to shaky start, saying that he let his mind get the better of him before his performance even started.

“I felt really stressed until I got out onto the ice and then I actually felt really comfy,” Kerry said. “But just when I was skating around I kept thinking in my head ‘I’m going to miss this first jump’ and it just kept going that way.”

Despite being disappointed with his performance, Kerry is only young and will take a lot from the experience with him into future competitions and future Olympics. At just 19, Kerry’s talent as a skater is unquestionable, but he has identified that his focus and mental strength is something he will need to work on. 

“In practice, I let it get to me, which I shouldn’t have. I have had the big stadiums and bright lights and crowds before. I actually really enjoyed it when I went out. Everyone was cheering for Plushenko and I felt like I kind of got high off that because it was just unreal seeing so many people support the sport. So I don’t think it was that. I think it was just me playing mind games with myself.

“I’ve got Junior Worlds and then Senior Worlds coming up. I am planning on skating better.

“I’ve learned that every competition is the same. I only felt that when I finished. I have skated well pretty much all year. I have been training fine. I need to remember that every competition is the same. I need to make sure I remember that next time.

With 30 men in total and only 24 progressing to the following day’s free program, the pressure was on.

Yuzuru Hanyu, the 19-year-old Japanese sensation, proved he is the biggest threat for the gold medal, finishing the short program as the overall leader with a huge 101.45 points. 

Hanyu set a record score of 101.45 points, improving his own top score in the short programme and becoming the first man to crack a 100 points.

Hot favourite Patrick Chan of Canada also produced a strong performance, finishing second with 97.52. Spanish skater Javier Fernandez was third with 86.98.

Alice Wheeler | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Danielle O’Brien and Greg Merriman have further stamped their names in the history books, securing a record seventh consecutive national ice dancing title.

The pair from Sydney have been competing together since 1998 and won their first senior national title in 2007. Seven years later and they are stronger than ever and en route to their debut Olympic Winter Games.

“It felt really good out there today, a lot better than our short dance yesterday,” 23-year-old O’Brien said.

“I really noticed the crowd a lot more, I could feel their energy and I was able to use it in my performance.”

O’Brien and Merriman’s free routine, based around circus elements, perfectly captures the natural larrikinism the pair embodies on and off the ice.

Nineteen-year-old Brendan Kerry entered the long program as the second-ranked athlete behind David Kranjec who touched him out for the top spot in the short by 0.42 points. Kerry got the better of him in the free skate however, taking out the national title ahead of Kranjec.

It was Kerry’s second senior title, having also won in 2011, but importantly it was his first chance to debut his Olympic free skate routine in competition.

“My coaches won’t be too happy with it,” Kerry said. “I popped a few jumps which is not okay, I was a bit lazy and missed some of my steps.”

After securing Olympic qualification, Kerry and his coaches decided to put together a new free skate with more difficult technical elements including two quad jumps.

Although he popped the quad jump today, Kerry was happy to have put together his new routine giving him vital competition practice ahead of the Four Continents and Olympics.

For the first time, Kerry has also brought character to his free performance – something he finds more difficult than the technical elements of the skating itself. Kerry will be channelling a French waiter in his program.

“It doesn’t come naturally to me,” he said of the performance aspect of his routine. “I would rather go out there and be serious and just skate, but I know it’s important so I’m working on it.”

And how will he be working on it? French restaurants will be an important feature. Along with watching some famous movies recommended by his choreographer for him to really get into character.

Representing Victoria, Brooklee Han won her first senior national title, grabbing top spot in the senior ladies’ event with a combined score of 161.42.

“It’s really exciting,” 18-year-old Han said. “It’s my first national title so I’m happy with that.”

After falling on her first jump, Han recovered to put together a strong free skate to earn 102.81.

“Overall it was not perfect,” she said. “I’ve been training it much better and it went a lot better this morning in practice. But there were parts of it that I was very happy with. After falling on the first [jump] I was happy to get the second one down in combination.”

Falling is a part and parcel of figure skating, but how the athlete recovers is paramount to their overall performance.

“Sometimes it can be tough,” Han said. “There’s a quote from another skater that I like to think of though – ‘Every program begins again with every new element’. If you make a mistake, it’s in the past and you have to move on.

“I have a lot to take with me from this competition. I am trying to push myself faster into jumps. This was a nice event and different to others I have skated in. I hope to take the positive energy from the crowd home with me for the rest of the season.”

All four national champions will now return to their training bases in the USA as they prepare for their next big competition, the Four Continents Championships taking place in Taipei from 20 – 26 January.

Alice Wheeler | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

With just 65 days to go until the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, the first athletes have today been officially selected to the Australian Team.

Figure skaters Brendan Kerry, Danielle O’Brien and Greg Merriman were welcomed to the Team by Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman at an event in Melbourne this morning.

“We are looking to send our biggest and best-credentialed team ever to Sochi, and it is really great to have the first of those athletes officially named today,” Chesterman said. “Figure skating is one of the most popular and highest rating sports at the Winter Olympics and we are proud to be fielding a team of vibrant young athletes who will do their country proud.”

For the ice dancing pair of O’Brien and Merriman, being selected to their first Olympic Team is the realisation of a life-long dream and years of dedication to the sport they love.

“It’s always been a huge dream to make an Olympic Team,” 23-year-old O’Brien said.

“It feels like all the hard work, sacrifice and big moves we have made in the last few years have been worth it. Being selected today is the icing on the cake.”

O’Brien and Merriman, both hailing from Sydney’s western suburbs, have been friends since they were kids, and have been ice dance partners since 1998.

In the lead up to the Vancouver 2010 Games, the pair was on track to make their Olympic debut until a sudden shocking illness put Merriman out of action on the eve of the Olympic qualification tournament.

Disappointment turned to determination as they set their sights four years into the future, on a berth at the Sochi Games.

The demons of their Olympic qualification were put to rest in September this year, when O’Brien and Merriman put together two strong performances in Oberstdorf, Germany to finish sixth overall and book their Olympic tickets.

“We have improved our technical and performance aspects since Oberstdorf,” O’Brien said. “We’re happy with our strength which is a result of our training and we are aiming to keep that momentum going through to the Games.

“Our goal for Sochi is to make the free dance, which means we need a top-20 result in the short dance. With this goal in mind we have been really focusing on our short dance so that we can put ourselves in the best possible position to qualify.

“Then we just want to have a fun and great performance in the free because this will combine with our technical strength to give us a great result. Making the top 15 to 20 is a realistic goal for us.”

Putting the figure skating world on notice at the Oberstdorf tournament was Brendan Kerry, also from Sydney.

Despite a broken wrist, Kerry delivered two impressive performances to finish fourth out of the athletes seeking Olympic qualification and with the top six qualifying, booked his ticket to Sochi.

He also ensured a unique family history would continue to be written - his mother Monica MacDonald competed in the ice dancing at the 1988 Calgary Olympics and his younger sister Chantelle was Australia’s figure skating representative at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics last year in Innsbruck.

Of the 30 men contesting the individual program, Kerry will likely be one of the younger athletes in Sochi next year, but his trajectory of improvement throughout this season hints at big things for the 19-year-old skater.

Australia will also field a competitor in the ladies’ individual event for Sochi, with the athlete set to be named later this year.

Today’s selection event provides the perfect preview to the Australian Figure Skating Championships which will take place on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 December at the Icehouse in Melbourne.

Australia expects to send a team of between 55 and 60 athletes to the Games, across 11 disciplines, making it Australia's biggest team ever. The final team will be known in late January.

Alice Wheeler | sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Brendan Kerry’s star has continued to rise, with the young figure skater placing eighth at the Olympic Qualifying Event in Germany to lock in his spot at the Sochi 2014 Games – in spite of a suspected broken wrist sustained more than a day ago in warm-up.

Kerry aced his short program yesterday with a personal best of 67.97 – positioning the 18-year-old at the top of all 28 men seeking Olympic qualification.

His strong short program meant he was the fourth last skater to complete his free routine. The pressure of being in the last group of skaters for the first time at this level of competition showed in Kerry’s routine, displaying some minor mistakes and popping a jump.

“I felt like a mess today,” Kerry said after the event. “In practice today I popped so it was stressful. I was really nervous. I kept thinking about my friends in Riverside in California and this little competition we all have - to see who can get the most amount of jumps done in the long [program]. I feel pressure from that daily and that helped with today's event.”

Showing his rapidly developing maturity, Kerry worked through the nerves, and the pain of his throbbing wrist – to score a new overall personal best score of 188.67, more than 18 points better than he achieved at the recent Junior Grand Prix in Latvia.

The score placed Kerry as the fourth highest athlete seeking qualification, well and truly inside the top-six he needed. When the realisation dawned on him, Kerry’s face lit up as he said “I’m going to be an Olympian! I don't think it's hit me yet.”

Kerry, who will be 19 at the Sochi Games, follows in the footsteps of his mother Monica MacDonald who competed at Calgary 1988 in ice dancing.

“I almost cried when the results came up - I’m so proud of Bren,” MacDonald said from Poland where she has been coaching at a Junior Grand Prix.

“The men’s event was always going to be tough, but he did what he needed to do. I never doubted that he would make it to Sochi even when others did. He is such an inspiration to our local kids, spending most of his career at home in Sydney training, to go out and compete amongst the best in the world and make it. I am a very proud mum and very proud to have been part of his journey.” "I couldn’t be more proud," his father Darren Kerry also added.

Kerry was coached by MacDonald in his formative years, before making the move at the end of the 2012 season to train under revered coach Tammy Gambill in Riverside, California.

Article courtesy AOC/Alice Wheeler | http://www.sochi2014.olympics.com.au

Following his win at Skate Down Under in Sydney last week, Australian figure skater Brendan Kerry finished fifth in the season’s first International Skating Union’s Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia.

Kerry, who trains in Los Angeles with coach Tammy Gambill, scored 61.17 in his short program, completing the three required triple jumps including a triple axel, but was penalised 1.0 for a time violation in an otherwise strong performance.

Leading the event after the short program was Michael Christian Martinez from the Philippines on 64.03 points followed by Boyang Jin from China on 63.19.

Jin managed to lift to first position with a strong performance in the free program to win on 189.79 points. Russia's Adian Pitkeev was second on 187.19 with Shoma Uno of Japan and Martinez in third and fourth respectively.

Kerry was seventh in the free program, giving him a total score of 170.02 to finish fifth overall.

The result puts Kerry in a good position at the start of the season, as well as earning him 9 points on the Junior Grand Prix circuit which has six more events across Europe and Central America.

Kerry will be looking to qualify for the Sochi Winter Olympics at the upcoming Nebelhorn Cup in Germany at the end of September.

Watch Kerry's short program at the Junior Grand Prix here.

olympics.com.au

The jury is still out on who will represent Australia in the Ladies figure skating event at the final Olympic qualification competition in Obersdorf, Germany next month.

Olympic hopeful Chantelle Kerry (16) of Sydney, skated a near perfect Short Program on Wednesday night, but her performance in the Free Program tonight left her just short of a straight forward selection by only 4.32 points.

Chantelle needed to achieve 141.88 or more to beat out Brooklee Han of Victoria, to get a straight bearth to the Obersdorf competition.

Brooklee was unable to compete at Skate Down Under this week due to illness so a decision must be made as to whether officicals send her or Chantelle to try and secure the Olympic quota place.

A decision will be made in coming days so it’s business as usual for Chantelle who will get straight back into training, focusing on the upcoming Junior Grand Prix event in Poland.

Ice Dancers Danielle O’Brien and Gregory Merriman, both from Sydney, skated away with the gold medal tonight beating out the visiting Swiss team, Romana Elsener and Florian Roost.

Brendan Kerry (19) from Sydney, skated the performance of his life tonight and achieved the highest score for an Australian in an International event since the new International Judging System came into play in 2005 with 192.28 points.

Ice Skating Australia will confirm the selections for the Obersdorf competition in the next few days.
Skate Down Under was held at Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink, Sydney from 20-22 August 2013. For full details of Skate Down Under visit www.isa.org.au

Follow Skate Down Under at @IceSkatingAUS

Day one of the Senior events at Skate Down Under is complete. The success of Australian skaters tonight and tomorrow will determine who Ice Skating Australia (ISA) will send to the final Olympic qualification competition in Germany.

Skaters must achieve a minimum technical score in order to be eligible for nomination to the Obersdorf qualifying event for the Sochi Winter Olympics.

As the competition stands Chantelle Kerry is in the lead with a personal best technical score of 43.82 followed by Sumika Yamada of Hong Kong with 40.70.

Ice dancers, Danielle O’Brien and Gregory Merriman, having already achieved the required technical score at the Four Continents Competition earlier in the year, sailed through the first part of the dance competition, leading the pack with 57.28 for the Short Dance.

The Senior Men did not let us down with an exciting Short Program event but it was not without drama. David Kranjec from Brisbane, skated a near perfect program but a fall on a spin looked to cost him dearly, leaving the door open for Brendan Kerry.

However, Brendan had a fall in his step sequence but skated an otherwise stella program. Kerry beating out Kranjec in the end by 8.48 with a total of 66.37.

The competition concludes tomorrow night at Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink, Sydney. For full details of Skate Down Under visit www.isa.org.au

Follow Skate Down Under at @IceSkatingAUS

Australian Ice Dance champions and OWIA/AIS scholarship holders, Danielle O’Brien and Greg Merriman added their fourth consecutive personal best performance at the ISU Four Continents Championship in Osaka, Japan last night finishing in a career-best 8th place.

Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White from USA won their second Four Continents Championship over Canadian Olympic gold medalists and rivals, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

The win for Davis and White over their Canadian training partners is the second this season and occurred after Virtue and Moir stopped mid performance prior to a lift, appearing to be out of breath. The couple were allowed to continue after a two-minute break, but by then the spell had been broken.

For O’Brien and Merriman, who moved to Detroit, USA, to train with Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova last year, the high scores achieved in Osaka, which would rank them within the top 20 in the world is bitter-sweet.

The Sydney team, who have made an impressive climb through the ranks this season, including a bronze medal in Poland four weeks ago, will be prevented from competing at the World Championships following a harsh decision by the International Skating Union last week not to lower the minimum score for Ice Dance, but lowering the score for all other disciplines.

It is thought that the decision by the Dance Technical Committee not to lower the scores was 3 – 2 against. Danielle and Greg have exceeded the minimum score twice for the Free Dance but are .5 outside the Short Dance score.

The ISU decision effectively locks out O’Brien and Merriman from the opportunity to qualify a direct Australian entry in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Nineteen quota places will be allocated at the 2013 Worlds in London, Canada next month. The Australians, who were ranked 20th at last year’s World Championships will now have to rely on claiming one of the remaining five quota places at the Olympic Qualification Competition in September.

Australia’s Brooklee Han and Chantelle Kerry both had strong performances, placing 12th and 14th respectively the final in the ladies Championship. For Brooklee, who was within a mere .30 of the higher ISU qualifying score, the opportunity for an Olympic berth beckons after the ISU dropped the 2013 Worlds Ladies minimum technical score requirement by two points.

Landing four strong triple jumps and performing her trademark spins to their best potential, Brooklee stayed ahead of her teammate and current Australian Champion, Chantelle Kerry, who completed two or her planned four triples.

Bendan Kerry and David Kranjec finished 21st and 23rd in the men's event.

AIS/NSWIS Ice Dance couple Danielle O'Brien and Gregory Merriman have created history by winning their sixth straight title, at the 2012 National Championships at the Boondall ice rink in Brisbane.

Their sixth title gives them the most titles of any Ice Dance pair in Australian history.

Both were in good form and easily won, recording the highest scores in both the short and the longer free dance sections of the competition,

The dance couple will spend a week with family in Sydney before returning to their training base in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

In the Ladies event, 17-year-old Chantelle Kerry edged out Brookee Han to claim her maiden National Championship with clean and consistent performances in both the short and free programs.

Earlier this year, Kerry represented Australia placing 10th at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games which were held in Innsbruck, Austria.

AIS/NSWIS athlete and 2010 Olympian Cheltzie Lee was unable to skate due to injury.

On the Men's side, David Kranjec finished ahead of defending National Champion Brendan Kerry to win his first Australian title.

Despite finishing second, Kerry provided a real highlight by landing a quad toe-loop jump in the short program, making it the first quad landed by an Australian male in competition since Anthony Liu at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

Australian Ice Dance Champions, Danielle O’Brien and Greg Merriman have finished in 20th place at the 2012 World Figure Skating Championships.

Along the way the AIS athletes made history in the Short Dance becoming the first Australian team to make the finals, achieving 20th place and scoring another PB by over five points.

The Short Dance performance, which earned Danielle and Greg 47.92 points, follows their stand-out performance in the qualifying round, which catapulted the Sydney couple into the best twenty-five ice dancers in the world with only twenty couples advancing to the final Free Dance.

With the top- ranked nine dancers still to compete, O’Brien and Merriman were happy to settle for 21st place, an achievement in itself after five years trying to break into the top 24, when the second French couple, who placed 7th in the European Championships last month, faltered and were placed below the Australians.

“It was history in the making,” said Australian Team Leader, Melina Simjanovic. “With only the top two groups left, we all knew there wasn’t much hope. Dan and Greg were happy with what they thought would be a 21st place. Dani even started planning what she would do tomorrow (sight see). Then the French team skated and had a few mishaps, but we thought they would still be scored above.”

“Then scores came up and 47 points were announced. Greg knew he and Dani also scored 47 but thought that theirs was in the low 47s and therefore would miss by the narrowest of margins. I turned to Dani to say you’re in. Suddenly we all realised they would make the top 20 and therefore, the finals,” Melina said. “Dani looked shell shocked and it took a while for the result to sink in to both of them.”

“They skated fantastically. We are all looking forward to seeing Dani and Greg at their absolute greatest to date in the Free Dance tomorrow. It’s a chance for them to perform, enjoy and have a blast.”

Building towards a successful 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics has been the long-term goal for the young couple, who moved to Bloomfields Michigan last September to train with Pasquale Carmerlengo and Anjelika Krylova. Danielle (from Strathfield) and Greg (from Canterbury) have given up family life to pursue their potential.

“We have more belief in ourselves now and it helps to be training in a team who are supportive and have a coaching staff who are supportive. We know we need to push ourselves and we have learned this through our training environment,” Danielle and Greg said after the event.

“This event has definitely been a turning point for us. It’s really nice to receive so many compliments and good wishes. Technically it wasn’t the strongest that we could do but we enjoyed it and are happy with whatever we did because we had qualified through to the short.”

“We produced the best short dance we have done this season and the scores showed it.”

Creating history was not on the their minds. “We knew we had potential to be good. Just didn’t know when we would be able to put it out there and make it happen,” they said.

In the final dance, Danielle and Greg remained in 20th place, recording a personal best overall score of 112.23 points.

Other Aussies in Action
Also representing Australia at the World Championship individual events were Brendan Kerry and his younger sister Chantelle who both made their World Championship debut.

In the preliminary rounds, Brendan placed 15th place in the men's skate with Chantelle finishing in 22nd in the women's event.

The Winter Youth Olympic Games in January was a turning point for fifteen year-old Australian figure skater Chantelle Kerry, who surprised herself with a ninth placing. After the Four Continents Championship in February last month, the vivacious, smiling Kerry subsequently gained selection to her first World Championships in Nice, France and will be competing in the qualifying round tomorrow.

The 2012 World Championship is her first and keeping it all in the family is coached by her mother, 1988 Olympian Monica McDonald. The family affair doesn’t stop there with Chantelle being joined by her seventeen year-old brother, and also competing in his first World Championship.

Chantelle is looking to place in the top ten in the qualifying round to move through to the Short Program. With thirty-three ladies, it’s a tall order for one of the youngest competitors.

“We never expected Chantelle to be at this event,” said excited mum, Monica McDonald, “but the opportunity came up, so we took it.”

Assisting Olympic coach in Sydney, Kylie Fennell believes Chantelle could be a dark horse in the qualifying. “Chantelle has kept working, doing her thing and flying under the radar. Her jumps have improved, with two of her triples coming clean in the past few weeks. Also in her favour is a delightful presence on the ice and very strong spins,” Kylie said.

Australian Men’s Champion, 17 year-old AIS figure skater Brendan Kerry has his sights set on the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and will also need to qualify tomorrow. Three weeks ago he finished 22nd in the finals at the 2012 World Junior Championships.

OWI figure skating athlete Brendan Kerry has achieved a personal best result at the ISU Junior Figure Skating World Championships in Minsk, Belarus.

Kerry eclipsed his previous best Junior World's result of 19th in the preliminary rounds of 2011, by finishing in tenth this year to qualify for the main event.

After the short program, Brendan was sitting in 22nd place and remained in that position after the free skate event.

In the women’s event, Brooklee Han advanced through the preliminary round in fifth place, advancing to the final before finishing in 30th place in the women’s short program.

Australian Ice Dance Champions, Danielle O’Brien (from Strathfield) and Greg Merriman (from Canterbury) competed in the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs, USA last weekend placing 9th, scoring a personal best 105.91 points. The title was won by current Canadian Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. 2011 World Champions, Meryl Davis and Charlie White from USA had to settle for the silver having led their training mates in the Short Dance the day before.

The talented duo, who missed out on the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, have relocated to Bloomfield Hills in USA to train with the successful coaching team of Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova in their bid to make the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Among their training partners are the third placed Americans and the top French couple who recently won the European Championship.

Danielle and Greg will return to their training base before heading off to the World Championships in Nice, France in late March.

In the men’s event, OWI athlete Brendan Kerry achieved Australia’s highest placing in 19th, with Ice Skating Australia (ISA) skaters Mark Webster 20th and Nicholas Fernandez 24th.

In the women’s event, ISA skater Chantelle Kerry finished in 17th place in her first Four Continents event with Zara Pasfield in 29th and Jaimee Nobbs 30th.

Article courtesy www.burwoodscene.com.au

Australian figure skater Brooklee Han has finished 21st in her debut appearance at the World Junior Championships, held in Gangneung City, Korea.

Han skated to 12th place out of 36 competitors in the preliminary round to win her way into the main draw, then placed 23rd in the short program.

In the free skate, the 15-year-old produced a personal best 68.70 points for 20th position, lifting her two places higher on the overall standings.

Her total score of 106.98 points was just 0.22 of a point below her personal best result.

Han, a year 10 student who divides her time between Redding, Connecticut, and the Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne, was pleased with her performance in her first major international event.

"I felt that there were definite highs and lows in all three performances," Han said, "but no matter how well I skate I know that there are always areas in which I could improve."

"However, I was very happy with my spins, steps, and skating skills. I was also quite pleased with how I handled skating for such as large audience, as I have never done something like that before."

"I have never seen a competition of this calibre before so I had no idea what to expect. My goals were to skate my best, participate in the competition and enjoy the experience."

"I was also happy that I executed my three jump combination in the preliminary round as well as in the long program. This was also one of the first times I have tried triple loop and competition and I was happy that I was able to compete with the new element."

"Participating and competing in Junior Worlds was really a fantastic experience. I hope to carry that experience on into next season, as I hope to continue to represent Australia internationally."

Russia's Adelina Sotnikova skated to the gold medal with teammate Elizaveta Tuktamisheva taking the silver medal. The 2010 silver medalist Agnes Zawadzki from the US claimed the bronze.

In the boys'event, Brendan Kerry placed 17th in the preliminary round, missing a berth in the main event, while Kimberley Hew-Low and Cameron Hemmert also failed to make it through in the ice dancing.