Crystal Skate

The biggest surprise of the short programme was seeing Kaori Sakamoto end on seventh place. At almost the opposite end of the rankings, Alina Zagitova finished right where everyone put her: first position. How are these two ladies going to fare in the final? The Russian is bound to keep her place, but how high can the Japanese rise? These are the main questions swarming in my head before this final. Rika Honko  goes first, which is a position she must not be used to - we normally see her in the last group of the Grand Prix events. I didn't see her skate yesterday, but I imagine this is miles away from that. The choreography of Child of Nazareth  is intense and energetic, just as we are used to seeing from her. She makes no mistakes. Score: 105.48  -> 156.59 . Viveca Lindfors  comes out wearing a gorgeous costume which you could easily turn into a gown fit for the Oscars, so I am a bit surprised to see the routine is set to Les Miserables . That being said, the...

Sometimes you need to sacrifice something in order to get what you wished for. That's how I feel about the ladies' final rankings in Osaka. I got what I wanted, but it's bittersweet because one of my favourite skaters dropped a few places in the process. The results have nothing to do with my wishes of course, but with  a lot of hard work from some brilliant skaters, some of whom I'll talk about in this blog post. Rika Hongo  was the bitter part of my 'bittersweet' emotions. She didn't make any catastrophic errors though - there was a 3Flip that was all sorts of wrong, but otherwise, the elements were alright. What hurt her more was the presentation - there were some blank spaces in terms of interpretation. Absolutely loved the black and red costume though, very Frida Kahlo-like. Her free score was 122.00 , her total score was 187.83  and her final rank was 7th. Satoko Miyhara  was the sweet part, but barely. I wanted her to move up to the top 5, and she...

Did anyone expect the ladies' short programme in Osaka to end as it did? Okay, okay, I don't mean the top spot, but the order of say...the next five skaters? I was a bit surprised when I found out the results, so I'm having a look at the top five ladies to catch up on what went on. Mirai Nagasu  has grown so much technically since I last saw her. Congratulations on landing that amazing 3Axel. After I saw it, it suddenly made sense why she looked rather stressed at the very beginning. She's one of the skaters who keeps growing every season, so it's always a joy to see her skate. She finished on 5th, with 65.17  points. I don't have a favourite Japanese skater at the moment, but Rika Hongo  comes pretty close. I have to be honest, I was so mesmerised about her performance, I forgot to take notes. Carmina Burana  was an amazing choice for her, the costume was breathtaking and the elements were extraordinary. Loved every second of it. Unfortunately, it didn'...

The last final of the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships is here, and it's possibly the one we're most impatient to see. In the short programme, Gracie Gold put herself in the leader position, hinting at a possible gold medal in Boston. Can she carry the task until the end? And if she doesn't, which one of the ladies lining up for the chance to be world champion will take the title? Mirai Nagasu  shows once more she shouldn't be ignored. The only mistake is double-footing the landing of the triple Flip. The routine is set to music from The Great Gatsby . I love how she chose three different songs to cover all the nuances of the story from the romance to the glamorous parties. Gorgeous costume. Her score: 120.91 . Overall: 186.65 . Canada's Gabrielle Daleman takes on the role of Maria de Buenos Aires Photograph: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images North America Mao Asada  brings a sad story, Madame Butterfly , to the ice. Her facial expressions are phenomenal -...

The most exciting news about Rostelecom Cup 2015 is that Adelina Sotnikova returns to competition. The Olympic champion suffered from a nasty ankle injury last season which forced her to take the entire year off. Now that she's back, there are a lot of questions on everyone's mind. The most important is: how will she fare against Russia's fresh new stars? The first to skate is Hannah Miller from the US. Absolutely gorgeous purple costume covered in Arabic embellishments, as befitting Arabesque . She double-foots the triple Flip and steps out of the double Axel. Her score: 47.98 . Dasa Grm  is the first skater to perform on music by Hugh Laurie (Dr. House), as far as I know. She's also wearing an unusually long dress for the ladies' discipline, which makes her stand out fashion-wise. She's very nervous at the start, and singles the triple Lutz. All in all, I see potential. She gets 44.72  points. Riona Kato  is also very nervous because this is her first G...

Whenever a legend returns to the ice, the event is watched by hundreds of eyes - the rivals, who wonder if their own positions are threatened, the fans, who await impatiently to see their favourite shine again, and the judges, who get ready to witness something great. I have no doubt that a lot of eyes are turned towards Beijing today, as Mao Asada prepares to get back in the game. But before that happens, let's see how the other contestants perform: Rika Hongo is Japan's newest start Photogaph: Lintao Zhao / Getty Images Asia This is a big day for Lu Zheng as well, as she debuts on senior ice. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet have the grace to express the beautiful fragility of Amelie . Her score: 47.23 . Ziquan Zhao 's interpretation of Caravan  is practically nonexistent. She is technically a little sharper than her co-patriot though. She gets 48.66  points. Zijun Li  is China's favourite skater, and you can see why. She is the only Chinese to actually p...

It's a Russian world at the ladies' free skate this year as Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Elena Radionova have set themselves up to occupy the first two positions of the podium. Japan is close behind though with all their three skaters currently on places three, four and five. Gracie Gold  looks more confident today than she did in the short programme. Her only mistake is stepping out of the second triple Lutz. She makes such good use of her body language too. The music is from Phantom of the Opera . Her score: 128.23 . Overall: 188.96 . France's Mae Berenice Meite Source: Xiaolu Ghu/Getty Images Asia Mae Berenice Meite  is experiencing some issues with her knee, which is why so many of her jumps look sketchy. The only big mistake though is double-footing the landing of the triple Loop. Presentation-wise, I'm not convinced by the costume - it looks rather generic and not entirely fit for the music. She gets 105.67  points. Overall: 162.75 . Ashley Wagner 's M...

Russia has never had a stronger line-up in the ladies' event than they have here. The first four places are all occupied by their skaters and it's not looking as though that will change. Enjoy it while you can because we're unlikely to see them all on the same ice again this season. But first, let's check with the United States. I will never get tired of Ashley Wagner 's Moulin Rouge . The story is an iconic tale about the ugly costs of beauty and luxury, and there is nobody who could tell it better than the eloquent American. She is virtually perfect on a technical level as well. Her score: 129.26 . Overall: 189.50 . Anna Pogorilaya 's Firebird  is entirely different than the American's routine, and it lacks the conviction we've seen before from the Russian. Her biggest technical error is the fall on the triple Salchow, but she also messes up her camel spin. She gets 118.95  points. Overall: 180.29 . The winners of the night Photograph: David R...

We must start the ladies' final event with sad news: Joshi Helgesson has injured her ankle and has withdrawn as a consequence. We wish her all the best. Now, about the current affair of things: this might just be Alaine Chartrand's day of glory, but don't write Anna Pogorilaya off so fast. Same as yesterday, Eliska Brezinova 's presentation doesn't come through. She looks tired and slow, and there is just one bit of choreography relevant to The 13th Warrior . It isn't better technically with only six triples and two of those messy. Her score: 87.40 . Overall: 134.04 . Les Miserbales  by Miyabi Oda Photograph: Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images Asia Miyabi Oda  is having a much better day. She has no errors whatsoever and her interpretation of Les Miserbales  is lovely. The dress might be a bit too glamorous for the theme though. She gets 107.81  points. Overall: 154.57 . Angela Wang 's confidence slowly decreases as the programme progresses. Her step s...

The only Russian wonder-child present here, Anna Pogorilaya, is a certainty for the ladies' lead. But second and third place is open for almost everyone to take. Let's see who does it. Maria Artemieva  is the first of the two skaters Russia is presenting today. I see poise and the elegance you expect from someone skating to the soundtrack of Coco Chanel , but it is very obvious that she's at the start of her career. Her step sequence is really slow and she falls on the triple Loop. Her score: 51.88 . Ashley Cain took the lead from the Russian novices Photograph: Kevin Lee/Getty Images Asia Maria Stavitskaia , the second new face, has just as much class. She is equally inexperienced, although her mistake, a hand down on the triple Loop, is less serious. Her music: Slave of Love . She gets 54.78  points. Ashley Cain 's ambition will get her far if she improves her skating skills. She aces every element, never afraid to attack them. I'm not sure that Mission ...