Late as it might be, and with the 2015/2016 skating season already on track, we are bringing you the joy, the colors of the Gala in Shanghai. We’re in Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, on March 29th, and this is the end of a wonderful week, with loads of surprises and firsts – Javier Fernandez winning the first World crown for Spain in the history of the sport; Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron taking the gold in China, after being 13th at the previous edition of the event; Elizaveta Tuktamysheva coming back in full force, after an upsetting Olympic season, and winning the shiniest medal of all, with a perfect triple Axel atop of that. You know the stories by heart – so let us add a final touch. Ladies and Gentlemen, these are your Winners.
by Florentina Tone
Though he was only 9th in Shanghai, the talented Florent Amodio seemed to have recaptured his joy while skating – and, given his huge fan base everywhere in the world, he was invited to be a part of the Gala; and he delivered a touching performance to “Say Something”
Trust my words: this girl, Russia’s Elena Radionova, is pure gold: she only managed a third place in Shanghai, but the future is all hers. For the exhibition, she chose to skate an energetic routine to Nâdiya’s “Amies-ennemies”
Now that’s a young man who loves to skate – and entertain the audience while doing that: Canada’s Nam Nguyen was 5th in Shanghai (at 16, already at the second Worlds of his career) and, for the Gala, he chose to skate to “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” by “Chicago”
China’s Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang were 4th in Shanghai, at 2015 Worlds – and their progress together, during the last season, is undeniable. In the exhibition gala, they skated to music from “Notre Dame de Paris”
America’s Gracie Gold, 4th in Shanghai, skating to the music she likes best: “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift
One of the most touching moments of the Gala: the beautiful Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje – bronze medal in China – skating to “A Song for You” by Donny Hathaway; a performance that let Kaitlyn in tears – and went directly into our hearts
China’s Han Yan, whose talent is unquestionable, finished the event on home ground on the 10th place; for the Gala, he chose to skate to “Lonely” by Akon
Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov finished the pairs event in Shanghai on the 5th place and skated in the Gala a bold routine, full of character and attitude, to “Habanera” from “Carmen” by Georges Bizet
China’s talented Zijun Li only managed a 9th place in Shanghai – and skated to “A dreamed a dream”, sang by Anne Hathaway, in the Gala
Zijun – and her impressive Ina Bauer
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the winners of the silver medal in Shanghai, chose to skate to “Interrupted Flight” by Vladimir Vysotsky in the exhibition gala – and that was clearly a performance to remember
Here comes one of the highlights of the night: Denis Ten, bronze medal in Shanghai, skating to Sam Smith’s “Money on My Mind”; we absolutely loved that particular routine
Winners of the silver medal in Shanghai, Wenjing Sui and Cong Han are one of those pairs whose talent is undeniable; they skated a lights out free program at 2015 Worlds and they’re definitely going to be gold-medal contenders in the years to come. For the exhibition, they chose an unusual, original program named “Plants vs Zombies”
Among the invites in the Gala was also the silver medalist at 2015 Junior Worlds, 17-year old Boyang Jin, one of China’s biggest assets in the men’s event the following years; in Shanghai, he skated his short program to “Tango Amore” by Edvin Marton
Now that’s an entertainer: Jason Brown finished the event in Shanghai on the 4th place and skated to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” by Rednex in the exhibition. One thing is sure: Jason is absolutely loved by the audience
A perfect split jump
France’s Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès were only 9th in Shanghai, but you have to admire their constant efforts to improve and become one of the top pairs in the world; for the exhibition, they chose to skate to Beyonce’s “Scared of Lonely”
What a season this has been for Ashley Wagner: she managed to come back from the sixth place after the short program at the Grand Prix Final, to eventually win the bronze medal in Barcelona. In Shanghai, she ended the competition on the 5th place – and, in the Gala, she skated to „One Last Night” by Vaults
This was Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin’s first season as a team on the international stage – and they finished the Worlds in Shanghai on the 7th place; in the Gala, they skated to „Je t’aime” by Lara Fabian
Well, Misha Ge’s performance during the exhibition gala in Shanghai was something else! The skater representing Uzbekistan finished the men’s event on the 6th place and entertained the audience with a funny, energetic routine to „Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars; he even had a special guest – and, if you saw the program, you know what I mean…
America’s Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim were 7th at 2015 Worlds – and you have to have seen their amazing quad twist in Shanghai. For the Gala, they chose to skate to „You are so beautiful” by Joe Cocker
The petite, yet so talented Satoko Miyahara, silver medalist in Shanghai, at the first Worlds of her career; in the Gala, she skated to „Let Her Go” by Jasmine Thompson and „Sing, Sing, Sing (with a Swing)” performed by Electro Swing Invasion
2014 World gold medalists, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte only managed 4th place in Shanghai – still, what a marvelous dance team this is and what a joy to see them skate. For the Gala, the Italians chose to perform to „Fireflies” by Leona Lewis
A long and extremely difficult season this has been for Yuzuru Hanyu, starting with the collision with Han Yan at Cup of China and finishing with the surgery and the sprained ankle following the Japanese Nationals. In Shanghai, at the fourth Worlds of his career, Yuzuru finished behind his teammate Javier Fernandez, winning the only World medal he was missing, the silver (he had won the bronze at 2012 Worlds and the gold in Saitama, at 2014 edition of the event). In the Gala, he skated to „The Final Time Traveler” by Sarah Alainn, a program choreographed by Kenji Miyamoto
At the 16th Worlds of their career (yes, 16th!), Qing Pang and Jian Tong retained the bronze medal in the pairs event – their sixth World medal – and I’ll raise an imaginary hat to them and their amazing performances all throughout the years. This was Qing and Jian’ last competition – they only came back because China hosted the first World Figure Skating Championships in its history – and their goodbye was one of the most touching moments of the Gala; they skated to „I Dreamed a Dream” performed by Susan Boyle
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was the star of the ladies event in Shanghai – her perfect triple Axel in the short program was the „talk of the Championships” – and, a day later, she managed to retain the gold medal, the third Russian woman to win the World crown, after Maria Butyrskaya in 1999 and Irina Slutskaya in 2002 and 2005. During the exhibition, Elizaveta skated to a „Blues selection” by J. Smek
Ladies and Gentlemen, here they are, the biggest surprise of these Championships (and the biggest leap, that’s for sure): from being 13th last year in Saitama, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron claimed the World crown in Shanghai, only the fourth French couple to do that in the history of the event, after Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay in 1991, Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat in 2000 and Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder in 2008. Still, Gabriella and Guillaume, at 19 and 20, are the youngest of all of the above – and the dance couple to watch the following years, heading to PyeongChang, and after. At the exhibition gala in Shanghai, the French skated to „Take Me to Church” by Hozier
The man who made Spain proud, the three-time European champion and, since the end of March, the World champion en-titre: Javier Fernandez. In Shanghai, the Spaniard skated an amazing short program, to „Black Betty” by Ram Jam, only to come back the following day and be as convincing as possible in the role of the Barber of Seville. „I train hard, really, really hard, but I was not expecting to be the gold medalist. This medal will help me to keep going for the next years, will give me a lot of energy to practice hard and to keep competing and trying my best in every single competition”. In the Gala, Javier skated to „Touch of Evil” by Henry Mancini, a program choreographed by Kurt Browning and Geoffrey Tyler
„We will be victorious”, says a line in Muse’s song – and they were. At the fifth Worlds of their career, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford ran away with the gold medal in the pairs event – and the victory left Meagan speechless: „I have no word for the first time in my life”. In the Gala, Meagan and Eric skated to „Say Something” by A Great Big World
Skaters, saying their goodbyes to the audience in Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. See you next year, in Boston.
