Agnes Zawadzki dominant in short program
In a judged sport with set point values for each component, brilliance trumps mere competence every time.
That's why 17-year-old Agnes Zawadzki blew away favored Alissa Czisny in Thursday night's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at HP Pavilion to set up a compelling duel in the long program Saturday.
After Czisny posted a seemingly untouchable score of 63.14 early in the competition that she thought would hold up, along came Zawadzki at 66.24, a robust score reflecting a successful triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel.
If Zawadzki's long program is anything like her short, the other 18 skaters in the field will be fighting for second place and beyond. Following Czisny in second are Ashley Wagner (63.06), Caroline Zhang (60.18) and Mirai Nagasu (59.02). Stanford student and 2010 national champion Rachael Flatt was well back in ninth place at 52.71.
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