Figure skaters take to the ice after host alteration

ISU hails Moscow's quick work 

Moscow's "miracle" preparations for the World Skating Championships 2011 in limited time deserved a "golden medal", said Ottavio Chinkvanta, head of the International Skating Union on Tuesday.

During his meeting with the Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Chinkvanta said "you have already won a golden medal for organization...What you've done for ten days is just unbelievable."

Sobyanin assured that Moscow city has been doing everything to provide comfortable environment for the Championship.

"Moscow was ready to host the large-scale international competitions." Sobyanin said.

 

Figure skating World Champs starting after month delay

MOSCOW - Figure skating's top athletes take to the ice for the world championships a month later than they'd expected and in a different country.

The championships' hasty relocation to Moscow from Tokyo after Japan's catastrophic earthquake has been a challenge to every skater's training schedule. But for some, it's also brought an additional jolt of motivation.

"I feel like, OK, I can do it and I have to do something for the people who are living ... in Japan," says Miki Ando, a top contender for women's gold. "So many people can't have a normal life any more, and so many people died, or they don't know where they are still, so I feel like I couldn't be like normal. But after so many people were telling me and so many people were sending (messages) to me 'go forward' ... they push me to feel better to skate."

After two days of qualification rounds, the championships open Wednesday at the Megasport Arena with the men's short program.

The championships originally were to have started March 21 in Tokyo, and the ensuing uncertainty and rescheduling left most skaters wobbling with doubt and anxiety about how to train.

"When we knew about Tokyo and Russia I was very tired, and it was very difficult to come back on the ice again to get ready for the world championship," said Brian Joubert of France, a bronze medalist at the last two worlds.

But most appear to have adjusted. "I think we're all in the same boat, on the same playing field," said Canada's Patrick Chan, the reigning silver medalist. "It feels like a world championship, like it always does."

Japanese fans seeking consolation through the beauty and power of skating will have much to watch in this championships. Mao Asada is defending her title and Ando, the 2007 world champion, aims for another gold. Ando recently has appeared to be resurgent, defeating Asada in the Four Continents and in the Japanese national championships.

Figure skaters take to the ice after host alteration

Chinese pair advances in Worlds

China's ice dance pair, Huang Xintong and Zheng Xun, finished Tuesday its preliminary round in the 2011 Figure Skating World Championships here at a fourth ranking, successfully advancing to the short dance.

Some 17 couples have competed in the preliminary round and 10 of them have advanced to the short dance to compete with the 15 direct entries.

Huang and Zheng, who have won their crown in 2011 Asian Winter Games in February, finished fourth at 75.45 points, while Canadian pair Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje ranked first with 87.22 points.

The short dance was scheduled for April 29.

In Photos: Beauties on Ice