ISU JGP Brasov Ladies' Short Results

The second Junior Grand Prix event is underway in Brasov, Romania. I don't always get to see clips of these events, but it's a good way to start to hear about up and coming skaters. The JGP also usually has more representation from unknown skating countries such as Mexico and the Philippines. The ladies from those countries are down at the bottom, but I'm glad the JGP provides an opportunity for those skaters to compete. Also nice to see Turkey with a junior level skater competing internationally after Tugba Karademir lead the way for skating in that country. Ladies short results below:

1	Yuki NISHINO	JPN	48.98	1
2	Rosa SHEVELEVA	RUS	47.54	2
3	Kristiene GONG	USA	47.08	3
4	Elizaveta TUKTAMISHEVA	RUS	46.11	4
5	Shion KOKUBUN	JPN	43.32	5
6	Anais VENTARD	FRA	43.11	6
7	Samantha CESARIO	USA	43.01	7
8	Ho Jung LEE	KOR	41.23	8
9	Alina MILEVSKAIA	UKR	40.61	9
10	Isabelle M. OLSSON	SWE	39.73	10
11	Beata PAPP	FIN	38.39	11
12	Kristina PRILEPKO	KAZ	35.85	12
13	Sila SAYGI	TUR	35.00	13
14	Ksenia BAKUSHEVA	BLR	32.66	14
15	Karolina SYKOROVA	SVK	32.56	15
16	Svetlana ISSAKOVA	EST	31.12	16
17	Mirna LIBRIC	CRO	30.18	17
18	Alexandra NAJARRO	CAN	29.69	18
19	Ariana ALTARAVICIUTE	LTU	29.19	19
20	Veronika PALICKOVA	CZE	27.46	20
21	Sabina MARIUTA	ROU	26.88	21
22	Samanta KOVALKOVA	LAT	26.72	22
23	Sabina PAQUIER	ROU	25.78	23
24	Pina UMEK	SLO	25.75	24
25	Tara BANG	DEN	25.43	25
26	Anca IONESCU	ROU	25.24	26
27	Daniela STOEVA	BUL	22.27	27
28	Carmen Naomi DAMIAN	PHI	19.17	28
29	Michelle QUINTERO	MEX	18.08	29

Ladies Night

It's Ladies Night at the Olympics. Will the top three mirror the top at Worlds last year?

So many skaters to enjoy!

Tugba Karademir skates 7th

Mirai Nagasu is the first American skating 11th. Her coach said she's going for a triple-triple in the short. Cute program for a young, bubbly teenager to Pirates of the Caribbean.

Elene Gedevanishvili skates 16th for Georgia. If she's broadcast on NBC, I'm sure they'll be several mentions of the Georgian slider and the fatal mishap on the luge track. Elene's skating could leave a bright memory at the mention of the tiny Georgian nation.

Sarah Meier is right after skating 17th continuing the tradition of Swiss spinning mastery and elegance.

Kiira Korpi and Laura Lepisto of Finland skate 19th and 21st respectively. I love Finnish skaters.

Mao Asada will attempt the triple Axel skating 22nd.

Right after Mao, Yu-Na Kim will be out as a Bond girl. Will she cave under the weight of being the favorite or blow away the competition?

Akiko Suzuki of Japan has had a phenominal season, and she'll have a tough act to follow Kim however she skates.

The crowd will erupt with supportive applause and cheers as Joannie Rochette takes the ice to skate 26th. Sadly, her mother suffered a heart attack this weekend and past away. She came into these Games looking to capture the Canadian pride Elizabeth Manley earned in on the Calgary podium. She's the reigning world silver medalist, but has had an up and down season. I've heard she's looked focused in practice since getting the news of her mother. It's still tough to handle nerves in any competition, not to mention the emotions of suddenly losing someone.

After the emotions get charged, Julia Sebestyen of Hungary will skate in her fourth Olympics. She's a few years younger than I am, so I'm impressed that she's still at it.

Rachel Flatt, "The Rock" will skate 28th as the only skater who has beaten Yu-Na this year. She won the free skate at Skate American handily over Yu-Na.

Carolina Kostner, the European champion is 29th.

Miki Ando, the reigning world bronze medalist closes out the competition. She had a great Grand Prix season, but faltered at Japanese nationals. She can go either way tonight.

They have ice there?

Tuğba Karademir is a gorgeous figure skater from Turkey. Yes, they have ice there! She started skating at age five when the first rink opened in Turkey. As her skills grew, the rink remained the only one in Turkey. Her parents made a difficult decision to move to Canada for further training and growth for Tugba on ice. Her parents, who were professionals in Turkey, faced the immigrant experience of taking on low-skill, low-wage jobs in Canada to support her skating. Tugba was eventually offered a spot on the Canadian team, but she wouldn't forget her Turkish roots. She perservered and is representing Turkey for the 2nd time in the Olympics.

I truly enjoy Tugba's skating and style. She has the most beautiful position in a catch-foot camel. Her backed is arched into a gorgeous bow and she hyperextends her leg to spin on an inside edge. Breathtaking. She doesn't do the same level of difficulty in her jumps, no triple-triple combos and I don't think she does a triple Lutz either. This usually keeps her down in the standings, but definitely keep an eye out for her!

Tugba looks over her shoulder at her Turkish fans at the Worlds in LA. ~ photos by me (that's why they're bad).

Also check out Panasonic's One Winter, Five Dreams site to follow Tugba's Olympic experience. One of my favorite bloggers, Aaron at Axels, Loops and Spins is writing for that site too.