Japanese skaters rule
HARTFORD, Conn. – Maybe they should call it Skate Japan.
Nobunari Oda won the men’s title at Skate America on Friday night, a couple of hours after countrywoman Mao Asada performed exquisitely in the short program.
The 19-year-old Oda, fourth at this year’s world championships, finished second to American Evan Lysacek in the free skate. But he had a big enough lead after winning the short program to easily skate off with the gold.
Oda, appropriately dressed in a gold shirt, albeit a somewhat tattered one, hit seven triple jumps, including one at 4:11 of his 41/2-minute routine. While he appeared exhausted when the music stopped, he finished with 231.39 points and his smile never faded.
Not even after Lysacek, using the same “Carmen” program that helped him move up to fourth at the Turin Olympics and third at March’s worlds, surged past him in the free skate. The two-time world bronze medalist is so in tune with Bizet’s music he seems to own it.
Had the Californian done better than third in the short program, he might have challenged Oda.
“He’s a great long-program skater,” coach Frank Carroll said of Lysacek.
Asada was ready from the start. The 2005 Grand Prix series champion opened her 2006 season with an elegant short program at Skate America. Showing that her upset win in last year’s Grand Prix final was no fluke, she mesmerized the audience and the judges with her spins, jumps, footwork and overall mastery.
The 16-year-old Asada, who was too young to compete at the Turin Olympics – Oda didn’t go to Italy, either – received 68.84 points. Only countrywoman Miki Ando, who did go to the Olympics and placed a disappointing 15th, was in close range of Asada at 66.74.
World champion Kimmie Meissner, expected to stage a season-long battle for gold with Asada, touched down on her triple lutz in a decent but unmoving performance to stand third. Fellow U.S. Olympian Emily Hughes was fifth.
World champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria added the original dance to their win in compulsories and held a big lead heading into today’s free dance. They have 101.46 to 90.63 for Americans Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, 90.63.