Bradie Tennell on Friday won her first US ladies’ figure skating title with a near-flawless performance that is all but sure to earn her a trip to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month.
Tennell, skating a free program to A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, electrified the crowd at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, landing each of her jumps en route to a total of 219.51 points.
Mirai Nagasu, a 2010 Olympian who was passed over four years ago, finished second with 213.84, bursting into tears of relief and joy after completing a free skate that included a less-than perfect triple Axel and a bevy of triple jumps.
Photo: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY
“Being left off the team [in 2014] has pushed me to become a stronger skater,” Nagasu said this week. “It was a very hard thing to accept.”
Karen Chen, last year’s US champion, finished third with 198.59 points and is likely to be named to the third and final US Olympic women’s berth today.
Ashley Wagner, who got a 2014 Olympic nod instead of Nagasu, finished fourth with 196.19 points and could well find herself the odd woman out this time around.
The selection committee is to weigh the results of these championships as well as other major events.
In addition to finishing off the podium in San Jose, Wagner’s Grand Prix season was disrupted by a leg infection.
Wagner said she “skated with heart” as she performed the La La Land program she had gone back to only about a month ago.
In other news, a woman who skated in the Olympics for Israel before winning a battle to skate for the US is awaiting a court decision to see how much it will cost.
The Israeli skating federation wants a New Jersey state appeals court to grant it more than US$500,000 in attorneys’ fees from Andrea Davidovich.
The New Jersey resident has dual US-Israeli citizenship. After skating in the pairs competition in Sochi in 2014, Davidovich sought to be released from her obligation to the Israeli ice skating federation.
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