Aljona Savchenko (23) and Robin Szolkowy (28) of Germany are currently in first place after their short program to music from the Asoka soundtrack.
The pairs event proved to be a great one despite a small field of competitors. There were no falls, and only minor mistakes were made with the exception of Germany’s Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy.
The 2007 European champions displayed effortless speed, flow, and unison in their dynamic routine to music from the Asoka soundtrack (a Bollywood movie), placing first after the short with a new personal best of 69.44 points.
After producing an excellent throw triple flip, the German champions followed up with a beautiful lateral triple twist, fantastic side-by-side triple toeloops which had good unison, and a level four lasso lift.
“This was our first performance in a big international competition, and it was good,” said Szolkowy. “We can be proud of ourselves and want to do the same tomorrow.”
Canada’s Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison not only exceeded their personal goals for Skate America last week, but won the event by over 8 points. Just when they thought it couldn’t get better, the team set another personal best of 63.12 points at this event, and are currently second.
The 2006 Olympians produced side-by-side triple Salchows, followed by a well-done double twist and an excellent level three lasso lift that had good speed, flow, and ice coverage. They followed up with a throw triple loop and a mostly “mirrored” straightline footwork sequence in their routine to Galicia Flamenco by Gino D’Auri.
Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov of Russia are currently in third place with 60.00 points. The new team, who placed ninth at Worlds last year, were fast and smooth, and their elements seemed to flow effortlessly and seamlessly.
The Russians produced synchronized side-by-side triple toeloops, a triple twist, and a level four lasso lift. The 2007 Coupe de Nice champions also delivered a good throw triple loop, good spins, and nice straightline footwork which captured the lightness of the music in their routine to Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saens.
Canada’s Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay showed good expression in their routine to Historia de un Amor by Perez Prado, but appeared to be a bit on the slow side compared to that of their competitors.
The Canadian bronze medalists produced good side-by-side triple toeloops and a throw triple Lutz, however, the triple twist was a bit crashy on the landing. They are currently in fourth place (53.98 points), followed closely by teammates Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin (52.78 points).
