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The ladies and pairs kicked off action at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm on Wednesday.
And if day one is any indication, buckle up, because we're in for an exciting few days of competition.
With Olympic entries on the line,
Karen Chen and
Bradie Tennell hold fourth and seventh place, respectively, after the ladies' short program. In pairs,
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc are sixth while
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are seventh.
LADIES
In 2017, Chen's stunning fourth-place finish at the World Championships helped earn three Olympic entries for the U.S. ladies at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, Korea.
Four years later, could Chen have more World Championships magic in her?
Following the short program in Stockholm, Chen once again sits in fourth place, having earned 74.40 points for her short program to "Rise" by Katy Perry. Anna Shcherbakova of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSR) is in first place with 81.00 points, ahead of Japan's Rika Kihira with 79.08 points and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (FSR) in third with 78.86.
Chen's score is a new international best, topping her previous top score by 7.12 points.
"I'm really happy with my performance," Chen said. "Coming here I felt a lot of pressure, and I also know that I haven't been to Worlds in such a long time, and I've definitely been struggling with, in the past, injuries and whatnot. But to be here and skate a really solid short program is such a great confidence booster for me, and I'm really happy to keep that momentum on to the free skate."
The reigning U.S. bronze medalist, Chen has been well aware of the chatter surrounding the stakes for the U.S. ladies at the World Championships. Should Chen and Tennell's final placements add up to 13 or less, they would qualify the full three entries in Beijing.
"I really hope so," Chen said of their chances. "And I do feel the pressure, but at the end of the day, what matters is my skating, and I just want to enjoy it. And I know when I am enjoying it, chances are I am skating well."
In the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season, Chen finished fourth at 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America before improving to bronze at the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
It's a sharp contrast from past years, in which Chen had ups and downs she likens to a "constant rollercoaster," and one she hopes bodes well moving forward.
"I've honestly just been training so incredibly hard this whole entire season, and I also felt like I kept that momentum going," Chen said. "This season is definitely a completely different pattern. I've just been building from Skate America to [U.S. Championships], and so hopefully here I will be able to continue the momentum and skate a really solid free skate."
Two-time and reigning U.S. champion Tennell sits in seventh place, earning 69.87 points for her short program to "Moderation" by Florence and the Machine.
The second-to-last skater to take the ice, Tennell lost points when she doubled the toe loop on the end of a planned triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination.
"I think my timing was just a bit off," Tennell said. "It's very strange, because my Lutz combo is one of my most solid jumps, so I'm pretty disappointed with that skate. I've been skating a clean short program every single day since [U.S. Championships], so to come here and put out a program like that is very surprising, and I'm pretty unhappy with it, actually. I think I really let myself down there."
This season, Tennell finished second at both Skate America® and U.S. Figure Skating's virtually held International Selection Pool (ISP) Points Challenge, and reclaimed the U.S. title in January. She will look to improve on her two prior World Championships finishes of sixth and seventh place in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
"Obviously I want to come out strong and put out the best program I possibly can, which is no more than what I've been training," Tennell said of the free skate. "I've been training very well and very solid, so I really just want to go out there and enjoy myself in this very strange circumstance that we're in. I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to compete here in a bubble at the World Championships, and I just want to go out there and enjoy myself and put out the best skate possible."
The U.S. ladies will take the ice again on Friday evening in Stockholm. Watch live on Peacock Premium and NBCSN, 2:30-5 p.m. ET.
PAIRS
Cain-Gribble and LeDuc weren't even supposed to be competing at the World Championships. Originally named the first alternate to Team USA, they returned home following the U.S. Championships and continued training hard, just in case.
All that training paid off, as they now lead the way for the U.S. pairs in Stockholm following the short program.
Cain-Gribble and LeDuc earned 64.94 points for their short program to "Never Tear Us Apart" by Bishop Briggs and hold sixth place. Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii (FSR) are in first place with 80.16 points, followed by China's Wenjing Sui and Cong Han with 77.62 points and Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov (FSR) in third with 75.79.
Knierim and Frazier are right behind Cain-Gribble and Leduc in seventh place. Should these placements hold in the free skate, U.S. pairs would earn three entries at the 2022 Olympics.
Cain-Gribble fell on the side-by-side triple Salchows, but says the strength of the rest of their program is a credit to the training they've put in.
"It just goes to show our training, all that we've done at home," she said. "We've done so many clean short programs. And on days that we're exhausted, we've done clean short programs. So I think that was in the back of my mind, even when the mistake happened. I was like, 'I've done this before. We've done this program before, so many times, and I just need to let that kick in.'"
"I think it's the mark of a true champion to get up from something early in the program and come back and nail something like the throw, so that's definitely a huge positive," LeDuc added. "We're going to take that strong energy into the free skate. Like Ashley said, we've trained so hard for this. We're so grateful to be here and we want to seize this opportunity."
The reigning U.S. bronze medalists, Cain-Gribble and LeDuc have one prior World Championship appearance, placing ninth in 2019 to earn back a second Worlds entry for Team USA at this event. This season, they also placed fourth at Skate America® and third in the ISP Points Challenge.
While they see this season's experiences as building blocks for the future, they plan on going into the free skate hungry and leaving nothing on the table.
"Just to fight," Cain-Gribble said of their goal for the free skate. "Fight for every single point."
Knierim and Frazier scored 64.67 points for their short program to "In the End" by Tommee Profitt and "Too Far Gone" by Hidden Citizens.
When they finished their short program, Frazier immediately turned to Knierim and apologized.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Knierim told him. "You gave everything you could, and that program was awesome."
"And it was," she added following their skate. "We skated an awesome program, and I just wanted to reassure him that one small mistake doesn't take away from the other amazing things that we did today."
Frazier was apologizing for doubling his side-by-side triple toe, a mistake that ultimately meant their score wasn't what they'd hoped it would be.
"It was just a fluke, and obviously it's frustrating, and I could stand here for hours and tell you how frustrated I am," Frazier said. "But I'm not going to do that. We are happy for all the stuff we're working on, and I know I can do this, no problem. So I'm just going to refresh, focus in and get it done tomorrow."
Knierim and Frazier are the reigning U.S. champions, and won Skate America® in their first in-person competition since pairing up in the spring of last year.
While competing at their first World Championships together, they both have experience at this level with other partners; Knierim competed on five World Teams with husband and former partner Chris Knierim, while Frazier did so twice with Haven Denney.
"I've been fortunate that Brandon also shares a lot of experience on the international scene," Knierim said. "So coming together, we were able to share stories of our own journeys and kind of put those together to create our own, and it has made us stronger."
The pairs competition concludes tomorrow night after the men's short program. Fans can watch live on NBCSN, 3-5 p.m. ET, and on Peacock Premium.
