Picture
Picture
Picture
  • Home
  • Aerials
    • Aerial Skiing About
    • Aerial Skiing News
    • Airleigh Frigo
    • Laura Peel
    • Danielle Scott
    • Abbey Willcox
  • ALPINE
    • Alpine About
    • Alpine News
    • Madison Hoffman
    • Harry Laidlaw
    • Louis Muhlen-Schulte
    • Greta Small
  • Moguls
    • Moguls Skiing About
    • Mogul Skiing News
    • Jakara Anthony
    • Matt Graham
    • Jackson Harvey
    • Cooper Woods
  • Park & Pipe
    • Park & Pipe About
    • Park & Pipe News
    • Tess Coady
    • Scotty James
    • Valentino Guseli
    • Daisy Thomas
  • Snowboard Cross
    • Snowboard Cross About
    • Snowboard Cross News
    • Josie Baff
    • Cameron Bolton
    • Belle Brockhoff
    • Mia Clift
    • Jarryd Hughes
    • Adam Lambert
  • Individual Athletes
    • Individual Athletes About
    • Individual Athletes News
    • Bree Walker
    • Kiara Reddingius
    • Alex Ferlazzo
    • Tahli Gill
    • Dean Hewitt
    • Hektor Giotopoulos Moore
    • Anastasiia Golubeva
    • Holly Harris
    • Jason Chan
    • Brendan Corey
    • Rosie Fordham
    • Hugo Hinckfuss
    • Ellen Søhol Lie
    • Lars Young Vik
  • About
    • OWIA News
    • Sport Integrity
    • Media
    • OWIA About
    • OWIA History
    • Executive & Staff
    • OWIA Policies & Documents
    • OWIA Calendar
    • Sponsors & Partners
    • Australian Sports Foundation
    • Newsletter
    • Privacy
    • National Redress Scheme
    • Medical
    • Contact

Grand Prix season beckons for figure skaters

23/10/2017

 
PictureFigure skater Kailani Craine. Photo: Getty Images
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.”


PictureBrendan Kerry: Photo: Getty Images
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
 



Comments are closed.

    ATHLETE  NEWS

    All
    Alex Ferlazzo
    Anastasiia Golubeva
    Andrew Dodds
    Ashleigh Werner
    Bentley Walker-Broose
    Bree Walker
    Brendan Corey
    Brendan Kerry
    Brooklee Han
    Chantelle Kerry
    Cheltzie Lee
    Danielle O'Brien
    Dean Hewitt
    Desi Johnson
    Doug Crawford
    Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya
    Ellen Soehol Lie
    Fedele De Campo
    Greg Merriman
    Harley Windsor
    Hektor Giotopoulos Moore
    Holly Harris
    Hugo Hinckfuss
    Hyo Jin Kim
    Jackie Narracott
    James Min
    Jason Chan
    Kailani Craine
    Kiara Reddingius
    Lars Young Vik
    Lucas Wareham
    Mikaela Sparre
    Millie Bongiorno
    Phillip Bellingham
    Phoebe Cridland
    Rosie Fordham
    Sarah Blizzard
    Seve De Campo
    Stephanie Fernandez
    Tahli Gill
    Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr
    Tuva Bygrave

    INDIVIDUAL ATHLETE   NEWS ARCHIVE

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    May 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    September 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    July 2010
    March 2010

    RSS Feed

Picture
OLYMPIC WINTER INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
​

CONTACT
​
O'Brien Icehouse
Level 2
105 Pearl River Road
Docklands, VIC 3008
Australia

P
hone: +61 3 9686 2977

ABOUT                 
OWIA History
Executive & Staff
Policies & Documents 
Sponsors & Partners
OWIA Calendar

Australian Sports Foundation
North American Medical
Media Center


SPORT INTEGRITY
​
​SITE MAP

AERIAL SKIING
News
ALPINE SKIING
News
​
MOGUL SKIING
News
PARK & PIPE
News
SNOWBOARD CROSS
News

INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES
News


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy  |  2024 © Olympic Winter Institute of Australia  All rights reserved