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TSN Figure Skating Analyst

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The World Championships in Boston delivered record breaking performances by deep fields in all disciplines with the titles going to the best of the very best.  Nobody won by default - they had to reach new heights in order to claim the gold. The scene in Boston was fantastic, with full houses that included knowledgeable and appreciative audiences whose raucous support coaxed personal bests out of many of the skaters.  

When it came to the medal haul, the results for the Canadian team were disappointing. But looking at Canada's place in the sport going forward and the bigger picture in general, the future looks bright. 

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford's performances in both portions of the competition were a highlight for Canadian fans and earned them renewed respect from their peers and audiences worldwide. And the event was much tougher with the return of three top teams that weren't in the field last year. Olympic Champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov and Olympic silver medalists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov from Russia returned, along with the newly-formed German pairing of Aliona Savchenko (half of the Olympic bronze duo) and Bruno Massot.

Prior to the Worlds, it wasn't an easy season for Duhamel and Radford as they struggled with the execution of their more difficult elements and with the artistic delivery of their programs. In the lead up to Boston, the rest of the pair's field upped their technical levels in order to catch the Canadians and a number of teams were successfully doing just that.

In Boston, Duhamel and Radford couldn't have skated better against a formidable field and were the only pair to deliver two flawless skates. Their performances have silenced the critics and they are indisputably once again, the world's best pair. Two other Canadian pairs had Top 10 finishes in Boston. 

Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch finished sixth in the long program ahead of the defending Olympic champions, which put them in seventh overall. They placed just behind the Russian Champions and one place ahead of Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro, who had a terrific showing at their first Worlds finishing in eighth. Both teams placed ahead of U.S., French and Italian champions and two Chinese pairs, so it was a significant accomplishment for Canadian pairs.  

Patrick Chan could not find his winning performance in Boston.  While he faltered, Yuzuru Hanyu stole the show once again in the short program and it was Javier Fernandez who roared back in the free skate with what many people are calling the greatest skate at a World Championships of all time.  

Other than Hanyu - who was sensational - most of the men stumbled in the short program. Patrick missed his triple axel, but was still in the mix in third place after the short. Unlike previous times where Chan saved his best for the free skate, he couldn't find his comfort zone in the free. And while he earned his usually high artistic scores, his jumping errors dropped him to fifth overall. 

After the competition, he held firm to his commitment that his sights are set on the next Olympics. With the men's field relentlessly surging ahead this season, Chan has battled at times to keep pace.  His return has brought a much-appreciated quality and presence to the men's competition and with a determined effort to develop his jumping technique and consistency in the offseason, he'll be a force in the year ahead.  

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje didn't hit the levels they needed to hold off the French and American teams that had carried the momentum into the Worlds. Their fifth-place finish - which comes on the heels of a disappointing finish to their season last year - will demand that they reassess their strategy two years out from the Games.  

Artistically and technically they're more than capable, but they seem to be missing the winning free dance material and music. In a nutshell, they need to find that piece of music that will lift their performance emotionally above the rest while lifting the audience to its feet. With the qualities that the Top 5 teams possess, I believe it's inevitably the music that differentiates. In a close contest in Ice Dance, the way to win is through the hearts and emotions of the audience and judges.

Canadian silver medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier stunned the competition with their fifth place finish in the short dance. They earned the highest levels technically across the board and placed ahead of the 2014 world champions. They finished eighth overall, but put themselves in the mix as a couple that can measure up to the world's best, a fact that they can build on in the off-season.

Canadian Champion Alaine Chartrand stumbled in both the short and long programs in Boston and in what was one of the toughest and deepest ladies' fields ever, finished down in the pack in 17th. Gabby Daleman on the other hand, hit personal bests in both programs achieving a Top 10 finish, placing ninth overall.  

Gabby was able to show the international judges and audiences her incredible jumping ability when she opened her free skate with an impressive and explosive triple toe-triple toe combination. That combination, in terms of grade of execution or quality, was the highest scoring jumping pass in the event. Nobody delivers the trajectory that Gabby does. That an international panel, against a field of that quality noticed and rewarded it, is noteworthy and a real confidence builder for the season to come.

We are halfway through the Olympic quadrennial and while there's a lot of work to be done by the Canadian Team, there's a foundation of depth and talent to build on as the focus shifts to the 2018 Olympics. The future looks bright both here in Canada and for the sport of figure skating globally.