By Johanna Bear<\/p>\n
As the dust settled in Shanghai, China after a long week of thrilling figure skating action from the 2015 World Championships, four first\u00ad-time champions were crowned. Though the lone U.S. medal came in ice dance with Madison Chock and Evan Bates bringing home the silver, all U.S. skaters showed grit and determination and put out performances to be proud of in this first year of a new Olympic quadrennial.<\/p>\n
Ladies<\/strong><\/p>\n After blowing away the field in the ladies short program with a gorgeous triple Axel that earned 10.07 points by itself, Russia\u2019s Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was able to put aside a shaky start to her free skate to win her first World Championship title. After failing to make the Olympic team last season, Tuktamysheva put together one of the strongest single seasons in recent memory with seven total wins leading up to Worlds, including the Grand Prix Final and European Championships. She finished the competition with 210.36 points, which was more than enough to hold off the other medalists for her eighth win of the season.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Satoko Miyahara made up for her small stature by putting out an incredibly consistent and soulful interpretation of her \u201cMiss Saigon\u201d free skate. The Japanese national champion earned a competition total of 193.60 to move up from third to second and win the silver medal at her first World Championships. A well executed double Axel\u00ad triple-toe loop combination helped boost her technical score as she showed her lovely lines and flexibility throughout her program.<\/p>\n Tuktamysheva\u2019s compatriot Elena Radionova slipped from second to third after the free skate to win the bronze medal. Despite an under\u00adrotated triple Salchow in her triple loop\u00ad-half loop-\u00adtriple Salchow combination and an edge call on her triple flip, she fought through to the end to maintain a spot on the podium with a score of 191.47. The sixteen-year\u00ad-old Russian national champion had placed first at Skate America and Troph\u00e9e \u00c9ric Bompard earlier this season, and the bronze medal in Shanghai capped off her best year to date at the senior level.<\/p>\n The American ladies Gracie Gold<\/a>, Ashley Wagner, and Polina Edmunds put together a comprehensive resurgence in the free skate after starting out in eighth, eleventh, and seventh place to finish in fourth, fifth, and eighth, respectively. Gold and Wagner placed second and third in the free skate to end up just off the podium, but showed incredible determination after both experienced rough short programs.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is what I had trained for \u2013 to come here and do my job for myself, Frank and the United States,\u201d Gold said of her free skate, \u201cAfter a rough short program, it\u2019s tough to come out with your guns a\u00adblazin\u2019. It was a good feeling to skate a great program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday was a huge accomplishment for me,\u201d Wagner enthused. \u201cIt might sound silly because I\u2019m 23-\u00adyears-\u00adold, but I\u2019m still learning in this sport. I was a late bloomer. To go out there under such immense pressure, to redeem myself in a way, that\u2019s something I\u2019m very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n Gold and Wagner’s fourth and fifth placement ensured that the U.S. would again have three spots available for the World Championships in Boston next season. Polina had two solid performances as well, and scored a 177.83 to finish in eighth place.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling happy that I skated a clean program,\u201d Edmunds said of her performance, \u201cIt could have been a little stronger for sure. I\u2019m happy that I fought through off of my elements. I\u2019m kind of disappointed in my score. I feel it was low for what I executed. But I\u2019ll keep working and be better and better every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Men<\/strong><\/p>\n In the men’s event, Spain’s Javier Fernandez rose from second after the short to win the first-ever World Championship title for his home country. Fernandez surpassed his training\u00ad mate and reigning Olympic and World champion Yuzuru Hanyu for gold despite a fall on his first attempted quadruple Salchow. With the assistance of a clean quadruple toe loop and a quadruple Salchow\u00ad-double toe loop combination, Fernandez accumulated 273.90 points, only a little more than two points ahead of Hanyu. His effervescent \u201cBarber of Seville\u201d program brought the crowd to its feet as he celebrated his maiden World title.<\/p>\n Reigning World and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu came into the free skate in first place, but a fall on his quadruple toe loop derailed his hopes of defending his crown. He scored a total of 271.08 in his \u201cPhantom of the Opera\u201d program and had the audience throwing down myriad stuffed animals in support. Though he wasn\u2019t able to win his second consecutive World title, it was an impressive effort considering all of the injuries that have plagued him throughout the season.<\/p>\n Kazakhstan\u2019s Denis Ten finished out a strong season by winning the bronze medal in Shanghai. He placed first in the free skate, but several shaky landings in both programs prevented him from a higher finish. His enormous quadruple toe loop\u00ad-triple toe loop combination earned 16.11 points on his way to a total score of 267.73 points. Ten, who has been a large part of the effort to get the 2022 Olympic Games to his hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan, will look to better this result next season and further improve upon his steadily growing consistency.<\/p>\n