US Figure Skating Championships 2019: Saturday TV Schedule, Top Contenders
Following on from a history-making Friday at the United States Figure Skating Championships, more competitors will be seeking to etch their names into the record books on Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
In the pairs event, the free skate runs will determine who takes gold, with the duo of Tarah Kayne and Danny O'Shea leading the way after the short program on 71.83 points. Defending champions Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim have ground to make up and begin the day in seventh.
The men's event will also get underway, with defending champion Nathan Chen set to take to the ice. The world champion is chasing a third win in succession in this competition.
U.S. Figure Skating Championships Saturday Schedule
9:30 a.m.: Pairs Free Skate (Groups 1 & 2)
11:09 a.m.: Men's Short Program (Groups 1 & 2)
1:27 p.m.: Men's Short Program (Groups 3 & 4)
3:07 p.m.: Pairs Free Skate (Groups 3 & 4)
6:16 p.m.: Free Dance
All times ET. Event will be broadcast live on NBC. The full competition schedule can be found here.
Saturday Preview
Following on from success for the 13-year-old Alysa Liu on Friday in the women's event—she became the youngest United States ladies' champion ever—more thrills will be expected on the ice on Saturday.
After being edged out by the Knierim duo last year, Kayne and O'Shea would have been desperate to make amends in 2019. They are on track to do exactly that, having performed well in the short program on Thursday.
Their routine put them on 71.83 points, leaving them narrowly ahead of Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, who accrued 70.47 in their short program run.
As skating broadcaster Jackie Wong relayed, ahead of their initial run, the 2016 champions admitted they were feeling a little nervous going into their routine:
They should be feeling confident after their performance though, and that means they will be tough to beat come Saturday's free skate. When the duo clinched their national title in 2016, they blew away the competition with a stunning free skate and will be hopeful of repeating the trick here.
Here's a reminder of what they were able to produce three years ago, booking their place at the World Championships in the process:
Those in attendance will also get their first glimpse of Chen on Sunday, when the men begin their quest for gold with their short program runs.
The world champion has been crowned as the national champion in this event for the previous two years and is the huge favourite to make it three in succession. The last competitor to achieve a trio of successive triumphs was Johnny Weir between 2004 and 2006.
The Backseat Judges Twitter account gave us an insight into what we can expect from the 19-year-old:
Chen's ability means he will be almost impossible to beat at the nationals, and he is expected to go on to defend his world title later in the year if he can perform to his best.
If the teenager is going to face competition for gold, then it will come from the likes of Jason Brown, who changed coach after missing the 2018 Winter Olympics, and Vincent Zhou.
