Russians Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov executed a perfect quadruple throw en route to clinching their sixth Grand Prix pairs figure skating title at Skate America.
Kavaguti and Smirnov earned a personal-best 140.00 in Sunday’s free skate to finish with a combined total of 209.16 points. It marked their first win at Skate America.
“My motivation (to continue) is that I love skating,” Kavaguti said. “I think I haven’t completed what I want yet. That’s why I keep skating. My partner has had injuries, so we missed a lot of competitions. Maybe that’s why.”
Smirnov suffered a severe knee injury which forced them to miss last season, including the Sochi Olympics.
Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier, of the US, finished well back in second with 183.34 points, 26 points adrift of the Russians. China’s Peng Cheng and Zhang Hao placed third with 182.43 points.
Elena Radionova, who was too young to compete at the Sochi Olympics, won the women’s title Sunday, beating out fellow Russian Elizaveta Tuktamysheva who had led after the short programme. American Gracie Gold finished third in overall standings.
Two-time reigning World junior champ Radionova, 15, finished with 195.47 points to Tuktamysheva’s 189.62 total.
Skating to the music of Tchaikovsky’s “Manfred Symphony”, their routine included the quad Salchow throw and a triple toe-triple toe sequence.
Kavaguti and Smirnov, who finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, hope their success in Chicago carries over to the rest of the year.
Smirnov, 29, said his new son — born less than two weeks ago — gave him inspiration.
“I was skating for him; he helped me to focus,” he said. “I was very happy we did the quad (throw Salchow) so well here.”
The 18-year-old Denney and Frazier are the first US pair to finish second in a grand prix event since 2008. Rena Inoue and John Baldwin took silver at the 2008 NHK Trophy.
They performed their free skate to music from Disney’s “The Lion King”.
“Going into the programme, we felt calm,” Denney said. “We tried to keep it just as if it was a practice. It’s still early in the season, so the programme has a lot of room to develop.”
The six-leg ISU series moves on from Chicago to Skate Canada next weekend in Kelowna, British Columbia, with further stops in November at the Cup of China in Shanghai, the Cup of Russia, the Trophee Bompard in France and the NHK Trophy.
All skaters must compete in two events with the top six in each of the four disciplines — men’s, women’s, pairs and ice dance — qualifying for the Grand Prix final in Barcelona from December 11-14.