Tennell claims 2nd US Figure Skating title
Chock, Bates set world record in rhythm dance
LAS VEGAS, Jan 16, (AP): Bradie Tennell is back on top of American figure skating.
The 22-year-old Olympian, who had finished second and third at the past two national championships, followed her rollicking short program with a rock-solid free skate at the US Figure Skating Championships. Tennell hit all seven of her triple jumps to finish with 232.61 points, well clear of her closest rivals Amber Glenn and Karen Chen.
Glenn finished with 215.33 points to edge 2017 champion Karen Chen by 0.35 points for the silver medal, while two-time and defending champion Alysa Liu struggled late in her program and finished in fourth.
Earlier in the day, Madison Chock and Evan Bates set a world record in the rhythm dance, scoring 90.10 points to edge Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue by less than a point in their first competition in nearly a year.
The U.S. championships were moved from San Jose, California, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No fans were allowed.
They sure missed an edge-of-your seat women’s free skate.
Glenn, who had never been on the podium at senior nationals, threw
down the score to beat when she finished a sterling program to music from Italian composer Ezio Bosso with a solid triple lutz-double toe-double loop combination backed up by a triple loop-triple toe. Her stunning score put the 21-year-old from Plano, Texas, briefly into first place.
Liu, who was second to Tennell after the short program, left her triple axel and and quadruple lutz out of her program as she continues to adjust to a growth spurt and coaching change.
And while Liu was sharp on her first jumping passes she shaky on her last three, and the 15-year-old’s score of 213.39 points left her in fourth place.
Tennell was next on the ice and – well, she left it all on the ice.
The only bobbles during her performance came on Tennell’s opening triple lutz-triple toe combination and finishing spin, when she looked so physically and mentally exhausted that she seemed to catch herself from collapsing. But she hopped right up and blew kisses to the cardboard cutouts in the stands, knowing that she had risen to the occassion.
The only skater that could catch Tennell was Mariah Bell, whose chances of winning her first US title were dashed when she fell on her opening jump pass. Bell also stepped out on a triple loop and wound up finishing fifth.
Hubbell and Donohue, the twotime champions and reigning silver medalists, set an American record 89.66 points during their strong, sassy rhythm dance set to music from the film “Burlesque.” But they were eclipsed an hour later, when Chock and Bates earned Level 4 marks on every element but a twizzle sequence to music from “Kiss Me, Kate.”
The previous world record of 90.03 points was set by Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron at the 2019 NHK Trophy.