Flatt Wins World Junior Championships

It was no surprise the U.S. women swept the medals Saturday at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

After all, the U.S. team included the 1-2-4 finishers from the most competitive senior national championships in the world.

But the results, with Rachael Flatt sneaking out of the shadows to take the title from defending world junior champion Caroline Zhang and reigning U.S. champion Mirai Nagasu, mean there will be a ferocious battle for places on the U.S. team at the 2009 senior worlds in Los Angeles and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Especially because the U.S. is likely to have only two women's places at the 2009 worlds. If that happens, there will be no margin of error to get three places at the 2010 Olympics.

"This is a really good group of U.S. ladies," said Zhang, of Brea. "The next two years will be tough but really fun too."

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Mirai Nagasu, a feathery 14-year-old from Arcadia, Calif., survived a fall on her opening double axel and gathered herself to land six triple jumps, including a gutsy triple lutz-triple toe combination that she landed immediately after her fall, to become the second youngest U.S. champion, 34 days older than was Tara Lipinski when she won in 1997.

Second place went to another Californian, 15-year-old Rachael Flatt, who landed seven clean triples, including a flawless triple lutz-triple toe combo, to amass 125.82 points in the long program, the most of any skater on this night of surprises. Sixteen-year-old Ashley Wagner from Alexandria, Va., another first-year senior, placed third, just .17 behind Flatt. Wagner, too, did a triple-triple -- a rare thing in these championships in years past. Fourth place went to yet another 14-year-old appearing in her first senior nationals competition, Caroline Zhang, a 4-foot-11 tot from Irvine, Calif. Of these top four finishers, only Wagner is old enough to compete at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, in March.


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Source: SI