Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir held a slender lead over US pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White after yesterday’s short program in the ice dance competition at the Four Continents figure skating championships at the Taipei Arena.
The Canadians are seeking their third victory over Davis and White in less than a year after claiming gold at last year’s Winter Olympics and World Championships.
“We didn’t expect too much from this year’s competition since we have been hit by injuries for a good part of 2010,” Virtue said after their program.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
She underwent surgery to treat chronic exertional compartment syndrome on both her shins last year.
Another Canadian pair, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, were lying third with Maia and Alex Shibutani fourth.
In the pairs short program, favorites China’s Qing Pang and Jian Tong wowed the crowd with a perfectly choreographed triple toeloop and triple lutz twist lift to take a massive lead and put themselves in a commanding position to win their fifth Four Continents title.
For Virtue and Moir, the advantage was far less secure.
The Canadian couple scored 69.40 points compared with 69.01 for their US rivals.
“It was exciting for Tess and I to get back on the ice,” said Moir, who described their performance as “comfortable and strong.”
Virtue and Moir combined precision, fluency and elegance, but they will have to be at their best to stay ahead of Davis and White when the ice dance competition concludes today.
“It’s definitely a good start,” Virtue said.
White, however, was disappointed about his performance with Davis.
“It probably wasn’t our best skating,” White said. “Technically it could have been a little bit better.”
In the pairs competition, Pang and Tong scored 71.41 points, well ahead of Canadian duo Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, who were second on 59.98.
Today’s schedule:
Noon: Men’s short program
16:45: Pairs free skating
20:00: Ice dancing free dance
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two