Golding 26th At European Youth Olympic Festival

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Elizabeth Golding has finished 26th in the Junior Women’s event at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti, Finland. This was the first time an Irish ice skater has competed at an EYOF.

Golding took part in the short programme on the first day of the competition. She attempted a triple Salchow-double toe loop jump combination, a double flip and a double Axel. Two of her spins were rewarded with Level 4 by the technical panel. She scored a new season best of 32.41 points to place 26th overnight.

Golding was back on the ice earlier today for the free skating. In her routine, she attempted two triple Salchows one of which was in a sequence with a double Salchow as well as two jump combinations. She received a Level 4 for a flying camel spin and earned a free score of 61.50 points, another season best, giving her a combined total of 93.91 points.

“I’m definitely going to remember this competition for the rest of my life, because this is probably the peak of my career right now,” Golding said. As a junior to be able to participate in such a big competition, I’m really thankful to the Ice Skating Association of Ireland, and Karen (O’ Sullivan – President) and everyone who really believed in me and helped me get to this competition and chose me to represent Ireland at such a big multisport event.”

Golding Set For Irish Ice Skating EYOF Debut

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Elizabeth Golding makes history for Irish ice skating this week as she becomes the first Irish ice skater to compete at the European Youth Olympic Festival which takes place this year in Vuokatti, Finland.

Golding will line up against skaters from 31 other European countries. She will skate in the short programme tomorrow (23 March) where she has drawn starting position 18 in Warm-Up Group 4. She performs at 17:00 (Irish time).

The short programme result determines the timing at which Golding skates in the free skating which begins at 13:45 (Irish time) on Thursday (24 March).

“It’s so nice to know that you are the first person to ever do this,” Golding said. “I’m hoping to do everything cleanly and just go out and have fun.”

Golding’s progress at the European Youth Olympic Festival can be followed live on the official EYOF channel.

Golding Named To Irish Team For Winter EYOF

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In a first for Irish ice skating, figure skater Elizabeth Golding has been selected by the Olympic Federation of Ireland to participate in the European Youth Olympic Festival in Vuokatti, Finland later this month (20-25 March). Golding will be one of just four athletes representing Ireland at the event which was originally scheduled to take place in February 2021, but was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It feels amazing to have been selected – dreams really do come true,” Golding said. “I am very excited to be representing Ireland on a brand new and even bigger international stage.”

Golding will be in action on 23 March (short programme) and 24 March (free skating).

OFI Press Release

 

Golding 10th At Bellu Memorial

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Elizabeth Golding has finished tenth at the Bellu Memorial in Otopeni, Romania this weekend.

Golding began the competition with the short programme. She singled her opening triple Salchow jump combination, but went on to attempt a double flip and a double Axel. She earned Level 4 for a change foot combination spin to score 33.94 points which left her in 13th place overnight.

For the free skating, Golding began with a double Lutz that garnered a good grade of execution. She attempted a triple Salchow and a double Axel and was awarded Level 4 for both a change foot combination spin and a flying camel spin. She received a score of 63.19 points in the free which gave her a combined total of 97.13 and tenth place overall in the final standings.

McAllister Fourth At Dragon Trophy

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Sam McAllister has placed fourth at this weekend’s Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

McAllister opened the competition with the short programme where he attempted a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination as his first element. He went on to land a triple flip and a double Axel and secured Level 4 for all three of his spins. He was awarded a new personal best score of 60.73 points to place third midway through the event.

In the free skating earlier today, McAllister commenced his routine with a triple Lutz attempt and followed that up with a cleanly landed triple Salchow and a triple flip. He also included a triple toe loop in his programme and a flying sit spin was graded Level 4 by the technical panel. He posted another personal best score of 105.88 points which gave him a total of 166.61 points.

“I am happy with my new personal bests in the short and the long,” McAllister said. “Both programmes were definitely not my best showings, but it’s sport.”

 

Golding 13th At Winter Star

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Elizabeth Golding has finished in 13th place at Winter Star in Minsk, Belarus this weekend.

In the short programme, Golding attempted a triple Salchow jump combination, a triple flip and a double Axel. She received a Level 3 for a layback spin and earned 26.06 points for the segment which left her in 13th place overnight.

Golding came back this afternoon for the free skating in which she attempted a triple loop, triple Salchow and a triple toe loop. She achieved a Level 4 for change foot combination spin and Level 3 for both a flying camel spin and a layback spin. She scored 48.13 points in the free which gave her a total of 74.19 points.

Irish Junior Trio Compete At Reykjavik International Games

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Robyn Foster, Adare Condon and Dracy Condon have finished 12th, 17th and 18th respectively in the Junior Women’s event at this weekend’s Reykjavik International Games in Iceland.

Foster was the first of the Irish skaters to perform in the short programme. She attempted a double Axel, a triple Salchow jump combination and landed a double flip in her routine to earn 33.56 points and placed 9th.

Dracy Condon made her international competition debut for Ireland at this event and she went for a double Axel, a solo double flip and a double Lutz-double toe loop combination. She also executed a Level 4 layback spin and received 23.05 points leaving her in 18th after the short.

Adare Condon was the final Irish skater to make an appearance in the short. She also tried a double Axel as well as a double Lutz combination and she landed a double flip. She closed out her short with a Level 4 change foot combination spin and was awarded 25.11 points which put her in 16th place.

The following day all three Irish skaters were on the ice again for the free skating. Dracy Condon was the first of the trio to skate and began with a double Axel attempt. She included six double jumps in her programme and achieved a Level 4 again for her layback spin. She scored 42.24 points for the free and with a total of 65.29 remained in 18th place.

Shortly afterwards, Adare Condon performed and she also opened her free by trying a double Axel and went on to attempt two double-double jump combinations. Both a sit spin and a change foot combination spin were graded Level 4 by the technical panel. She got 43.75 points in the free which gave her an overall score of 68.86 points and 17th place.

Foster was the last of the Irish skaters to take to the ice in the free. She also opted to start with a double Axel attempt and inserted two double-double jump combinations during her routine. A flying sit spin got her a Level 4 and she scored 48.58 points for her free which combined with short score made for a total of 82.14 points and 12th place.

Golding 15th At Skate Helena

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Elizabeth Golding has started 2022 with a 15th place finish in the Junior Women’s event at Skate Helena in Belgrade, Serbia.

Golding began the competition with the short programme. She attempted a triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, a double flip and a double Axel in her routine to “Hip Hip Chin Chin” by Club Des Belugas. She also performed a Level 4 change foot combination spin and received positive grade of execution for a Level 2 step sequence. She scored 31.73 points which put her in 18th place overnight.

The 2019 Irish Junior National champion was up again in the free skating the following day. Skating to “One Eye Open” by Lola Blanc, she opened with double flip-double toe loop combination and a triple Salchow attempts. Later on in the programme, she also went for a double Axel. Two of her spins were graded Level 4 and she earned a free score of 60.31 giving a total of 92.04 which moved her up to 15th place overall.

“I know I could have done a lot better,” Golding said. “My scores were low only because of some stupid mistakes I made, but it feels great to be back to competing after being injured. I loved every minute I spent on the ice.”

Stakelum Skates To Top 30 Finish At Euros

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In his fourth appearance at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships, Conor Stakelum (28) has finished 30th in the men’s short programme which concluded earlier today in Tallinn, Estonia. Although he did not advance to the free skating on Friday, this is his highest placement ever at the event.

Skating to “Soulseeker” by Thomas Bergersen, Stakelum began his routine with a triple Salchow and followed that with a triple toe loop-triple toe loop jump combination and a double Axel. He also earned a Level 4 for a flying sit spin and six out of seven of the elements he performed received positive grades of execution from the judging panel. He was awarded a new ISU personal best score of 56.00 points.

The Dubliner was a last-minute replacement for Sam McAllister who had to withdraw from Europeans last Friday due to a positive Covid-19 test result. Stakelum had three days notice that he would be travelling to Estonia as a substitute.

“On Friday afternoon, I came out of work and I had so many notifications on my phone,” Stakelum said. “I wondered what I had done!”

Stakelum currently works in the NHS in Scotland and plans to keep competing after this season.

“I am going to stick around for another year competing because we lost a year to Covid. In Dundee, I am able to skate around my career and I still enjoy it.”

Unexpected Fourth Euros Appearance Beckons For Stakelum

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Conor Stakelum (28) participates in his fourth ISU European Figure Skating Championships which begins tomorrow in Tallinn Estonia.

Stakelum was a last-minute substitute for Sam McAllister who was originally selected to represent Ireland in the men’s event at the Tondiraba Ice Hall but had to withdraw after a positive Covid-19 test result last Friday (7 January).

The Dubliner will be in the first group of skaters to take to the ice tomorrow morning (12 January) in the men’s short programme which starts at 10:05 Irish time. The top 24 athletes after the short will proceed to the free skating on Friday (14 January).

“It’s nice to be back at Europeans even if it was a bit of a surprise and a bit of a whirlwind to see if I could get here,” Stakelum said. “This time last week I didn’t even know I was going so it’s kind of a bonus.”

You can follow Stakelum’s progress live on Eurosport or the ISU’s YouTube channel and on social media via the #EuroFigure and #UpAgain hashtags.