Ice skaters thrill crowds with dazzling performances at Winter Games NZ
Sunday 30 August 2009, 3:47PM
By 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games
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The international ice figure skating event at the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games is proving to be a stunning spectator event with today’s crowd at the Dunedin Ice Stadium revelling in some dazzling performances and witnessing New Zealand’s first silver medal at the skating.
In the Women’s Novice Free Skating event 11yr old So Youn Park skated her way to gold winning the hearts of the crowd who were moved by the sheer beauty and ease with which this young skater glided, jumped and spun on ice. With the young Korean in a league of her own, 13yr old Madelaine Parker from Christchurch always knew the silver medal would be a Trans Tasman battle.
Last week Parker came second to Maho Fujita at the Australian National Champs, but today Parker skated like a winner beating both Fujita and fellow Australian Taylor Dean to take New Zealand’s first silver medal at the figure skating. For Madelaine it was both very exciting and nerve wracking to take part in her first international event. “I went out to do the very best I could today, I gave it everything.”
Despite nursing a 6 week-old foot injury, Parker scored some personal bests on technical points. Coach Kim Lewis was thrilled with Parker’s performance and endorsed the merits of New Zealand hosting an international event. “ It’s a great experience for New Zealand skaters, it introduces them to pressure but without being in a foreign country, it definitely lifts their performance.”
In the Women’s Senior Short Programme, both Akiko Suzuki and Mari Suzuki from Japan wowed the audience with their graceful poise and stunning execution of triple jumps and dizzying spins. Akiko, who is ranked 19th in the world, took first placing in the Senior Women’s short programme with a personal best score for her at an international event and her team mate Mari who has just stepped up to Senior level also recorded a personal best and second placing.
New Zealand’s Alli Rout, who will try out at the Olympic Qualifiers in Germany next year, was very happy with her fourth placing in the senior event after Na Young Kim from Korea. She said “ I’m still very young for the Seniors and you have to be realistic, these girls are from countries where they skate almost fulltime. This is a great test run for me and I’m looking forward to the Freestyle tomorrow.”
In the Men’s events Dong Won Lee from Korea won gold in the Novice section with Australians Oliver Porter and Harley Dahlstrom taking silver and bronze respectively. In the Senior Short programme Kensuke Nakaniwa from Japan skated his way to first placing in a supreme display of technical precision and stunning execution.
Tomorrow the glamour events, the Men and Women’s Junior and Senior Freestyle, are guaranteed to rouse spectators into a new level of awe and admiration. This international competition is fantastic entertainment and everything the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games promised it to be.