Rena and John take Bronze at U.S. Nationals

January 24, 2009

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin won the bronze medal at the U.S. National Championshps Saturday for their seventh straight finish on the podium in nationals.

Rena and John have earned two national titles, three silver and two bronze in their last seven U.S. Championships. It was little more difficult this week with Rena battling the flu.

The pair had a stumble early in the free skate but recovered to medal.

"It was a little rough at the beginning starting out with a little tumble on the triple toe, and it felt for me like we lost a little steam, but I give Rena credit for the throws she pulled off so beautifully. It was a satisfactory performance," John said.

Rena and John win Silver at NHK Trophy

November 30, 2008

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin won the silver medal at the NHK Trophy this weekend.

Rena and John, skating to “Pompei” by E. S. Posthumous, were successful with a double twist, double Axel-double toeloop combination and a throw triple loop. John faltered on the side-by-side triple toeloop. They earned level four for their lifts and the side-by-side spin.

Rena and John earned their season-best of 103.89 points and claimed the silver with 161.49 points overall. “This is our third time at NHK Trophy but the first time that we are on the podium,” Rena said. “Being at the 30th anniversary of NHK Trophy it is great to get a medal and be part of history,” John said. The pair finished fourth at the their previous two NHK events.

Rena and John are third substitutes for the Dec. 10-14 Grand Prix Final in Korea.

Rena and John scored their season-best 57.60 points to finish second in the short program.

Performing to “Song from a Secret Garden”, they were successful on a double twist, a throw triple loop, a level-four spiral sequence and side-by-side spin. By doubling a side-by-side triple toe loop they fell just short of leaders Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China.

“We’ve been practicing this program a lot since Skate America,” Rena said. “Today was all about putting out the best performance we can do.”

Rena and John begin 2008-2009 competitive season

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Rena and John to perform in "Skating for Life" on NBC

“Skating for Life,” an all-star variety show featuring country singer Sara Evans, and a performing roster of 11 Olympic, World and National figure-skating champions, will star in a two-hour NBC special this fall. The show will be taped at Bloomington, Ill., U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Two-time National Champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen, three-time U.S. National champ Johnny Weir, U.S. National champ Rudy Galindo, U.S. National Bronze medalist Emily Hughes, six-time Canadian National champ Jennifer Robinson and eight-time British champ Steven Cousins will be performing.

Also on board are Sylvia Fontana and Jenni Meno and Todd Sand.

The one-time-only performance, hosted by Peggy Fleming, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15, with NBC airing the show from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 25.

Tickets are $30 to $105, and go on sale at 10 a.m. Aug. 16 via the Coliseum box office and area Ticketmaster outlets.

Both the live performance and the NBC special are a benefit for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the network of breast cancer survivors and activists founded in the memory of the Peoria-born Komen.

All of the performers, from Evans to each of the skaters, have been touched either directly or through family members by cancer, according to the show’s executive producer, Steve Disson.

What: ”Skating for Life”

When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15

Where: U.S. Cellular Coliseum, 101 S. Madison St., Bloomington, Ill.

Tickets: $30 to $105, beginning 10 a.m. Aug. 16

Box office number: (866) 891-999

Rena to be featured on NHK TV

U.S. National Pairs Champion, Rena Inoue will have her life documented on NHK TV Japan.  Inoue and her partner, John Baldwin will take viewers through their partnership as she moved from Japan to the United States to skate together.  Rena became a U.S. citizen in time to compete at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, where she and John made Olympic History becoming the first pairs team to land a throw-triple axel in competition.  Rena lost her father to cancer and she herself is a cancer survivor.  Inoue & Baldwin got engaged this year when Baldwin proposed on the ice at the 2006 U.S. National Championships.  The feature is scheduled to air on NHK TV next fall.

Rena and John finish in Top 10 at World Championships

March 20, 20078

U.S. silver medalists Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, who competed at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships with just two weeks preparation, re-affirmed their decision to remain in the eligible ranks, placing eighth in the free skate after a 10th-place short program, and finishing 10th overall at the World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

"Rena and I were extremely pleased with our performances here and are happy to report we have secured two sports for next year's world championships in our hometown of Los Angeles!

"We're leaving here with a tremendous sense of satisfaction," the 34-year-old Baldwin said. "Doing those shows in Europe and Japan last summer and fall gained us a ton of performance experience; the fans just love Rena in Japan, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

"But I like competition best -- putting it all out there on the line and taking chances is scary. We really wanted to challenge ourselves and see if we could do it, and we did.

The couple, who won the U.S. title in 2004 and 2006, opened strong with side-by-side triple toe loops, a solid double twist and double Axel-double toe combos. Although Inoue fell on the landing of their signature move, a throw triple Axel, she nailed a throw triple loop later in the program.

"I'm so glad we came here," the 31-year-old Inoue said. "At first, we thought it would be impossible to do the rest of the season with just two weeks training in January. I told Johnny, 'I just hope we don't embarrass ourselves.'"

Inoue and Baldwin, who became engaged on the ice after their free skate at the U.S. championships, now plan another round of shows in Japan before returning to their home in Los Angeles to begin training for the 2009 Grand Prix season. They have other plans too: Baldwin revealed they are planning a summer wedding and hope to become parents in the not-so-distant future. They also do not rule out competing for a spot at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

"We're still here competing at our ages, against all these younger athletes," Baldwin said. "I think we're doing it pretty well too."

Rena and John 4th at Four Continents

February 14 , 2008

Rena and John, in third after the short program at the Four Continents Championships in Korea, finished fourth after the free skate.

They didn't compete this fall, and only decided to come back for the U.S. Championships. They turned in a solid performance to "Beethoven's Last Night" that contained a side-by-side double Axel, a throw triple loop and a double twist.

"Everything was the same in this program that we did at the Nationals," John said. "We scored about ten points higher at Nationals. When we got off it was kind of a shock to see those levels. But it is a new program for us and we're going back and look at that video and see what mistakes we made. Obviously you can't leave that many points on the table." Rena and John are 10 points behind the leaders China's Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang. Qing Pang and Jian Tong are in second.

"We definitely thought we did exact the same elements that at Nationals, but sometime even though you thought you did exactly the same, but it was even less than a quarter turn short and that could be it," Rena added. "We're actually lucky it happened at this competition and not at Worlds."

The competition is being held in Goyang City/Republic of Korea.

We were in Madrid, Spain for New Year's.

> See the Photos

New tour photos.

> See them here

Rena & John part of cancer awareness TV show

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Rena and John withdraw from Grand Prix Series; plan to start season at U.S. Championships.
Read more

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John's Journal

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Rena and John's PCH adventure!

> See the photos

Rena and John and fellow skaters on the Champions On Ice tour enjoy some leisure time in San Francisco.

> Read John's journal
> See the photos

Touring Japan with Rena and John

> See the photos

Rena and John are the only team to receive all level fours on their elements

> Read the story, see the photos

Rena and John withdraw from Grand Prix Series

Six-time U.S. Championship pairs medalists Rena Inoue and John Baldwin announced today their withdrawal from the upcoming Grand Prix season. The Two-time United States Champions intend to start their competitive season at the 2008 U.S. Championships in St. Paul, Minn.

“We have had a very busy post-season and became aware that we would have to approach this next one with a completely different plan than what we have done in the past.”  Inoue and Baldwin agreed. “It is very important for us to do well at the U.S. Championships, Four Continents, and the World Championships and we have decided to put all our focus into these competitions.” Inoue said.

 “Our long-term goals have not changed and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver is where we plan to be.” Baldwin said. “We’re still passionate about the sport and competing but, the last few seasons have been incredibly demanding. This will allow us the time we need to defend our position in competition and continue our quest for an Olympic medal.”

Rena and John have been the top ranked U.S. pairs team, internationally and consecutively in the Grand Prix Series, since the fall of 2002. Last season they earned more points in competition than any other U.S. skater.  This veteran team holds the National, World, and Olympic record as the first pairs team in history to land a throw triple-axel in competition.

The 2008 U.S. Championships in St Paul, will mark their 8th consecutive trip together to the prestigious event.

John gives NBC deal 2 thumbs up!

Two-time U.S. National Pairs Champion John Baldwin is ecstatic with the new U.S. Figure Skating Association three-year television deal with NBC Sports.

“This is great! It’s live! People can watch and don’t know the result. The results will be known to everybody around the world at the same time. Live is how it should be. This is exactly what we needed for our sport,” John said.

NBC will broadcast live coverage of the U.S. Championships and Skate America. The network is contracted to 10 hours of event coverage and various marketing and broadband rights, highlighted by additional live event coverage on NBCSports.com and U.S. Figure Skating's icenetwork.com.

Details discussed included the revamped format of the U.S. Championships, the scheduled live coverage of Skate America, and the possible NBC announcing team.

“This nothing but a terrific boost for figure skating,” John said. “ABC televised skating all different hours and delayed. And it put everything on its ESPN network. We are tied in to the network that will televise the Winter Games in Vancouver in 2010 and everything should be a leadup to the Games,”
Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Dick Ebersol said in a statement: “As America's Olympic Network, we are proud to partner with U.S. Figure Skating and broadcast this marquee event. Figure skating is the single most popular event in the Winter Olympics, and the U.S. Championships will be one of the building blocks of our coverage as we lead into the Vancouver Winter Games.”

John and partner Rena Inoue are committed to compete at the 2010 Games. “I’ve always said that is our goal. We’ll see how it goes but we’ve set our sights on Vancouver,” John said.

“I applaud David Raith (US Figure Skating Executive Director) for making this happen,” John said. “We’ll be shown on HDTV and live. It doesn’t get any better than that. NBC is figure skating.”

NBC will broadcast live all four finals of the 2008 U.S. Championships during the weekend of Jan. 26-27, 2008.

Colorado Springs holds special meaning for Rena and John

John stayed in the Cheyenne Mountain Resort when competiting in 1985-86.

February 9, 2007

John Baldwin had a sentimental journey to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Four Continents Championship this week. It was here where his father and mother met. John also had his first competition at the historic Broadmoor Rink and 10 years ago Rena and John met each other.

“I had my first competition here in 1985-86,” said John. “I trained with Carlos Fassi. “I represented Broadmoor in 1986 and stayed in the beautiful Cheyenne Mountain Resort. Our house was right across the way.

“Rena and I did a camp together here in 1990, and we didn’t know each other then. Rena was skating pairs and I was competing in singles. Rena and I love this place.”

When Rena and John go to the World Championships in mid-March, it will be a sort of reunion for Rena. She was born in Hyogo, Japan. She has performed twice as an Olympian for Japan and will be received as a favorite among skaters, including her countrymen. “Rena is excited going back to Japan. We are looking forward to the support the Japanese will give us. Nobody has retired among the pairs skaters except the Olympic gold medalists. It’s a strong field and we’re looking forward to performing well. This is what we live for,” said John.

Rena ’s father Masahiko died 10 years ago, and Rena and John will spend time visiting the gravesite.

Canada’s Dube released from hospital   

  Canadian pairs skater Jessica Dube was recovering from surgery to her left cheek and nose and was to be released from a Colorado Springs hospital Friday afternoon.

Dube had surgery Thursday night after being hit by partner Bryce Davison's skate in the free skate competition at Four Continents.

Dube declined interview requests, but was to release a written statement later.

“The surgery went very well,” International Skating Union medical adviser Jane Moran said. “Jessica is doing great.” Moran said the eye was not affected and nothing was broken.

Rena and John take Bronze at Four Continents

February 8, 2007

Two-time U.S. national champions and 2006 Olympians Rena Inoue and John Baldwin earned a bronze medal at the Four Continents Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Rena and John finished third in the free skate and earned 175.48 points. Chinese pairs swept first and second with Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao (203.05) first and Qing Pang & Jian Tong (185.33) second.

They struggled with their second double Axels and their signature throw triple Axel. John, however, did execute his opening triple toe loop.

 “It felt really good because I'd missed it five times in a row this season and at four Grand Prix competitions,” John said. “I did the triple toe, and then I let down on the second double Axel, something I never miss, so I was really surprised to have flipped out of the second double Axel.”

The altitude, John said, played a factor with every team. He said their coach, Peter Oppegard, told them to attack the front end of their program. “He said to pretend like you're just doing the first section of the program and to go all out,” John said. “That's what we did tonight.”

Rena said their goal coming into Four Continents was to skate more aggressively than they did at the U.S. Championships.

 “I felt at nationals that I was very nervous and we held back a lot,” Rena said.

Rena and John compete at the World Championships in Tokyo in mid-March. It will be a homecoming for Rena as she will be skating in front of home country fans.

An accident in the pairs competition resulted in an injury to Canadian Jessica Dube. Dube was hit below her left eye by partner Bryce Davison's skate in the free skate competition before Rena and John skated.

After being struck by Davison's skate, Dube immediately fell to the ice and clutched at her face as blood pooled on the ice. Davison comforted her as the medical staff rushed onto the ice, put her on a stretcher and took her to a local hospital.

Canadian coach Annie Barabe visited Dube in the hospital and reported she's doing "OK". "She's in good spirits and sent her well wishes to all of the skaters," Barabe said in a statement. "She's being attended to at the hospital right now and is receiving excellent medical attention."

The pair was on their third rotation of a side-by-side camel when Davison began to drift toward Dube, catching her with his skate.

The injury had an effect on John during his free skate routine with Rena.  "It's a little distracting because it kind of puts in your mind how dangerous pairs skating is," Baldwin said. "There are so many things that can go wrong. What happened tonight is just a freak occurrence. The girls take a lot of risks out there. We're kind of the strength and they're the daredev

Rena and John claim Silver at U.S. Championships

January 26, 2007

Rena and John finished with the Silver Medal at the 2007 U.S. National Championships at Spokane, Washington, earning them a berth on the World championship team.

The two-time and defending champions finished just .25 points behind winners Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski who had to skate a near-perfect program.

The 2006 Olympic skaters showed a lot of finesse and fought hard to make up for two mistakes in the free skate. Rena landed their trademark throw triple Axel on her feet but couldn’t quite hold on. The momentum of flipping off her edge forced her to fall over, drawing a sympathetic “Oooh” from the
crowd. John missed his side-by-side triple jump. A miniscule score higher on either one of those elements would have given Rena and John the championship.

“Even though we missed a couple things, I’m happy with the way we skated, considering all we've been through this year,” John said.

Their comeback was aided by an impressive overhead lift, with John raising Rena into the air and softly setting her down with one arm. Their side-by-side spins were as near-perfect as possible. It looked as if they were both being directed by the same string.

John clapped when their marks were shown, pleased they had come so close to winning their first back-to-back titles.

Rena and John will compete at Four Continents Feb. 5-11 at Colorado Springs, Colorado and then travel to the World Championships at Tokyo that begin March 19. They won the championship at Four Continents and finished fourth, just out of the medals last year.

Rena and John in first after short program

Rena and John have head start on their way to defending their title after winning the short program Wednesday night. Photo/Elaine Thompson

January 25, 2007

In their quest for a third national title, Rena and John are in the lead after the short program at the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash.

They won their second pairs National Championship last year,rallying from fourth to take the gold medal and qualify for their first Olympics. They won their first U.S. pairs championship in 2004.

Rena and John received personal-best score of 62.73 points Wednesday night. That's more than a point higher than they got for the short program in Turin, where they landed the first throw triple Axel at the Olympic Games.

"No, it wasn't better than the Olympics," Baldwin said. "I think we were rewarded a little more on the second mark because of last year. It's nice. I think Rena and I both have put our time in in skating. Our careers span three decades -- since the Reagan era."

IRena and John showed they are still the class of the U.S. field, with technical skills that no other couple could match. They struggled with their lift, his arms visibly shaking as he tried to raise her 12 feet in the air. Most other couples would have bailed out, with him either setting her down or her grabbing onto him for dear life.

But they have the trust in each other that all successful pairs team must have, and they gutted through it. He wound up skating across the entire end of the rink with her high above his head before setting her down.

"There's no way I would ever put a lift down," Baldwin said.

Rena also stepped out on the landing of the throw triple Axel, their trademark move. But the 3 1/2-revolution jump is the toughest trick around -- nobody else in the world has ever completed it -- and it's still worth a lot of points, even with a slight mistake.

"We left a couple of points out on the table," Baldwin said. "Our goal was to come off the ice happy, and that's what we did."

They made history at the U.S. Nationals last year when they became the first team ever to execute the throw triple Axel. They also completed the moved in the Olympics and John said they have been consistently landing it during practice this year.

Rena and John, 30 and 33 years old respectively, are the senior membersof U.S. figure skating. But they are one of the more consistent teams among U.S. skaters and are still challenging the sport’s standings.

In their USFSA bio, their goal this year is to complete a quad throw.

Rena and John are featured on the cover of the August/September issue of Skating magazine. There also is a great story inside.

Rena and John win Silver in Paris,
lock up spot in Grand Prix

Photos by Remy de la Maurinier

November 18, 2006

U.S. two-time national champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin earned the Silver Medal at Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris, picking up 13 points and to clinch their second straight berth in the ISU Grand Prix Series.

It was Rena and John ’s third medal in the GP Series. They won Skate America, finished second in Skate Canada (a non-scoring event for them) and added the second silver in Paris.

"Considering the circumstances that Rena and I have gone through the last couple of days, we’re very happy with how we’ve skated tonight and we’re pleased with the outcome”, John said, referring to his sickness (shingles and fever). “It made us stronger. If we can get through the program as well as we did in that condition, I think it bodes well for the next competition.”

Rena and John, in the freeskate, completed a double twist, throw triple loop and a double Axel-double toeloop combination as well as difficult lifts and level four pair combination spin and a death spiral. They performed to a medley of melodies by Giacomo Puccini.

Their deductions came from a fall on the side-by-side triple toeloop and their historic throw triple Axel.
Their 164.73 points was 11 points better than bronze medalists Julia Obertas and Sergei Slavnov of Russia.

John was diagnosed with shingles by a doctor who was summoned to his room just about 2 a.m., Friday.  John had been running a high fever coming into his practice sessions. When John showed up for the competition for the short program that evening, the doctor told him he was not healthy enough to skate.

“The doctor came at two in the morning and diagnosed me with shingles. I had heavy fever coming into this and walking into the arena. The doctor said you’re not skating, and I said, I came this far, and I’m going to do it, because we’re a pair team, and I owe it to Rena,” John said.

Rena and John were second after the short program, remarkably 4.2 points behind leaders and eventual winners Marcia Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov of Russia. Rena and John also held second in the free skate and miraculously lost by just under 10 points.

Rena and John will now to rest about three weeks before heading to St. Petersburg, Russia for their second Grand Prix Final appearance. The competition is Dec. 14-17.

John is diagnosed with shingles, still competing

November 17, 2006

John Baldwin, partner with Rena Inoue and defending U.S. Pairs National Champions, has been diagnosed with shingles and it’s been recommended that he not compete at Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris this weekend.

John had been having pain and running a fever throughout the week and summoned a doctor shortly after midnight Friday. “I had heavy fever coming into this. The doctor came at two in the morning and diagnosed me with shingles,” John said.

Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the virus that causes chickenpox. It appears as an outbreak of rash or blisters on the skin. Shingles pain can be mild or intense. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in nerve roots. The cause of reactivation is unclear. Most people who get shingles will not get the disease again.

John came to the arena on Friday prepared to skate. “The doctor said ‘you’re not skating,’ and I said,
"I came this far, and I’m going to do it, because we’re a team, and I owe it to Rena.”

John and Rena finished second in the short program and trailed the leaders by only 4.2 points.

Rena and John continue to make history,
rally to earn Silver Medal at Skate Canada

November 3, 2006

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin captured the Silver Medal at Skate Canada Friday and earned it by finishing second in the free skate. It was the second straight competition in which Rena and John earned a medal. They won Gold at Skate America just one week earlier.

They became the only skaters to land the throw triple Axel in a Grand Prix event. That gives Rena and John a new distinction in addition to becoming the first pairs team to land the move at the U.S. Championships, the Olympics and the World Championships.

Skate Canada is a non-scoring event for the defending U.S. National Champions.

Rena and John fought back from their third place finish after the short. They outscored home-crowd favorites Valerie Marcoux and Craig Buntin by .13 points.

“I felt more at ease this week. Last week I didn’t know how much I could do,” Rena said. “I wanted to do better than Skate America, so I’m happy with it.”

China’s Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang won the gold medal.

Rena and John’s program was only the second time they skated to their new selection of music by Giacomo Pucci. They landed their trademark and historic throw triple Axel for the first
time this competitive season. What made it all the more remarkable is Rena is still nursing an ankle injury and John is recuperating from a groin injury suffered but not treated until this summer. No other pairs skater have landed the throw triple Axel.

Rena and John packed their program with a double twist, three level four lifts, and a throw triple loop in addition to the throw triple Axel. The only difficulty they exhibited was their side by side jumps. John
struggled with the triple toeloop and the second jump in the double Axel-double Axel sequence.

“I think the program is where it needs to be at this point,” John said. “Doing the throw triple Axel was a big accomplishment.”

Their score of 111.12 points (59.88/52.24) was enough to hold off the Canadians. “We don’t really expect perfection right now,” John said. “What we did expect to do tonight was - and we accomplished it – the throw triple Axel. We were really focused on that, and we knew it was going to happen tonight.”

Zhang/Zhang earned 15 points to tie Rena and John in the Grand Prix Series points standings. The top six scorers in each discipline advance to the GP Final in St. Petersburg, Russia in mid-December.

Rena and John will compete at their third Grand Prix event, Trophee Eric Bompard, in two weeks. They will have skated six programs within 11 days by the time they return home to California.

Photo by Chuck Snoody

Rena and John in third after short program

November 2, 2006

Two-time defending U.S. Champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin are in third place after the short program at Skate Canada.

Less than a week earlier Rena and John won their first gold medal in a Grand Prix event at Skate America. Both were still nursing injuries – Rena with an ankle sprain and John with a groin injury.

Rena and John were awarded 55.20 points as they performed to “Soul of Spain.” They landed their side-by-side double Axel, just missed the triple throw Axel when Rena stepped out and John had an unusual stumble in the spiral sequence. But they had a solid recovery completing a strong double twist and one-armed hand-to-hand lift.

Skating to “Soul of Spain”, Inoue/Baldwin landed a side-by-side double Axel, but Inoue stepped out of the throw triple Axel and Baldwin stumbled in the spiral sequence.

“It definitely wasn’t our best performance, and we had a little freaky accident happening”, Rena said, referring to the stumble in the spiral sequence. “For me to slip in the spiral sequence was disappointing”, John said.

Skate Canada is a non-scoring event for Rena and John. They earned the maximum 15 points in last week’s win. The top six scorers qualify for the Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia in mid-December.

Rena and John win Gold at Skate America!

October 28, 2006

Two-time U.S. National Champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin won their first-ever Grand Prix Series Gold Medal at Skate America Saturday at Hartford, Connecticut.

Rena and John skated to a selection from Puccini in their new competitive season freeskate program.
They landed their throw triple loop, and their spins and lifts were graded level fours.

Inoue and Baldwin totaled 110.62 points for the free skate. They ’ve only been working on the program for just over a month. “We need a little bit more practice on this program,” John told the media. “We really only had a couple weeks to work on it, so the main goal is to get all the levels that we did. We got a level four on almost every element, and that's a big accomplishment.”

During the past month Rena and John have been working on their footwork and spins to get the highest mark possible. They were graded 110.62 for the freeskate.

Rena and John have earned every color of medal at Skate America. They won the silver last year and the bronze in 2004.

The win earned them 15 points toward the Grand Prix Final. They compete at next week’s Skate Canada but it is a non-scoring event for them.

John and Rena were joined by bronze medalists Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris on the victory stand to give the U.S. pairs teams two medals in one ISU Grand Prix event, something not done in 10 years.

Rena and John in lead at Skate America

October 26, 2006

Defending U.S. National champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin won the short program at Skate America in Hartford, Connecticut.

Teammates Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris are in second. If both teams remain in the top two positions in the finals it will be the first time in 10 years a U.S. team captured two pairs medals in a Grand Prix competition.

Shelby Lyons and Brian Wells (second) and Stephanie Stiegler and John Zimmerman (third) earned a pair of medals for the U.S. in the 1996 Skate America – the second year of the GP series (then called the Champions Series).

Rena and John recorded 59.28 points vs. Nam and Leftheris at 57.32. Rena is skating with a swollen right ankle; she injured it two weeks ago. Baldwin has been bothered by a groin problem since last November.

“We've accepted the challenge,” said John, who has been a senior level skater, in singles or pairs, since the early ‘90s. “We came to Skate America and we’re going to Skate Canada next week. A lot of people would not do that so early in the season. We felt the challenge is better than holding back.”

Rena and John are competing for their first Grand Prix gold medal.

“We really didn’t know we would be competing this year,” John said, “but we sat down and talked about it and decided it would be worth it. We have a lot more to accomplish, and we are in a great position this year. We want to get that medal at Worlds.”

Rena and John had the highest elements score despite two small mistakes. Inoue stepped out of the side-by-side double Axels and put her hand down on The throw triple Axel (which still received 6.80 points). Level fours on four other elements helped keep them ahead of the competition. They also had
the highest program components score.

“It’s a good way to start,” Baldwin said. “Not perfectly clean, but just little mishaps.”

New season begins in Cincinnati

10/12/2006

Olympic and World competitors and defending U.S. National Champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin begin their 2006-2007 season Sunday at the U.S. Figure Skating Campbell’s Cup at Cincinnati, Ohio.

The event will be nationally televised live on ABC from 1-3 p.m.
 
This season will be hard to beat after a wildly successful competitive season last year. Rena and John won their second U.S. Championship, had a successful performance in the Olympics and finished fourth at the World Championships. They set figure skating history with their throw triple Axel and John was selected captain of Team USA at the Olympics.

Rena and John will introduce their new short program at the Campbell’s Cup, a Spanish tango, performed to “The Soul of Spain” by Monte Kelley.  “The program is a Spanish tango, which is a new style for us,” said John. “We’re anxious to put out our new short and go from there. It’s a different event, being a team competition, but it will be fun.”

“We’re doing pretty good,” said John. “There had been some nagging injuries at the end of last season, but we’re near 100 percent and looking forward to competing again. I’m receiving some preventive therapy and will probably maintain that once a week with a specialist.

“We’ve had plenty of ice time and our program and elements are coming along well.

“Rena is doing great. I really look up to her. She’s better than she’s ever been and stronger than ever."

John and Rena pick new music for short program

October 12, 2006

Olympic and World competitors and defending and two-time U.S. National champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin have selected a new short program for the 2006-2007 season.

The program, “The Soul of Spain” by Monte Kelley “is a Spanish tango, which is a new style for us,” said John.

“The music was so hard to find. Peter (Oppergard) helped. We found it after an exhaustive search. We didn’t want it to be similar to last year. This year’s is fast-paced.”

John said the program is also packed with difficulty and is harder than the one he and Rena produced last year en route to their second national championship and outstanding performances at the Olympics and World Championships.

“We have 2 minutes and 50 seconds where it used to be 2:40 to get in all the elements. And the difficulty has all been raised this year. It was hard to get in all the elements in 2:40 and we can barely work them in in 2:50. There is no room for error.

“There are so many bullet points to getting the highest mark. For example, the death spiral difficulty has been raised to get a 4 this year. We must hit the sequence coming in, holding this year’s back outside edge in the spiral, maintaining three revolutions and then holding each style position for extra points.

“The rules changes definitely make it harder this year. But we’re going to be stronger than last year.

“Spins have been modified but the good thing is the triple throw Axel can be done in the short program,” said John.

Rena and John set figure skating history last year becoming the first pair to successfully land the throw triple Axel. They landed it at the U.S. Nationals, Olympics and World Championships.

“The level of skating has never been harder,” said John. “But everybody’s got to do it.”

Rena and John help Mike Weiss with benefit show

September 16 , 2006

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin were among the champion skaters who participated in the Michael Weiss Foundation U.S. and World Champions Live show in Reston, Va. The foundation raises funds to help young skaters.

Rena and John kept the crowd spellbound with their amazing artistry. (Photos © by Andrea Chempinski)

Rena and John, Emily Hughes and Kyoko Ina enjoy some leisure time while in Virgina to help raise funds for the Michael Weiss Foundation.

John Zimmerman, Silvia Fontana, John, Rena and Kyoko Ina pose before dinner.

Time for fun: Marcy, Dan Hollander, John Zimmerman, Michael Weiss, John, Peter Tchernyshev and Silvia Fontana after a game of volleyball.

Rena and John are guests at White House dinner

June 28, 2006

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin attended a state dinner at the White House on Thursday night to honor Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Rena, a native of Nishinomiya, Japan was invited with John to greet Koizumi on his final trip to the U.S. as his country’s prime minister.

Rena and John finished fourth in the World Championships and are defending U.S. National champions.

Ironically, Nishinomiya is the U.S. sister city of Spokane, Washington, the site of the 2007 U.S. National Championships.

Among the guests invited to the official dinner honoring Koizumi were: Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne, cabinet members, senators and representatives and White House staff and their wives. Japanese artists,
businessmen and celebrities of the prime minister living in the U.S.also attended.

Other guests included:

Henry Aaron, senior vice president, Atlanta Braves; Billye Aaron; Ben Crenshaw, professional golfer; Julie Crenshaw Robert Gaudio, original member of the Four Seasons; and Gaudio; Masaharu Morimoto, Iron Chef, the Food Network; Keiko Morimoto Soichi Noguchi, astronaut, U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery; Apolo A. Ohno, speed skater, U.S. Olympic team and U.S. national team; Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic figure skater, Always Dream Foundation; and Bret Hedican, Carolina Hurricanes.

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