China Hosting First of Four 2015 World Champs

(ATR) The International Skating Union (ISU) World Championships are underway this week in Shanghai. Competition began on Wednesday and will continue through Saturday.

The event is just one of four world championships that will take place in China this year. The IAAF will host both the Cross Country World Championships in Guiyang this Saturday and Athletics World Championships in Beijing from August 22-30. The World Table Tennis Championships will be held in Suzhou, China from April 26-May 3.

This surge of international sports competitions in China could aid their chances of acquiring the bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. China is looking to bring back the Olympics back to Beijing after the success of the 2008 Summer Games.

Since the completion of the 2008 Olympics, China has continued to develop and construct additional athletic facilities. This week’s figure skating competition is being held in one of these facilities, the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.

The Sports Center began construction in 2008 after the Olympics concluded and was finished in 2010. It is home to an indoor sporting arena with a capacity of 18,000, as well as indoors and outdoors aquatic areas that each seat 5,000 people.

The expectations were high for two Chinese figure skating pairs taking part in the first world championship in China. Figure skating veterans Pang Qing and Tong Jian were looking to end their 22-year career with a victory in international competition, but fell to third behind fellow Chinese competitors and favorites Sui Wenjing and Han Cong.

Canadian figure skating pair Eric Radford and Meagan Duhamel took first place over the two home pairs as world champions for the first time.

Ashley Wagner and the rest of her Americanteammates are looking to be the first Americans to reach a podium at the Olympics or Worlds in figure skating since 2006.

Leading the pack in the women’s event is 18-year old Russian skater Elizaveta Tuktamysheva who holds a commanding lead after the short program. Tuktamysheva took the early lead by landing a triple Axel.

The men’s short program begins Friday afternoon in Shanghai, and the final rounds for both men’s and women’s events will be this Saturday.

NBC will provide primetime coverage of the event Saturday night in the United States, showing the ladies’ and ice dance competition, and will finish their coverage April 12 with the men’s and pairs’ competitions.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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