In the News:

Olympic Winter Games

Four Continents Championships

Mura Overcomes Disappointment to Take Gold at Four Continents - Japan’s Takahito Mura was one of those athletes at the Four Continents Championships that had to overcome the bitter disappointment of missing out on the Olympic team. But he put that behind him to win his first ISU Championship title in a competitive field. His teammate Takahiko Kozuka was in a similar situation and came back with a solid long program to earn the silver medal. Nan Song of China picked up the bronze medal, his first medal in his fifth appearance at the event.

Murakami Claims Four Continents Title in Convincing Fashion; Sui & Han in a Class of Their Own in Pairs; Hubbell & Donohue Dance to Victory - Kanako Murakami of Japan won the ISU Four Continents Championships, her first senior-level title, in convincing fashion. Young teammate Satoko Miyahara skated to the silver medal in her debut at the event and Zijun Li of China took the bronze.

Gilles and Poirier, Sui and Han Lead at Four Continents in Taipei City, Mura Shines in Men's Short Program - In an Olympic year, the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships are always a kind of consolation prize for skaters who did not qualify for their Olympic team. Only few skaters selected for Sochi are competing, since there is not much time left before the Games, plus the event takes place far away in Taipei City. For those who missed out on the Olympic team narrowly, it is an especially tough event and they deserve respect for finding the motivation to come. A total of 96 skaters from 15 countries were entered, but two men dropped out as the event kicked off Wednesday. Taipei City has hosted the event once before in 2011 and the facilities are excellent. The main rink and practice rink are under one roof and the hotel is just a five minute walk away.

Point of View: 2014 European Championships  - Commentary by Sonia Bianchetti - The 2014 European Figure Skating Championships were held in Budapest from January 13 to 19. It was the seventh time that Hungary has hosted these championships.  Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and it is always a great pleasure for me to go there. This year I particularly enjoyed my stay there because it was a kind of reunion of many skating friends from all over the world.  The European Championships preceding the Olympic Games are always of great interest, not only because they are, let us say, the last rehearsal before the Games, but also because, in many cases, they are used to actually select the skaters who will be representing their county in the Olympics.

U.S. Championships Put Skating Back on Radar

2014 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships

100^th anniversary championships in Boston. Massachusetts to pick U.S. Olympic Team.

Russian Skating Association Admits Plushenko Doesn’t Understand Rules - Valentin Piseyev, the Russian Figure Skating Federation General Director, on Thursday announced that Evgeni Plushenko had misspoken after the 31-year-old, three-time Olympian (silver in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Vancouver in 2010, and gold in Torino in 2006) dropped from first after the Short Program to second overall in the national championship, which was held in Sochi.

Point of View - Commentary by Alexandra Stevenson - The Olympic season is always a little off-putting from a publicity point of view. To start with, because of the impact of the Games, a small percentage of journalists turn up from the “scandal” press, searching desperately and intrusively for a front page story, sometimes with an utter disregard for truth or even probability.

The Other Shoe Drops - Evan Lysacek, the reigning Olympic champion, announced today that a hip injury will prevent him from defending his title at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

Catching up With Naomi Lang - Not Heard from Naomi Lang lately? That’s possibly because the five-time U.S. Ice Dance champion (1999-2003), who turns 34 on December 18, is almost always working and often abroad in places like Russia. Having given birth to her third child on August 15, (a daughter Madelyn Christina), she was hired with partner Peter Tchernyshev, who became an American citizen in 2001, to appear with a Russian show, “Opera on Ice”, in October. She and Peter won two Four Continents championships (2000 & 2002) and medaled three other times. They also competed in the 2002 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan.

Lithuanian President Overturns Decision - Tobias Will Go to Olympics - American ice dancer Isabella Tobias is dancing on clouds. She is going to the Olympic Games, by special order of the Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite.

Question and Answer with Ron Pfenning