Medal Winners Open

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

[edit]

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

## 2016

[edit]

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

### Men

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[11][12]

|
|
|

1 |  Jeremy Abbott | 85.44  | Bring Him Home (from Les Misérables)  by Claude-Michel Schönberg
2 |  Nobunari Oda | 83.82  | Liebesträume by Franz Liszt
3 |  Jeffrey Buttle | 72.76  | Cry Me a River by Arthur Hamilton, covered by Michael Bublé
4  |  Johnny Weir | 70.30  | Masquerade (waltz)  by Aram Khachaturian
5  |  Ilia Kulik | 69.67  | Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra (from Ladies in Lavender)  by Nigel Hess

### Ladies

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[12]

|
|
|

1 |  Joannie Rochette | 71.27  | Gravity by Sara Bareilles[13]
2 |  Carolina Kostner | 59.69  | Méditation (Thaïs) by Jules Massenet
3 |  Miki Ando | 54.13  | Ballade No. 4 (Chopin) by Frédéric Chopin
4  |  Yuka Sato | 50.44  | Say you Love Me
5  |  Kimmie Meissner | 45.12  | Chandelier

## 2015

[edit]

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

### Men

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[16]

|
|
|

1 |  Evgeny Plushenko | 86.95  | Je suis malade by Serge Lama
2 |  Nobunari Oda | 85.15  | Adiós Nonino by Astor Piazzolla
3 |  Jeffrey Buttle | 77.28  | Here's to Life by Shirley Horn
4  |  Johnny Weir | 75.14  | Ave Maria païen by Riccardo Cocciante, Luc Plamondon
5  |  Evan Lysacek | 73.32  | El Tango de Roxanne (from Moulin Rouge!) by Sting, Mariano Mores
6  |  Takeshi Honda | 50.41  | Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota

### Ladies

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[16]

|
|
|

1 |  Joannie Rochette | 64.67  | La Vie en rose covered by Ute Lemper
2 |  Sarah Meier | 54.89  | Amélie Medley by Yann Tiersen
3 |  Miki Ando | 54.10  | Ballade No. 4 (Chopin) by Frédéric Chopin
4  |  Laura Lepisto | 52.94  | Lohtu
5  |  Irina Slutskaya | 50.63  | All by Myself covered by Celine Dion
6  |  Kimmie Meissner | 45.56  | Over the Rainbow covered by Eva Cassidy

## 2012

[edit]

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

### Men

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[19][20]

|
|
|

1 |  Jeffrey Buttle | 83.40  | In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles
2 |  Kurt Browning | 71.57  | Singin' in the Rain
3 |  Ilia Kulik | 69.93  | Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
4  |  Takeshi Honda | 69.32  | Toska \- E lucevan le stelle by Giacomo Puccini
5  |  Alexei Yagudin | 69.10  | Burn My Shadow by Unkle
6  |  Philippe Candeloro | 51.63  | D'Artagnan by Maxime Rodriguez

### Ladies

[edit]

Rank  | Name  | Points  | Program[19][20]

|
|
|

1 |  Shizuka Arakawa | 64.80  | Swan Lake (modern version) by Kryzler & Kompany
2 |  Joannie Rochette | 63.47  | For Me, Formidable by France d'Amour
3 |  Irina Slutskaya | 61.97  | Le cocher de la troika by Paul Mauriat
4  |  Sarah Meier | 54.53  | Not Myself Tonight by Christina Aguilera
5  |  Laura Lepisto | 52.98  | Malaguena (fandangos)
6  |  Kimmie Meissner | 51.90  | Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Medal Winners Open 2012 announcement" (PDF). ISU. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 5, 2014.
2. ^ a b c "Medal Winners Open 2015 announcement" (PDF). ISU. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 5, 2014.
3. ^ a b c "Medal Winners Open 2016 announcement" (PDF). ISU. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2015.
4. ^ "メダル・ウィナーズ・オープンとは" [About MWO] (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012.
5. ^ "開催概要・アクセス" [Outline] (in Japanese). TBS. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014.
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～". TBS (in Japanese). 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" (PDF). ISU. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2015.
10. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2016 detailed results". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016.
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. ^ a b "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 from the original on January 26, 2016.
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 from the original on January 16, 2015.
15. ^ "Medal Winners Open. Плющенко победил, Ода – 2-й, Баттл – 3-й" [Medal Winners Open. Plushenko. Oda Nobunari 2nd, Buttle 3rd]. Sports.ru (in Russian). January 16, 2015.
16. ^ a b 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" (PDF). ISU. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 5, 2014.
18. ^ "Medal Winners Open 2012 detailed results". Japan Skating Federation Official Results & Data Site. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012.
19. ^ a b "Medal Winners Open". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
20. ^ a b 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.

## External links

[edit]

* Results at GoldenSkate.com
* 2012 competition official site
* 2012 competition information at the International Skating Union
* 2015 competition official site
* 2015 competition information at the International Skating Union
* 2016 competition official site
* 2016 competition information at the International Skating Union