Olympians Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine have continued to extend their impressive list of national titles, after both claimed victory at the Australian Figure Skating Championships at the O’Brien Icehouse in Melbourne.

The two skaters have had an impressive decade as Australia's leading Figure Skating athletes, highlighted by two Olympic Games appearances for Kerry, with Craine becoming an Olympian for the first time in 2018.
 
Kerry took out his eighth national title in impressive fashion, scoring 216.11 points, to finish ahead of James Min and Damian Kaptich.

In the Senior Ladies, Craine won her sixth national title, with a comprehensive win ahead of Yancey Chan and Ashley Colliver.
 
Holly Harris and Jason Chan won their first national Senior Ice Dance title, finishing ahead of last years winners Chantelle Kerry & Andrew Dodds in second, with Matilda Friend and William Badaoui rounding out the podium in third.
 
Unfortunately Pairs skaters Harley Windsor and Ekaterina "Katya" Alexandrovskaya were unable to compete, due to an injury sustained by Alexandrovskaya in training prior to the competition.

The event was a great showcase of Australian Figure Skating, with strong participation and crowds over the week at the O'Brien Icehouse facility.
 
Podium Images ©  Michael Santer Photography

PyeongChang 2018 Olympian's Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine headline the Australian team competing at the 2019 ISU Figure Skating Championships to be held in Saitama City, Japan, this week.

Kerry is full of confidence following a ninth place result at the recent Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, where he achieved personal best scores and landed a total of three quads in the short and free program.

Also competing for Australia will be the Ice Dance team of Chantelle Kerry and Andrew Dodds.

Schedule

Wednesday, March 20
Pairs - Short Program
Ladies - Short Program

Thursday, March 21
Pairs - Free Skating
Men - Short Program

Friday, March 22
Ice Dance - Rhythm Dance
Ladies - Free Skating

Saturday, March 23
Ice Dance - Free Dance
Men - Free Skating

Sunday, March 24
Gala Exhibition

IMAGE - Brendan Kerry at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship last month in Anaheim, CA, USA © Brendan Kerry Instagram

The Australian Figure Skating Championships took place during November 30-December 7 at Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney.

Congratulations to the following athletes crowned Senior Australian Champions:

Pairs - Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor
Ice Dance - Chantelle Kerry and Andrew Dodds
Ladies - Kailani Craine
Men - Brendan Kerry

After a long season, Australia’s Olympic figure skaters have one more major event on their calendars this week before they can rest easy.
 
Kailani Craine, Harley Windsor and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Brendan Kerry have arrived in Milan, Italy for the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships this week.
 
With many PyeonChang medallists either retiring, injured or electing to miss the final event, the chance to move up the rankings is a prime target for the Aussies.
 
First to compete on Tuesday in the women’s short program is Kailani Craine who is still on a high from her 17th place in PyeongChang.
 
“This whole experience has been everything I hoped for and more,” she said in PyeongChang. “I just wanted two clean skates and I did that.”

Pair skaters Katia Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor, who placed 16th at last year’s World Championships, were disappointed not to have made the free program in PyeongChang after a strong short program placing 18th.  
 
“We’re doing normal comp prep, running programs and doing simulations,” Windsor said from Moscow where they have been training for the past ten days.  
 
“The ice is good and we are skating two hours a day.  I’m coping with it (away from home) better than I used to but not coping with the cold. Everything else is OK.”
 
“We definitely want a PB and to get through the short clean,” he said.
 
Technically the pair have the arsenal to move them upward and have been working on the performance side.
 
“I’ll have to find more feeling within myself to a certain extent. Part of it is enjoying the program and sport and not doing it just for the sake of it – otherwise you never get that extra percent.”
 
For Katia, the past three years since her father passed away in January 2015, has seen many changes.
 
“2015 was so hard for me because all year was awful after my father passed away in January. December 1st was Dad’s birthday and then on December 2nd Nina told me about Harley and that was the day we started skating together.”  
 
“Then it was Australia by January. It’s so different (to Russia). Like night and day.”
 
“Of course I never thought about Olympics. I didn’t think I’d go because it was such a short time since we started.”
 
The rise of Australia’s first pair team to win a Junior World Championships, place 16th at Worlds last year, a Senior Challenger event and be crowned as Junior Grand Prix champions last December and qualify for PyeongChang is only just sinking in.  
 
“The pressure (in PyeongChang) wasn’t more than I expected. We skated well but the scores were not so good. We did a lot of work and it was a big experience for us.”
 
“Olympics is in my heart. I take all of the emotions from PyeongChang and they will be forever in my heart.”
 
“The Opening was so exciting. So cool and amazing. When you are watching on TV it’s different. It’s not like this when you go by yourself,” she said.
 
My mum and family were watching and I was so long time on the TV!”
 
Katia’s mother, also named Ekaterina did not travel to PyeongChang to watch her daughter but may consider Beijing. Although Katia is not so sure.
 
“Mum can’t watch because she really worries when we do elements. She watches the video after.”
 
After a few weeks back in Sydney, the duo headed back to Moscow for more training with coaches Andrei Pachin and Andrei Hekalo.
 
“The throws are good in Moscow,” Alexandrovskaya said. “In training today we did a clean full long program.so, I’m very happy.”
 
“It’s been a long season. I am waiting for this rest. I will go back to Moscow from Milan and have a big rest. Mentally and physically I am really tired because this season started in September. There’s a holiday with mum to look forward to.”

Brendan Kerry has an opportunity to march up the world rankings with two of the three Olympic medallists (Hanyu and Fernandez) out of the world championships.
 
Kerry’s PyeongChang Olympics with a stellar short program and final 20th place delivered the redemption he was seeking from Sochi and admits to feeling more confident with his skating now.
 
“Since coming back from the Olympics I’ve felt very stress free on the ice,” Kerry said.
 
“Usually I wake up and know how many days until I leave for the next comp. Headed into worlds I just wake up and am like OK, time to get ready and head to the rink.”

“I’m pretty exhausted mentally as the past four years have been for one moment  and now - it’s passed,” Kerry said.
 
“So - it’s a really strange feeling heading into this worlds. I feel confident about how I’m going to skate though -  that’s exciting. However, I am definitely ready to have some downtime at the end of this season before the next four year run.”
 
The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in Milan begin this Wednesday with the women’s short program followed by the pairs short.
 
SBS Australia are live streaming the entire event. Check your local guides for more information.
 
Results and more information can be found here  

Belinda Noonan
OWIA
 

Kailani Craine has finished her first Olympic campaign with another strong skate and a new season’s best in the Free program.

The 19-year-old waved at family members as she stepped on the ice, looking relaxed and at home on the world’s biggest stage.

“My legs were shaking a bit as I waited to get on, but once I was out there it all felt really natural – I was just so excited to be out there again,” Craine said.

“I wanted to really enjoy this whole experience and I did that.”

Craine opened with a triple lutz – double toe loop combination, before successfully executing all twelve of her elements.

“This whole experience has been everything I hoped for and more,” she saidsaid. “I just wanted two clean skates and I did that.

“This whole event has been a dream come true and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’m just so happy and proud.”

Skating to a mix from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Craine sparkled in a new outfit.

“I got my dressmaker to make me a new outfit for this routine and I couldn’t have felt better out there, I felt so good.
“And to have my family here and my teammates, it has honestly been such a wonderful experience.”

Craine ended her Olympic debut ranked 17th overall. Alina Zagitova - who is only 15 years-old - and Evagenia Medvedeva, two Olympic Athletes from Russia, won gold and silver, and Canada's Kaetlyn Osmond won bronze.

Craine’s score of 111.84 was a new season's best, taking her total combined score from the two programs to 168.61, and will give the young skater confidence as she looks ahead to the future.

“I hope to be back in four years time and I’m going to work so hard to be even better next time,” she said.

“I’ve learnt so much from watching the top girls here and made so many friends.

“I'm so inspired I just can’t wait to see what the future brings.”

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au

Olympic debutant Kailani Craine has sailed through to the free skate of the Ladies Figure Skating, after a stunning short program which included a strong double axel and triple-double jump combination.

The 19-year-old impressed with her trademark artistic skills, performing to ‘dream a little dream of me.’

“That was great, that really was a dream,” Craine said immediately after her performance.

“My main goal was just to have a clean skate and get through to the free skate and I’ve done that so I can’t ask for much more.

“I’ve been feeling good the last few days and it’s felt like everything just went right for me, so I’m glad I was able to go out and do that.”

The Newcastle native was supported in the crowd by her parents, and skating teammates.

“The fans were amazing and I loved looking up and seeing the Aussie colours in the stands,” she said.

“Having mum and dad here was amazing. I really felt like they were out there skating with me.

“They’ve been on this journey with me from the very start and this is very much their Olympics as much as mine.”

Carine’s score of 56.77 saw her qualify straight through to Friday’s Free Skate.

Katherine Firkin
olympics.com.au

Australia’s figure skaters are preparing for their last opportunity to test their programs ahead of the PyeongChang Games at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei, Taiwan this week.
 
Among the first to be selected for the Olympic Team, wonder pair Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya capped off 2017 winning the Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan.
 
The current Junior World Champions, who have now won a total of five international victories and one third place podium result, said that they we’re feeling “ready for the competition”.
 
“Our session just now was relatively good and in the morning it wasn’t bad either,” Windsor said.
 
“We normally skate really well if we do a comp and then another not long after. It’s worked alright for us this season so I guess this will just be like a practice for us for PyeongChang.
 
“We had a big gap in between the Junior Grand Prix Final and this so we felt like this was sort of necessary to do before the Games.”
 
The pair, who will make their first Olympic debut in February, are unsure of how to feel about the looming Winter Games.
 
“We’ve never been and we don’t know how to feel because everyone’s told me that it’s not like a normal Junior or Senior World Championships … it’s the Games,” Alexandrovskaya said.
 
“There’s certainly a lot more hype around it but it’s our first one so I don’t really know what I’m meant to feel or how I’m meant to react to it,” Windsor added.
 
Fellow Aussie Kailani Craine, who wrapped up 2017 by winning her fourth consecutive national title at the Australian Figure Skating Championships in December, said Four Continents is her ideal Olympic test run.

“This competition for me is just a practice for the Olympics so hopefully I’m not really changing anything between the two competitions,” she said.
 
“I plan on doing my triple-triple combo in the Olympics so I really want to try and get that out there one more time, I’ve done it in the past two competitions but getting one more run at it will be good and just practicing the programs another time.
 
“I’m so excited, I could go tomorrow. It feels like it’s coming so slow but I’m sure it’ll come right around the corner. I’m really excited and I Want to do well at this competition so I can go back to Australia, back home, and have a few days before I leave for Korea.”
 
Sochi Olympian Brendan Kerry, who previously said that “being selected for the Olympic team again is a huge motivation” for championship events, will also compete in Taipei.

"4CC isn't so much a practice run for the Games as it is a testing event," he said.

"I really want to see what's ready and what needs work before the Games so I can go out and do two clean skates come PyeongChang.

"My biggest focus at this event is for the Short Program to go out with 2 quads. The Free I'm focusing a lot more on being strong the whole way through rather than trying to save myself for the ending."

The large Australian team also includes 2014 Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han in Ladies, dancers Matilda Friend and William Baddoui plus Chantelle Kerry and Andrew Dodds. Joing Brendan Kerry in the men's are Andrew Dodds (competing dance and mens) and Mark Webster.
 
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships kick off on Wednesday 24 January with the pair and women’s short programs. For results click HERE or follow OWIA on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE for live updates.

David Barden
OWIA

In a comprehensive victory, Kailani Craine has won her fourth consecutive national title surpassing her personal best score by nearly five points at the Australian Figure Skating Championships in Brisbane.

23-year-old Brendan Kerry made it a six-time win, coming from well behind in the short program with a fighting free program to retain his crown as Australia’s Men’s Champion.

Kailani had a spectacular national’s campaign with a clean short program that included a triple/triple combo and backing up with two triple lutzes in her free program to Moulin Rouge, achieving a PB total of 172.06 points.

“I love my short program,” she said.

In second place was the new junior national champion Amelia Jackson from Queensland who backed up by making the podium in senior ranks and in third was veterinary science student Katie Pasfield from NSW.

Struggling with multiple international flights and jet lag, Brendan Kerry skated a horror short program, missing every jump and ending up fifth on 57.17 points. He had his work cut out to catch short program leader Mark Webster who was on 65.03 points leading into the free program.

Fighting back to overhaul an eight-point lead, Kerry landed two triple axels and a triple/triple combo in the free program, earning 197.29 points, which was enough to secure the title ahead of Andrew Dodds on 190.80 and Mark Webster on 184.51, both of whom also skated strong free programs.  

Kerry had been testing out the order of the quad jump elements at the recent Shanghai Trophy in China and at the national championships.

“I wanted to see if I felt comfortable with the quad salchow as the first element, so we tried it in Shanghai but I didn’t want to base a decision off one comp, so nationals was a safe testing ground,” Kerry said.

“I’m definitely now able to sort the order of elements to put out strong consistent skates from here on out.”
Kerry will return to his new training base in New Jersey next week.  

“I’m looking at getting in some really solid training time without having to bounce around for comps. They were disappointing skates at nationals but I’m really happy I pulled up and won my sixth title. It’s important to me, especially heading into the Olympics.”

“At nationals I wanted a clean second half and when the loop didn’t happen, I was angry.”

Paris Stephens and Matthew Dodds took out the pairs championships and new dance team this year Chantelle Kerry and Andrew Dodds were impressive in their first championship together winning the dance.

Belinda Noonan
OWIA

The Australian Figure Skating Championships in Brisbane this week will provide national champions Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine with an almost last opportunity to test their programs ahead of the PyeongChang Games next February.

Both skaters have returned from their US training bases for the senior national titles in Brisbane to be held Thursday 7 and Friday 8 December at Boondall Ice World.

Kailani Craine (19) will be going after her fourth consecutive title, while five-time Champion Brendan Kerry (22) will be seeking his sixth.

Craine intends to test out harder technical content in her short program.

“I'm really looking forward to the nationals this year. I always love competing in front of a home crowd, and I really hope to deliver a personal best performance,” she said.

“It's also an excellent opportunity to practice my routines before the Olympic Games with harder content, especially in my short program.”

“This year has been so exciting for me, so I hope to finish with my tenth overall national title (in all divisions). It's always a fun time catching up with my fellow team mates and I love to see how much everyone improves each year.”

Kerry is expected to have a smooth ride to his sixth title.

“It’s important to come home and do nationals because as Australia’s best I feel obligated to come back to defend my title and compete alongside the up and coming Australian skaters,” Kerry said.  

“At this event I want to try and see what’s comfortable and what isn’t in regards to the order of elements headed into the Olympics. The new free program is going really well so far and transitioning from a thought process to more of a go to set of actions.”

Pair champions Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor will not be in Brisbane to defend their 2016 crown but competing on the same days in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan.

2016 Ice Dance Champions Matilda Friend and William Baddoui are also out of this year’s championships after William sustained a broken ankle in training a few months ago.

The Australian Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Ice Skating Queensland Facebook page.

Entry to all events are free of charge at Boondall Ice World, Sandgate Road, Boondall. The Senior Men’s short program starts at 8.40pm (AEST) Thursday, 8 December and the Ladies at 9.50pm.

The final free programs on Friday, 9 December begin at 11am (AEST).

A competition schedule can be found at http://www.isa.org.au/afsc

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.
 
 

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

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. 
 

Australia has logged a historic night of Figure Skating with a bronze medal and Olympic qualification in the Pairs event as well as an individual win at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. 

Kailani Craine has claimed top spot in the Ladies Short Program, while Harley Windsor and Katia Alexandrovskaya rounded out the podium with a bronze medal in the Pairs event after the routine of their lives. 


With a personal best score of 58.02, Craine landed a triple loop-double toe, triple flip and double Axel in her routine to ”Dream A Little Dream Of Me”.


”Of course, I was nervous, because it’s an Olympic spot, my dream on the line, but I definitely prepared, I couldn’t have done anything else in training to prepare for this moment.,” Craine said. 


"I’ve been really present in my training and I tried to mimick competition in my training”, the Australian Champion said about competing in the Olympic qualifying event.


Leading Sweden’s Matilda Algotsson in second place and Nathalie Weinzierl of Germany, the Ladies will return to the ice for the Free Program skate at 1:30am on Sunday night. 


Craine will look to book her Olympic qualification needing a top six finish to seal her Olympic debut. 


In the Pairs event, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia took out the top spot on the podium ahead of Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot.


Alexandrovskaya and Windsor of Australia stunned the world with a performance of a lifetime and  moved up one spot 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 a 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.


Kailani Craine will be the final Aussie on the ice tonight, and you can watch her live: http://www.dailymotion.com/skatingvideos

To see Alexandrovskaya and Windsor's free program from Nebelhorn Trophy, click here


Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au

Figure skater Brendan Kerry has secured his second bronze medal in successive weeks on the International Skating Union’s Challenger series, consolidating his position in the top fifteen in the world of men’s figure skating.
 
Over the weekend, Kerry, 22, climbed from fifth place after the short program in the Ondrej Nepela Trophy in Bratislava, Slovakia to the podium, claiming bronze with 221.21 points behind Russians Mikhail Kolyada (247.81) and Sergei Voronov (234.07).
 
“It's early in the season and people are still testing things out for the Olympic season, myself included. So, going from fifth to third is awesome. However, it really could've been anyone's on the night,” Kerry said.
 
The overall bronze was a repeat podium appearance by Kerry from the previous week in Italy at the Lombardia Trophy in a stronger field that was won by World silver medallist Shoma Uno (Japan) with silver going to Jason Brown (USA).
 
Kerry opened his season in Italy delivering his most technically difficult short program so far, including two different quads for the first time. He also stepped up the artistic complexity and was rewarded with a personal best Program Components score that bettered his 2017 World Championship score.
 
Crucial to international figure skaters is the all-important world rankings that determine the order in which skaters compete at Championship and Olympic events. Kerry’s aim is to break into the World top ten.
 
 “Getting these world ranking points early in the season will help take the stress off having to rush and do last minute comps pre-Olympics,” Kerry said.

The ISU Challengers are a ten-event series throughout Europe and North America, which this season are attracting top-ranked skaters in preparation for the invitational only Grand Prix events that begin in October.
 
 “Lombardia was a strong competition, which was good and very motivating to be on the ice with Shoma. The event went well for my first time trying a two-quad short program,” said Kerry of his season opener in Italy.
 
Achieving back-to-back podiums secures Kerry’s position in the overall ISU Challenger rankings and lifts his World Ranking going into the Grand Prix series ahead of PyeongChang 2018.

Kerry’s bronze in Italy marked the first time an Australian man had won a Challenger medal and is an indication of how far the Sochi Olympian has come in four years.
 
He will return to his training base at Riverside, Los Angeles with coach Tammy Gambill before competing in the Grand Prix series at Skate Canada in late October.
 
Australian Ladies Champion, Kailani Craine also had a strong Challenger event in Bratislava. The 19-year-old finished eighth on 157.84 points behind winner and current World Champion Evgenia Medvedeva from Russia whose overall total of 226.72 was more than 37 points clear of silver medallist Rika Hongo from Japan.  
 
2014 Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han was also competing in another Challenger event: the Autumn Classic International in Montreal,Canada.  After placing fourth and recording a personal best short program score of 57.65, Han finished the event in seventh place overall with a score of 158.81.
 

Figure skater Kailani Craine has notched up another podium with a silver medal at the Slovenia Open over the weekend in the run-up to the Olympic Qualifying Competition in Germany at the end of this month.

Scoring a competitive 55.65 in the short program, Craine led the field into the final free program to finish overall second on 159.96 points behind Alexia Paganini from Switzerland (162.27) and did so in a borrowed dress and without all her usual equipment – except for her skates.

“The only thing I had was my skates because I put them in my mum’s bag. No guards, skipping rope, no make-up, no costumes, no training gear, no foot padding,” Craine said.  

Aussie team mate Katie Pasfield, who finished 16th in the 24-strong field was able to loan Kailani a spare dress for the free program and a local girl loaned Craine a short program dress and tights.

 “I’m so grateful to Katie and the girl from the local club. My bag is still in Warsaw and I’ve been living in one shirt for three days. At least there will be no washing to do when my bags turn up.”

Craine was jubilant about her event, citing a step forward in the free program as a goal ticked off.  

“It was a little bit decent,” a happy Craine said this morning.

“I wasn’t coming here for placings. The object was to compete a lot (in preparation for the Olympic qualifier) and not freak out. Even though I moved down a spot after the free program, I felt completely comfortable. I wasn’t shaking or nervous at all and that was the goal.”

“I made a lot of mistakes that I’m not happy with but definitely I felt better. This competition was an ice breaker. I found a new sense of confidence and the event felt more like training.”

“I do this stuff in training thousands of times and wanted to make it feel like practice and I did that. It was a perfect six-minute warm up. I got really down in my feet.”  

Winning the short program wasn’t good enough for the Newcastle native.

“I felt really uncomfortable on the first day, but still I think my training has been better.”

 “Even though I was leading. I didn’t come here for the place. People were congratulating me after the short. I wasn’t having any of that. I was not happy at all with it.  I didn’t do my triple/triple and my spinning wasn’t up to my standards.”

Craine has added a triple loop triple toe jump to her repertoire, which became a triple double in the event.  

“The triple/triple is my biggest obstacle at the moment. I’m just really harsh on myself and it’s kinda taking that next step.”

Knowing she can face equipment problems and still deliver has been a bonus.

“What if the only thing I have my skates? Now I know.”

“We had to sew me into the dress to keep it done up. Everything will be a walk in the park after this.”

Craine will head back to her Los Angeles training base for two weeks before competing at the Ondrej Nepala Trophy in the Czech Republic before heading to Germany for the Nebelhorn Trophy that will determine the final six nations for PyeongChang next February.   

“The competitor list is tough at Ondrej Nepala. The world champion will be there. Hopefully I will go from that to Nebelhorn and feel even better about myself.”

One thing she will be sure to do is travel with her equipment as hand luggage.

“I normally always do. It won’t ever go in in the suitcase again.”

PyeongChang 2018 figure skating hopeful, Kailani Craine has launched her 2017 season with a clear message -  she may be young, but she means business.

The 18-year-old has shown her international competition at the Asian Open Trophy and she's not there to muck around, recording a solid third place finish after the free program and another podium.

"This is my first competition of the season, the Asian Open Trophy, I'm competing against some really good skaters from countries such as Japan and Korea," Craine said. 

The Newcastle native finished behind two Japanese skaters, Kaori Sakamoto and Yuna Shiraiwa, in the opening short program of the trophy, but said it is her new free program that she was most excited to perform.

"I'm really using this competition to debut my new free program which I absolutely love!," said Craine, who hopes to make her Olympic debut at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. 

"I would love to record a personal best in this competition, and perhaps some add some new elements to my performance.

"Also if I can improve my ranking that would be an extra bonus."

Skating her four-minute program to Moulin Rouge, Craine landed two triple lutzes, a triple flip and delivered all level 4 spins to score 100.87.

With two falls on her usually reliable triple loop and double axel, she was unable to record the personal best score she was looking for, but as an opening season’s event, the higher technical preparation is on her mind.

"This event is a really good warmup for the upcoming Olympic season, and really every event that I will compete in this season will count towards my Olympic preparation.

"I'm just working towards improving my technical ability and also improving my world ranking."

The three-time Australian Champion also said the fact that this year's 2017 Asian Open Trophy was held in Hong Kong was an added bonus. 

"This year the competition is held in Hong Kong which is really cool because it's my first time visiting here!"

Craine was joined by fellow Australian skaters, James Min and Andrew Dodds who finished 7th and 9th respectively in the men's event, and pairs skaters, Paris Stephens and Matthew Dodds who secured a 4th place finish.

Ashleigh Knight
olympics.com.au

Figure skater Kailani Craine has a dream – the Olympic Winter Games next February, and the path to that dream crystallises at the 2017 Helsinki World Championships Finland next week.

With 38 Ladies from 29 countries vying for the initial 24 Olympic qualification spots (by nation) at the world championships, the pressure and expectations on all competitors have been mounting.

“I have had to figure out the best possible way t have a good worlds,” Craine said from her Los Angeles training base.
“I’m freaking out because of the Olympics.  It’s fighting for something that’s been your dream.”

The three-time national champion medalled twice late last year in Latvia and Poland and then relocated to LA in mid-December to train with Tiffany Chin ahead of this all-important event.

“The top 24 is where I need to be and in the top 17 is my goal. I will have to have trust in myself and stay in the moment. I do need to enjoy the event – otherwise why am I doing it?”

Only 24 skaters make it through the short program to the final free skate.

“I’ve had good short programs this season and apart from working on the choreography after Four Continents, both programs have stayed the same. I need to work at maximising my points,” she said.

Craine experienced a few niggling foot problems with her Achillies requiring new boots and blades at short notice after the Four Continents Championship and Asian Winter Games in February.
  
“It was lucky that I had new ones waiting. Four Continents wasn’t my best skate and I had to wonder why, then go back to figure it out. The free program was a shock to me and I’ve since changed my training a little bit.”

“Mostly I have to get out of my own head and trust myself – so I will trying to change my game plan going into this comp.”

“That just makes me aware I should really focus in that moment, because I was really well trained. I have been a good competitor in the past and one comp shouldn’t change it.”

The 2017 World Figure Skating Championships begin with the Ladies Short Program on Wednesday, 29 March.

The Asian Winter Games in Sapporo have proven to be a happy hunting ground for Australia’s best figure skaters Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine.

Kerry, who is now firmly established as one of the world’s top men’s figure skaters, landed three perfect quad jumps throughout his Sapporo campaign – two of which were in the free program to earn personal best scores in all phases of the event and a total of 237.37 points.

The 22-year-old Sochi Olympian has used the Asian Winter Games as a stepping stone for next month’s World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finalnd where he will aim to qualify Australia for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. 

Despite performing well in Friday’s short program Kerry admitted to being nervous in the free. 

“This is my first program in competition successfully landing two different quads so that was pretty awesome but I feel it was a bit sloppy and I was disappointed with my mindset going into it, (I was) self-doubting a lot,” Kerry said. 

“Doing these back to back events it’s a huge drop off in training. I go from having as much ice as I want to being limited to one practice a day. I feel as though doing quality elements is a strength of mine but my stamina is on the low end so when you take the training schedules away it’s pretty hard to maintain that,” he said.

Having successfully competed at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and now Asian Winter Games, Kerry is confident his routine can secure Australia a start in the men’s event at next year’s Olympics.

"I saw my choreographer about a month ago and we made some changes, so last week was a good simulation and this week was a chance to test things out and figure out what we need to change, so it should be good going into Worlds,” he said.  

The men’s event was won by Japan’s Shoma Uno, with Boyang Jin (China) in second and team mate Han Yan in third.

Kailani Craine continued her good Asian Winter Games form, producing a strong routine in the women’s free program at Sapporo’s Makomanai Indoor Skating Rink.

Encouraged by her personal best result in the short program, Craine gave another competitive performance in the free program to finish in fifth position overall.

 “Still a lot of work to do,” Craine said. “It wasn’t a personal best but definitely it was twenty points better than last week (at Four Continents).”

“I was happy about being able to do a lot better than last week and stay physically and mentally strong.

“I don’t think I delivered a really good performance tonight but once again I was really focused on each element, I really do need to work on the performance factor,” she said.

 “Obviously still a lot of work to do before Worlds but I think now I’m on the right pathway.”

“Top 17 is the ultimate goal but I really want to show everyone what my potential is and what I can do every single day in training because I think that’s the most frustrating part that sometimes it doesn’t always work out.

In the pair’s competition, Matthew Dodds and Paris Stephens had their final Asian Winter Games outing in the free program with a total score of 91.90, which ranked them seventh.

The pair were disappointed with their short program and in Saturday’s free program they were out to prove they could deliver a polished performance.

“We wanted to get the twist done,” Stephens said. “Being able to show that I can do the twist was important because I missed that yesterday so that was good,” she said.

While they were happy with the performance Dodds admitted they had more to give.

“We would have hoped for a little bit higher, I think we were missing a couple of levels in some of our elements so even though everything happened it wasn’t top quality for us,” Dodds said.