{"id":33662,"date":"2023-11-25T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T22:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/?p=33662"},"modified":"2023-11-26T00:44:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-26T05:44:25","slug":"recap-2023-nhk-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/recap-2023-nhk-trophy\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: 2023 NHK Trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Matteo Morelli<\/em><\/p>\n

Osaka hosted this year\u2019s NHK Trophy, with nine ice dance teams competing in the last Grand Prix event that confirmed all qualified teams to this year\u2019s Grand Prix Final. This event in Japan was first held in 1979, and was added to the Grand Prix series in 1995.<\/p>\n

Great Britain\u2019s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson won their first Grand Prix, adding to their silver medal from Skate Canada and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. In second place were Italy\u2019s Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri, which also qualified for the final strong of their win at Grand Prix de France. In third place, Lithuania\u2019s Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius won their second ever Grand Prix bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Event Recap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson won an historic Grand Prix gold medal for Great Britain, adding to the silver they won at Skate Canada.<\/p>\n

The British duo was second after the rhythm dance, but just half a point away from the Italians that were in first place. They saw their \u201cSweet dreams\u201d programme as a chance for them to show the work they are doing on themselves this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, a big project this season has been skating skills and I think that every competition is a great opportunity to put that to the test and to allow the programme and performances to grow and expand\u201c, Fear said. \u201cTurns have been a big focus for us over the past few weeks, <\/b>just building the consistency, that had technical strength, and I am really proud that we implemented that today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their \u201cRocky\u201d themed free programme allowed them to gain the extra points that made a difference to finish first in the free dance segment and win the event. Their reaction to the score on the kiss and cry score was a mix of joy and surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really just feels like a dream come true\u201d, Gibson said. \u201cTo finally win a Grand Prix is everything and it is so exciting and I can\u2019t really put that into words right now\u201d.<\/p>\n

With new personal bests and season bests, Fear and Gibson qualified for the Grand Prix Final, the second of their career.<\/p>\n

Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri of Italy entered this event strong of the gold medal they won at Grand Prix de France. The Italians skated on their rhythm dance on \u201cHolding out for a hero\u201d and \u201cAgainst all odds\u201d with their vibrant costumes, ending first in this segment of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do another good rhythm dance here (after Grand Prix de France) and the performance today was what we wanted\u201d, Fabbri said. \u201cOur scores were a little bit lower than France because of the levels, but that is not the most important thing, the most important thing is getting into a good rhythm and feeling comfortable with a programme and that is how we felt today\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Italian team collected a season best in their free dance, but it was just not enough to let them lead again and win another gold medal. Their \u201cTheory of everything\u201d programme was executed with beautiful elements and with great lightness, however they received the final result with some disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a mix of feelings, we know we skated well\u201d, Fabbri shared. \u201cThat was basically the performance that we aimed at before coming here\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot say that we are happy because of the results\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

Guignard & <\/i>Fabbri are also qualified for the Grand Prix Final. They already participated in two finals before, winning a bronze medal at each event.<\/p>\n

In third place and winning a second Grand Prix bronze medal were Lithuania\u2019s Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius.<\/p>\n

Their rhythm dance on rock music from the 80s allowed them to earn another season best, improving from their results at Skate Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made some changes since Canada and we feel that the changes are working for us\u201d, Ambrulevi\u010dius said. \u201cWe still need time to build the programme and we enjoyed the performance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their free dance to \u201cEnough of Our Machines\u201d and \u201cChildren\u201d allowed them to hold on to the third place at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are happy about our competition overall\u201d, Ambrulevi\u010dius shared. \u201cThe second (Grand Prix) medal is something that we ever dreamed of\u201c.<\/p>\n

In fourth place and fresh of their Grand Prix bronze medal from Grand Prix of Espoo the week before were Finland\u2019s Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis. They couldn\u2019t earn as many points as they did in Finland, finishing outside of the podium behind the Lithuanians, which as last season are their main competitors at continental level.<\/p>\n

In fifth plays, Loicia Demougeot & Theo Le Mercier skated to new personal best scores for each segment and overall, adding another fifth-place finish after the one achieved at Skate America.<\/p>\n

In sixth place were Emily Bratti & Ian Somerville of the United States. This season, they already competed at Cup of China, also ending in sixth place. Also from the United States were Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov, which closed in eighth place.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Marie-Jade Lauriault & Roman Le Gac ended in seventh place, and Japan\u2019s Misato Komatsubara & Tim Koleto closed the event in ninth place.<\/p>\n

The tenth team that was meant to compete at this event was Georgia\u2019s Maria Kazakova & Georgy Reviya however they had to withdraw a week before because of health reasons. We wish them a speedy recovery and to come back soon to competitions.<\/p>\n

Grand Prix Qualifications<\/strong><\/p>\n

With all six Grand Prix events now completed, we have the confirmed list of teams that qualified for the Grand Prix Final that is going to take place in Beijing, China, from December 7-10:<\/p>\n

1. Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, Canada \u2013 30 points
<\/i>2. Madison Chock & Evan Bates, USA \u2013 30 points
<\/i>3. Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri, Italy \u2013 28 points
<\/i>4. Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson, Great Britain \u2013 28 points
<\/i>5. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Nikolaj S\u00f8rensen, Canada – 26 points
<\/i>6. Marjorie Lajoie & <\/i>Zachary Lagha, Canada \u2013 26 points.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Matteo Morelli Osaka hosted this year\u2019s NHK Trophy, with nine ice dance teams competing in the last Grand Prix event that confirmed all qualified teams to this year\u2019s Grand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29457,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n

By Matteo Morelli<\/em><\/p>\n

Osaka hosted this year\u2019s NHK Trophy, with nine ice dance teams competing in the last Grand Prix event that confirmed all qualified teams to this year\u2019s Grand Prix Final. This event in Japan was first held in 1979, and was added to the Grand Prix series in 1995.<\/p>\n

Great Britain\u2019s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson won their first Grand Prix, adding to their silver medal from Skate Canada and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final. In second place were Italy\u2019s Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri, which also qualified for the final strong of their win at Grand Prix de France. In third place, Lithuania\u2019s Allison Reed& Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius won their second ever Grand Prix bronze medal.<\/p>\n

Event Recap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lilah Fear & <\/i>Lewis Gibson won an historic Grand Prix gold medal for Great Britain, adding to the silver they won at Skate Canada.<\/p>\n

The British duo was second after the rhythm dance, but just half a point away from the Italians that were in first place. They saw their \u201cSweet dreams\u201d programme as a chance for them to show the work they are doing on themselves this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, a big project this season has been skating skills and I think that every competition is a great opportunity to put that to the test and to allow the programme and performances to grow and expand\u201c, Fear said. \u201cTurns have been a big focus for us over the past few weeks, <\/b>just building the consistency, that had technical strength, and I am really proud that we implemented that today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their \u201cRocky\u201d themed free programme allowed them to gain the extra points that made a difference to finish first in the free dance segment and win the event. Their reaction to the score on the kiss and cry score was a mix of joy and surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really just feels like a dream come true\u201d, Gibson said. \u201cTo finally win a Grand Prix is everything and it is so exciting and I can\u2019t really put that into words right now\u201d.<\/p>\n

With new personal bests and season bests, Fear and Gibson qualified for the Grand Prix Final, the second of their career.<\/p>\n

Charlene Guignard & <\/i>Marco Fabbri of Italy entered this event strong of the gold medal they won at Grand Prix de France. The Italians skated on their rhythm dance on \u201cHolding out for a hero\u201d and \u201cAgainst all odds\u201d with their vibrant costumes, ending first in this segment of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to do another good rhythm dance here (after Grand Prix de France) and the performance today was what we wanted\u201d, Fabbri said. \u201cOur scores were a little bit lower than France because of the levels, but that is not the most important thing, the most important thing is getting into a good rhythm and feeling comfortable with a programme and that is how we felt today\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Italian team collected a season best in their free dance, but it was just not enough to let them lead again and win another gold medal. Their \u201cTheory of everything\u201d programme was executed with beautiful elements and with great lightness, however they received the final result with some disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a mix of feelings, we know we skated well\u201d, Fabbri shared. \u201cThat was basically the performance that we aimed at before coming here\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot say that we are happy because of the results\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

Guignard & <\/i>Fabbri are also qualified for the Grand Prix Final. They already participated in two finals before, winning a bronze medal at each event.<\/p>\n

In third place and winning a second Grand Prix bronze medal were Lithuania\u2019s Allison Reed & <\/i>Saulius Ambrulevi\u010dius.<\/p>\n

Their rhythm dance on rock music from the 80s allowed them to earn another season best, improving from their results at Skate Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made some changes since Canada and we feel that the changes are working for us\u201d, Ambrulevi\u010dius said. \u201cWe still need time to build the programme and we enjoyed the performance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their free dance to \u201cEnough of Our Machines\u201d and \u201cChildren\u201d allowed them to hold on to the third place at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are happy about our competition overall\u201d, Ambrulevi\u010dius shared. \u201cThe second (Grand Prix) medal is something that we ever dreamed of\u201c.<\/p>\n

In fourth place and fresh of their Grand Prix bronze medal from Grand Prix of Espoo the week before were Finland\u2019s Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Versluis. They couldn\u2019t earn as many points as they did in Finland, finishing outside of the podium behind the Lithuanians, which as last season are their main competitors at continental level.<\/p>\n

In fifth plays, Loicia Demougeot & Theo Le Mercier skated to new personal best scores for each segment and overall, adding another fifth-place finish after the one achieved at Skate America.<\/p>\n

In sixth place were Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville of the United States. This season, they already competed at Cup of China, also ending in sixth place. Also from the United States were Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov, which closed in eighth place.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Marie-Jade Lauriault and Roman Le Gac ended in seventh place, and Japan\u2019s Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto closed the event in ninth place.<\/p>\n

The tenth team that was meant to compete at this event was Georgia\u2019s Maria Kazakova and Georgy Reviya however they had to withdraw a week before because of health reasons. We wish them a speedy recovery and to come back soon to competitions.<\/p>\n

Grand Prix Qualifications<\/strong><\/p>\n

With all six Grand Prix events now completed, we have the confirmed list of teams that qualified for the Grand Prix Final that is going to take place in Beijing, China, from December 7-10:<\/p>\n

1. Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, Canada \u2013 30 points
<\/i>2. Madison Chock & Evan Bates, USA \u2013 30 points
<\/i>3. Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri, Italy \u2013 28 points
<\/i>4. Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson, Great Britain \u2013 28 points
<\/i>5. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Nikolaj S\u00f8rensen, Canada - 26 points
<\/i>6. Marjorie Lajoie & <\/i>Zachary Lagha, Canada \u2013 26 points.<\/i><\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"1280","_gspb_post_css":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[509,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2023-2024-event-recaps","category-featured"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=254%2C150&ssl=1",254,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=300%2C177&ssl=1",300,177,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=768%2C454&ssl=1",768,454,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-post-main-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=400%2C250&ssl=1",400,250,true],"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=400%2C284&ssl=1",400,284,true],"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=510%2C382&ssl=1",510,382,true],"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?fit=957%2C566&ssl=1",957,566,true],"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=400%2C516&ssl=1",400,516,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2022-NHKPrev.jpg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1",45,45,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Team IDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/author\/idcadmin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Matteo Morelli Osaka hosted this year\u2019s NHK Trophy, with nine ice dance teams competing in the last Grand Prix event that confirmed all qualified teams to this year\u2019s Grand […]","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7GOSM-8KW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33662"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33662\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33664,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33662\/revisions\/33664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ice-dance.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}