Silver medalists two years ago, Canada's Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford took their first Four Continents gold today at the 2013 Four Continents Championships in Osaka, Japan. In doing so, they once again had to hold off a stiff challenge from their compatriots as they had to do last month at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships.
Duhamel/Radford had issues with both of their side-by-side jump elements but kept it together for the rest of program, hitting a throw triple loop and throw triple lutz in the second half of their free skate. They finished with a 199.18 overall, just under three points ahead of the rest of the competition.
Second after the short, Canadian silver medalists Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch won the free skate with a solid performance that including a triple toe-triple toe sequence. But they missed their chance to overtake their teammates after a fall on their throw triple loop. Their overall score of 196.78 gave them the silver, their first Four Continents medal.
U.S. champions Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir won the bronze after also struggling with their side-by-side jumps. But their throws were spectacular, giving them a 170.10, three points ahead of U.S. bronze medalists Felicia Zhang/Nathan Bartholomay, who finished fourth in their Four Continents debut.
PAIRS (final standings)
1. Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford CAN - 199.18
2. Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch CAN - 196.78
3. Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir USA - 170.10
4. Felicia Zhang/Nathan Bartholomay USA - 167.30
5. Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang CHN - 164.82
6. Paige Lawrence/Rudi Swiegers CAN - 162.30
7. Wenting Wang/Yan Zhang CHN - 145.56
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