The Medal Winners Open is an invitational pro-am figure skating competition organized by the Japan Skating Federation and sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in the disciplines of Men's and Ladies' singles.[1][2][3] The invited skaters should have won a medal in a major ISU competition such as Olympics, Worlds, Europeans, 4CC, and Grand Prix Final.[4][5]

Each skater performs an ISU free skating program in a modified format which emphasizes artistic merit. The program duration is 3 minutes and 30 seconds +/- 10 seconds for men and 3 minutes +/- 10 seconds for ladies. Three jump passes, three spins, and a choreographic sequence should be performed. One of the jump passes can be a two-jump combination or a sequence of jumps. Vocal music, theatrical lighting, and small props are allowed.[1][2][3][6]

2017

In place of Medal Winners Open, the promoters presented Medal Winners Gala on January 14, 2017 in Yokohama, Japan.[7][8]

2016

The third competition was held on January 15, 2016 in Osaka, Japan.[3][9][10]

Men

RankNamePointsProgram[11][12]
1Jeremy Abbott85.44Bring Him Home (from Les Misérables) by Claude-Michel Schönberg
2Nobunari Oda83.82Liebesträume by Franz Liszt
3Jeffrey Buttle72.76Cry Me a River by Arthur Hamilton, covered by Michael Bublé
4Johnny Weir70.30Masquerade (waltz) by Aram Khachaturian
5Ilia Kulik69.67Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (from Ladies in Lavender) by Nigel Hess

Ladies

RankNamePointsProgram[12]
1Joannie Rochette71.27Gravity by Sara Bareilles[13]
2Carolina Kostner59.69Méditation (Thaïs) by Jules Massenet
3Miki Ando54.13Ballade No. 4 (Chopin) by Frédéric Chopin
4Yuka Sato50.44Say you Love Me
5Kimmie Meissner45.12Chandelier

2015

The second competition was held on January 16, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan.[2][14][15]

Men

RankNamePointsProgram[16]
1Evgeny Plushenko86.95Je suis malade by Serge Lama
2Nobunari Oda85.15Adiós Nonino by Astor Piazzolla
3Jeffrey Buttle77.28Here's to Life by Shirley Horn
4Johnny Weir75.14Ave Maria païen by Riccardo Cocciante, Luc Plamondon
5Evan Lysacek73.32El Tango de Roxanne (from Moulin Rouge!) by Sting, Mariano Mores
6Takeshi Honda50.41Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota

Ladies

RankNamePointsProgram[16]
1Joannie Rochette64.67La Vie en rose covered by Ute Lemper
2Sarah Meier54.89Amélie Medley by Yann Tiersen
3Miki Ando54.10Ballade No. 4 (Chopin) by Frédéric Chopin
4Laura Lepisto52.94Lohtu
5Irina Slutskaya50.63All by Myself covered by Celine Dion
6Kimmie Meissner45.56Over the Rainbow covered by Eva Cassidy

2012

The inaugural competition was held on October 5, 2012 in Saitama, Japan.[1][17][18]

Men

RankNamePointsProgram[19][20]
1Jeffrey Buttle83.40In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles
2Kurt Browning71.57Singin' in the Rain
3Ilia Kulik69.93Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
4Takeshi Honda69.32Toska - E lucevan le stelle by Giacomo Puccini
5Alexei Yagudin69.10Burn My Shadow by Unkle
6Philippe Candeloro51.63D'Artagnan by Maxime Rodriguez

Ladies

RankNamePointsProgram[19][20]
1Shizuka Arakawa64.80Swan Lake (modern version) by Kryzler & Kompany
2Joannie Rochette63.47For Me, Formidable by France d'Amour
3Irina Slutskaya61.97Le cocher de la troika by Paul Mauriat
4Sarah Meier54.53Not Myself Tonight by Christina Aguilera
5Laura Lepisto52.98Malaguena (fandangos)
6Kimmie Meissner51.90Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota

References

  1. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2012 announcement". ISU. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2015 announcement". ISU. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2016 announcement". ISU. Archived December 28, 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ "メダル・ウィナーズ・オープンとは" [About MWO] (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Archived October 8, 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ "開催概要・アクセス" [Outline] (in Japanese). TBS. Archived December 28, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Lynn Plage Communications (October 3, 2012). "Japan hosts three star-studded events this week". IceNetwork
  7. ^ "木下グループpresents　LEGENDS ～メダルウィナーズ・ガラ～" (in Japanese). TBS. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  8. ^ "木下グループpresents　LEGENDS ～メダルウィナーズ・ガラ～". TBS. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  9. ^ "Announcement of International Single & Pair Skating, Ice Dance and Synchronized Skating Competitions 2015/16". ISU. Archived August 1, 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2016 detailed results". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived January 15, 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ 木下グループ カップ　メダル・ウィナーズ・オープン2016 [Kinoshita Group Cup Medal Winners Open 2016] (Television production) (in Japanese). Japan: TBS. January 15, 2016.
  12. ^ "木下グループ カップ メダル・ウィナーズ・オープン2016" [Kinoshita Group Cup Medal Winners Open 2016] (in Japanese). TBS 2. January 2016. Archived January 26, 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Stars on Ice (January 27, 2016). "...The ladies event was won by strong field with her performance to "Gravity" by Sarah Bareilles..." (Facebook)
  14. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2015 detailed results". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived January 16, 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ "Medal Winners Open. Плющенко победил, Ода – 2-й, Баттл – 3-й" [Medal Winners Open. Plushenko. Oda Nobunari 2nd, Buttle 3rd] (in Russian). Sports.ru. January 16, 2015.
  16. ^ 木下グループpresents メダル・ウィナーズ・オープン2015 [Kinoshita Group presents Medal Winners Open 2015] (Television production, BS-TBS) (in Japanese). Japan: TBS. January 17, 2015.
  17. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2012 protocol". ISU. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2012 detailed results". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived October 14, 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ^ "Medal Winners Open". Golden Skate. Archived October 12, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  20. ^ 木下グループ メダル・ウィナーズ・オープン2012 [Kinoshita Group Medal Winners Open 2012] (Television production) (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. October 8, 2012.