News
March 18, 2008
Dutch treat for Brittney Rizo
The key to competitive figure skating isn't who has the most difficult tricks in their bag, but rather who can create the magical moments when it really counts. Such was the case when junior Brittney Rizo traveled to The Hague, Netherlands to compete in the 2008 AEGON Challenge Cup - her first international assignment.
Rizo began her ethereal short program with a successful triple loop. She then upped the ante with a breathtaking triple toe-triple toe combination that was rewarded with all 1s and 2s for GOE - yielding a score of 9.40 for that jump element. She rounded out the program with a clean double Axel, well-executed spins, and a level 4 spiral sequence. For her efforts, Rizo earned a segment score of 53.06 placing her in first by more than eight points.
But when you're Brittney Rizo you don't rest on your laurels. A determined Rizo had something to prove to the world and to herself in the long program. She came to The Hague to lay down two strong programs and to conquer the elusive triple flip. In the freeskate, Rizo opened with a triple loop-double toe and then attacked the triple flip as her second element. Although she fell on the jump, the judges credited her with the full triple rotation and a correct take-off edge.
"I really wanted to know that I could go after the triple flip without backing down," an elated Rizo said. "I was landing the jump clean all week and felt that it was time. You can only improve by giving it all you've got."
In fact, despite the deduction for the lone fall, Rizo's Malaguena performance proved to be a point-generating machine. Charged with the energy of the moment she received positive GOE marks from every judge on every other element, including a total of five triple jumps (three after the mid-point), two level 4 spins and a level 4 spiral sequence. With a freeskate score of 97.29 and total event score of 150.35, Brittney earned the gold medal with a comfortable 35 point margin and a new personal best.
"It was such an honor to represent my country in international competition," Rizo said. "To be able to do it with a personal best was a dream come true."
Sweet dreams, Brittney.
