It is not unusual that two successful Skaters from different countries team up to continue their career together, but it does not happen so often that two accomplished athletes come out of retirement to start from scratch. But this is exactly what Canadians Vanessa James and Eric Radford did and they returned on to the Olympic stage as “new” team that has been skating together for less than a year. James, 34, won the European title in 2019 and World bronze in 2018 with her former partner Morgan Ciprès, competing for France. Radford, 37, is the 2015 and 2016 ISU World Champion and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist with Meagan Duhamel, representing Canada. James competed in her fourth Olympic Games and Radford in his third and yet everything was different this time around.
Newly minted Olympic Ice Dance Champions Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron of France have been busy since coming home from Beijing. They still relive their Olympic experience, they perform in shows, meet the media and now are gearing up for another highlight: The ISU World Figure Skating Championships at home in France, in Montpellier (March 21-27).
When Ice Dancers Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (USA) finished their Free Dance at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, they took it all in, savoring their moment on Olympic ice. The Skaters knew that it was their last competitive performance at the Olympic Games as they announced they will retire after this season. Beijing 2022 meant a lot to both of them and not just because they won the bronze medal.
Participating in the Olympic Games is the dream of each athlete and when it comes true for the first time, it is something very special, as Italy’s Daniel Grassl can confirm. “These were my first Olympic Games and everything was new. It was also very nice to live in the Olympic village,” the 19-year-old recalled. “Obviously, there were some restrictions because of Covid, but it was very well organized. I got a lot of experience.”
Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx belongs to the best Figure Skaters in the world and is the best female Skater her country ever had. She ranked fifth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 and continued to do very well this season. She won bronze at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Gran Premio d’Italia in Turin, becoming the first female Skater from Belgium to earn a Grand Prix medal.
International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate and recognize achievements of women in the Ice Skating world. In the following lines, learn about four women skaters who have been incredibly remarkable on and off the ice:
On February 12, 2022 the ISU Council decided that the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships could not be held as planned on March 7-13, 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, (CAN) have been postponed to April 8-10, 2022
Following the recent worldwide developments (Covid-19 pandemic and Ukrainian crisis), the ISU and Speed Skating Canada are currently considering a postponement of the ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Montreal, CAN from March 18-20, 2022, to the first part of April 2022.
The ISU Council reiterates its solidarity with all those affected by the conflict in Ukraine and our thoughts are with the entire Ukrainian people and country. The ISU Council reaffirms its full solidarity with the ISU Members in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Speed Skating Federation and the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation. The ISU Council will evaluate possibilities for swift humanitarian assistance to its Ukrainian ISU Members.
The ISU is witnessing with great disbelief the events unfolding in Ukraine and is deeply concerned about the safety of the skating family in Ukraine. Our hearts go out to all those affected and our thoughts are with the entire Ukrainian people and country. The ISU expresses its solidarity with all those affected by this conflict.
The ISU Council met on February 24, 2022 via an online meeting. The following were among the decisions taken by the Council during the meeting.
China’s Wenjing Sui/Cong Han struck gold on home ice as the Figure Skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games concluded with the Pairs Free Skating at the Capital Indoor Stadium Saturday. Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (ROC) were edged by less than one point and took the silver, while teammates Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov (ROC) earned the bronze.
2018 Olympic silver medalists Wenjing Sui/Cong Han (CHN) took the lead setting a new record score as the Figure Skating competition continued with the Pairs Short Program at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Friday. Two-time ISU World silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (ROC) are just 0.16 points behind in second place, while 2021 ISU World Champions Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov (ROC) came third. The top three couples set a new personal best score for themselves.
Anna Shcherbakova (ROC) skated off with the Olympic gold as a dramatic Women’s event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games concluded at the Capital Indoor Stadium Thursday. Teammate Alexandra Trusova rose from fourth to claim the silver medal while Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto earned the bronze.