2007 Worlds Women's FS | Japan sweeps top 2 spots: Ando wins Gold, Asada silver

HD format, British coverage (commentators: Chris Howarth, Simon Reed)
2007年世界フィギュアスケート選手権 | Final group ladies/women's free skate (FS) performances from the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships (Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan) plus Yukari Nakano, marked with (^) below:
Rank Name Nation Total points SP FS^
1 Miki Ando 安藤 美姫 Japan 195.09 2 67.98 2 127.11^
2 Mao Asada 浅田 真央 Japan 194.45 5 61.32 1 133.13^
3 Kim Yuna 김연아 South Korea 186.14 1 71.95 4 114.19^
4 Kimmie Meissner United States 180.23 4 64.67 3 115.56^
5 Yukari Nakano 中野 友加里 Japan 168.92 7 60.62 6 108.30^
6 Carolina Kostner Italy 168.92 3 67.15 9 101.77^
9 Emily Hughes United States 159.06 6 60.88 13 98.18^
See also:    • Full: 2007 Worlds (Tokyo, Japan) - Women's...  
----
[NY Times] Figure Skating: Sweep at the top for 2 Japanese women
March 25, 2007
TOKYO — Miki Ando won gold, and she did not even need her much-anticipated quadruple jump.

Japan swept the top two women's places Saturday at the World Figure Skating Championships here, with Ando winning the title and Mao Asada the silver medal, after South Korea's Kim Yu Na fell twice in her final skate and had to settle for bronze.

Kimmie Meissner of the United States, the defending champion, was fourth.

Ando did not perform the quad she had been practicing, but her seven triples to a Mendelssohn violin concerto earned her a total score of 195.09. That was enough to edge Asada, who had the best marks in the free-skating portion to total 194.45 points.

"I didn't think I would end up at the top of the podium," Ando said. "So I was very happy to hear I won the gold medal."

Kim, last year's junior world champion, had a commanding lead entering the free skate after a record 71.95 in the short program. Two minutes into her free skate, it appeared she would take home her country's first title.

But it all fell apart quickly for the 16-year-old, who had needed acupuncture treatments during the week because of a back problem.

She fell on the first jump of what was to be a three-jump combination, fell again and had another combination ruled scoreless. Her final score was 186.14, relegating her to third place.

"I didn't really feel any pain in my back," said Kim, who won the Grand Prix final over Asada and Ando in December. "But my legs felt heavy and so I was unable to perform well and I wasn't as confident in my jumps."

Ando's victory is another big skating crown for Japan. Shizuka Arakawa won the title last year at the Turin Games, as well as the world title in 2004.

"I am very happy to have won the title in my home country," Ando said, tears streaming down her face.

Skating last, Ando, 19, kept her poise and delivered a solid performance. Known more for her jumps than her artistry, Ando had a triple-triple for starters and landed all her jumps cleanly. But her routine was also smooth and graceful.

Asada won the free skate, but was only fifth after the short program the day before, and Ando's score in the free skate was good enough to put her on top.

Until winning the world title, Ando's main accomplishment had been her quadruple salchow. She is the only woman to land one in competition, although that was more than four years ago.

Going into the free skate on Saturday, she had been coy about whether she would perform it. She had tried it in Turin, and it cost her: She fell, and then melted down, failing to get a medal as Arakawa wowed the crowd and won the Turin 2006 gold medal.

Ando was ready to try it again here if she needed it. She landed it in practice, creating a buzz in Japan's media. But in competition she chose to play it safe.

"I decided not to jump the quadruple because I wanted to give all of my best effort to my performance," Ando said. The women's free skate was the last event of the world championships.
-------------
“I am very happy,” said Asada. “Before the program, I was in the 5th place after the short program, so I really wanted to win a medal of any color. I am very satisfied with my performance. The crowd was very nice. I was very impressed by myself. I love skating at home!”
-------------
“It was tough tonight,” admitted Meissner. “Mao skated before me and obviously did very well so that the crowd was really into it. It was very emotional and intense. I had to calm down myself, and I think it took me a jump to get into it.
I’m still always proud of my skate. Just to go out there in front of a packed audience like that after such a great performance, I’m very proud of myself for doing that.”
-------------
#figureskating #フィギュアスケート #eiskunstlauf #фигурноекатание #피겨스케이팅 #pattinaggioartistico #patinageartistique #kunstschaatsen
special thanks to Kim!