YOG 2012: Days 3, 4, & 5 Update
Innsbruck has been a great experience. Not only is Innsbruck a beautiful place to visit, this first-ever Winter Youth Olympic Games has also been a real success story in terms of both the competition itself and the organization of the event. Everything has gone smoothly from a spectator’s standpoint. It is easy to get to each of the venues and there is always something fun and exciting going on. An army of volunteers is helping keep everything on track and making us all feel very welcome here.
The ice dance competition kicked off this week with the short dance on Sunday, featuring some great performances and a number of seasons-best scores. The Russian team of Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov took the early lead with a total segment score of 60.19 in the short dance, followed by Aleksandra Nazarova and Maxim Nikitin of the Ukraine with 57.44 and fellow Russians Maria Simonova and Dmitri Dragun with 54.11. Americans Rachel and Michael Parsons finished fourth in the short dance with 44.69, followed by Karina Uzurova and Lias Ali of Kazakhstan with 43.71, and Estelle Elizabeth and Romain Le Gac of France with 42.6, rounding out the top-six scores among the twelve ice dance teams competing at Youth Olympics this year.
Short Dance Segment Scores: http://www.innsbruck2012.com/uploads/yog_pdf/FSX030201_C73A_1.0.PDF
1 YANOVSKAYA Anna / MOZGOV Sergey RUS 60.19
2 NAZAROVA Aleksandra / NIKITIN Maxim UKR 57.44
3 SIMONOVA Maria / DRAGUN Dmitri RUS 54.11
4 PARSONS Rachel / PARSONS Michael USA 44.69
5 UZUROVA Karina / ALI Ilias KAZ 43.71
6 ELIZABETH Estelle / LE GAC Romain FRA 42.60
7 TESSARI Jasmine / COLAFATO Stefano ITA 38.00
8 CEJKOVA Jana / SINICYN Alexandr CZE 37.38
9 SMITH Christine / EISENBAUER Simon AUT 32.22
10 TKACHENKA Eugenia / GULITSKI Yuri BLR 31.90
11 PATERSON Millie / CARSTAIRS Edward GBR 30.70
12 LOHMUS Victoria-Laura / DAVODOV Andrei EST 26.67
Tuesday’s free dance competition got off to a great start, with the Russian team of Yanovskaya and Mozgov setting the pace and placing first with a beautifully executed performance, earning a total segment score of 86.77 and a final score of 146.96 to win the gold medal. Ukraine’s Nazarova and Nikitin scored 74.24 on their free dance and 131.68 overall to take the silver, and Russia’s Simonova and Dragun held on for the bronze medal with a 71.11 in the free dance segment and 125.22 overall. Rachel and Michael Parsons finished a close fourth in the free dance, with a seasons-best 69.53 total segment score and a final score of 114.22 in their second international competition. They will head off to San Jose next week to compete in the U.S. National Championships, after finishing second at the Junior level in last month’s Eastern Sectional Championships.
It has been an extraordinary experience being part of this first-ever Winter Youth Olympic Games, and having the opportunity to see all of these fine young ice dancers compete along with all of the other young athletes from all over the world who are gathered here. Our trip to Innsbruck has given us memories that will last a lifetime. Now, on to San Jose!
Here are the top-six scores in the free dance and overall:
Top-six Free Dance Segment Scores: http://www.innsbruck2012.com/uploads/yog_pdf/FSX030101_C73A_1.0.PDF
1 YANOVSKAYA Anna / MOZGOV Sergey RUS 86.77
2 NAZAROVA Aleksandra / NIKITIN Maxim UKR 74.24
3 SIMONOVA Maria / DRAGUN Dmitri RUS 71.11
4 PARSONS Rachel / PARSONS Michael USA 69.53
5 ELIZABETH Estelle / LE GAC Romain FRA 63.82
6 UZUROVA Karina / ALI Ilias KAZ 59.06
Top-Six Final Scores: http://www.innsbruck2012.com/uploads/yog_pdf/FSX030000_C73B_1.0.PDF
1 YANOVSKAYA Anna / MOZGOV Sergey RUS 146.96 1 1
2 NAZAROVA Aleksandra / NIKITIN Maxim UKR 131.68 2 2
3 SIMONOVA Maria / DRAGUN Dmitri RUS 125.22 3 3
4 PARSONS Rachel / PARSONS Michael USA 114.22 4 4
5 ELIZABETH Estelle / LE GAC Romain FRA 106.42 6 5
6 UZUROVA Karina / ALI Ilias KAZ 102.77 5 6