Team USA Cracks Top 10 After Short Program at World Synchronized Skating Championships

Both U.S. teams cracked the top 10 after the short program on Friday evening at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2019 in Helsinki.

The Haydenettes lead the U.S. contingent and sit in seventh place after their short program, set to "Gravity" by Raphael Beau. The 27-time U.S. champions scored 77.97 points, and despite a fall, received over 1.10 points for their grades of execution on all six elements. The Massachusetts-based team were awarded Level 4 marks for their twizzle element, traveling wheel and no hold element, and scored 34.93 for their program components.

“Overall, it felt strong,” team member Sarah Checkosky said. “We hit all the things we have been working on at practice. We made a lot of changes since U.S. Championships so we are happy with those improvements.”

“Tomorrow we just want to keep fighting and attack that long program,” said Haydenettes skater Sharon Neff. “We have had a really strong long program all season. All we need is to do our jobs tomorrow and the rest will take care of itself.”

The Skyliners finished in eighth place after the short program, scoring 76.23 points. In their short program performance to "What a Wonderful World" by Joseph William Morgan featuring Shadow Royale, the 2019 U.S. silver medalists were awarded Level 4s for their pivoting block, twizzle element and traveling wheel. The New York-based team scored over 1.20 points for their grades of execution on every element with components ranging from 7.75 for skating skills to 8.14 for performance.

“We feel so confident in the way we skated,” six-year team member Samantha Romenseko said. “Being able to skate in a sold-out arena was an amazing experience and one that will definitely not be forgotten.”

Russia’s Paradise leads the pack with 87.12 points, followed by the 2018 World champions from Finland, Marigold Ice Unity (85.90) and Nexxice of Canada (84.63).

Competition concludes tomorrow with the free skate, beginning at 6:45 a.m. ET. Watch the competition live and on-demand on the Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold and catch the latest competition recaps on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.

Full Results