2011 NHK Trophy

Eligibility

Skaters who reached the age of 14 by July 1, 2011 were eligible to compete on the senior Grand Prix circuit.

In July 2011, minimum score requirements were added to the Grand Prix series and were set at two-thirds of the top scores at the 2011 World Championships. Prior to competing in a Grand Prix event, skaters were required to earn the following:

Entries

The entries were as follows.

Schedule

(Local time, GMT +09:00):

• Thursday, November 10
  • 07:00–17:30 – Official practices
• Friday, November 11
  • 09:00–14:10 – Official practices
  • 14:55–16:00 – Short dance
  • 16:45–17:53 – Pairs' short
  • 19:15–20:33 – Ladies' short
• Saturday, November 12
  • 06:30–11:10 – Official practices
  • 12:00–13:14 – Free dance
  • 14:05–15:26 – Pairs' free
  • 15:30–16:00 – Medal ceremonies
  • 16:30–17:51 – Men's short
  • 19:00–20:33 – Ladies' free
  • 20:45–21:05 – Medal ceremony
• Sunday, November 13
  • 08:00–12:00 – Official practices
  • 12:55–14:35 – Men's free
  • 14:45–15:00 – Medal ceremony
  • 15:50–18:00 – Gala/Exhibitions

Results

Men

On November 12, Brandon Mroz of the United States became the first skater to land the quad lutz in an international competition when he landed it in the short program at NHK. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi won the short program by 10.66 points over Takahiko Kozuka. Takahashi fell on an under-rotated quad flip in the free skating. He stated, "For the first time in my life, I could nail a quad flip in the six-minute warm-up. But in the real competition I overstrained myself in landing and crashed. It still feels great now that I know how I could do it." Mroz attempted a quad lutz in the free but under-rotated and fell. A screw in Menshov's boot became damaged just before he skated his free skating.

Ladies

Japan's Akiko Suzuki won the short program while Mao Asada was first in the free skating. Suzuki took the gold medal, Asada the silver, and Alena Leonova the bronze.

Pairs

Having first attempted a rare throw triple axel at 2011 Skate America, Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy again attempted the element at NHK but again took a hard fall. They recovered to win the short program. Russia's Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov pulled up from fifth in the short to take the gold medal, while Takahashi and Tran won silver and Savchenko and Szolkowy the bronze.

Ice dancing

Russia's Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov placed first in the short dance, followed by Canada's Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje in second and Maia and Alex Shibutani of the United States in third. There were several accidents before the free dance. Canada's Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam withdrew after Paul suffered a cut to the back of the thigh in a collision with Italy's Lorenza Alessandrini and Simone Vaturi during the morning practice on November 12. There was also a collision in the warm-up just before the free dance involving Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt of the United States and Cathy Reed and Chris Reed of Japan; Chris Reed injured his right leg but both teams were able to compete in the free dance. Elena Ilinykh injured her knee when she crashed into the boards in the warm-up before the free dance; she and her partner finished the competition, winning the bronze, but withdrew from the exhibitions. The Shibutanis took the gold, edging out by 0.09 points Weaver and Poje, who had a one point deduction due to a lift held too long.

References

References

1. (July 2011). "ISU Grand Prix 2011 - 12 Announcement". International Skating Union.
2. "Entries". International Skating Union.
3. "Time and Practice Schedule". International Skating Union.
4. (November 12, 2011). "Ice dancing duo pull out of free skating in Japan". Google News.
5. (November 12, 2011). "Weaver, Poje win ice dancing silver at NHK Trophy". TSN.
6. (November 12, 2011). "Brandon Mroz lands historic quad lutz". ESPN.
7. Flade, Tatjana. (November 11, 2011). "Savchenko and Szolkowy take Pairs Short at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
8. Flade, Tatjana. (November 12, 2011). "Kavaguti and Smirnov win second gold of the season at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
9. Flade, Tatjana. (November 11, 2011). "Ilinykh and Katsalapov grab lead in short dance at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
10. Flade, Tatjana. (November 12, 2011). "Shibutani and Shibutani capture ice dance gold at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
11. Sato, Shigemi. (November 13, 2011). "Takahashi wins figure skating GP despite fall". Google News.
12. Flade, Tatjana. (November 12, 2011). "Takahashi outskates rivals in Men’s short at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
13. Flade, Tatjana. (November 13, 2011). "Takahashi skates to strong victory at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
14. Flade, Tatjana. (November 11, 2011). "Suzuki claims Ladies short at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
15. Flade, Tatjana. (November 12, 2011). "Akiko Suzuki wins NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
16. link. [[RIA Novosti]]. (November 13, 2011)