ISU Grand Prix 2002/2003

ISU Grand Prix Final

Kati & Rene will not skate at Grand Prix Final

Kati & Rene had to withdrew from the Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, February 28th to March 1st, 2003. Kati is suffering from a bad influenza that undermines her for two weeks now. Both are very sad to miss this big and important event which they had worked very hard for. After resuming practice they will prepare for the World Championships later in March.

 

NHK Trophy

Winkler/Lohse take silver at NHK and qualify for Grand Prix Final

Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse took the silver medal at NHK Trophy on Saturday (November 30) in Kyoto, Japan. More important even, the team qualified for the Grand Prix Final for the second time in their career. Winkler/Lohse delivered a strong Free Dance, pushing through their program and impressing with their innovative ideas and their technical skills. It was a well-rounded performance that earned them marks ranging from 5.2 to 5.6 for technical merit and from 5.4 to 5.6 for presentation. The Germans beat their main competitors, Galit Chait/Sergei Sakhnovski on the thinnest of margins on a split vote of 4 to 3 judges.

"I'm so overwhelmed, I hardly can believe it", Kati commented. "It looked like it was impossible for us (to make the Final)," Rene said. "We knew we had to place second to qualify. We just wanted to skate well and to have fun." Kati added: "It's an enormous success for us that we managed to come back after last year (when they missed the entire Grand Prix and Europeans due to Rene's knee injury). Now we have a lot of work ahead of us. It's hard to confirm this result."

The couple plans a few changes in their Free Dance and wants to polish it more with the help of choreographer Mr. Lipowsky.


Winkler/Lohse in second at NHK Trophy after CD and OD

Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse are standing in second place following the Compulsory and Original Dances at NHK Trophy in Kyoto, Japan (November 28 and 29). They were third in the Compulsory, the "Tango Romantica" although they skated well. The team had to skate last of 12 couples which meant that the ice quality wasn't good anymore. There was no resurface following the first warm up group. "We were a bit careful, but I tried not to let it show", Kati commented.

In the OD, the Germans pulled ahead of arch rivals Galit Chait/Sergei Sakhnovski. Winkler/ Lohse delivered a very inspiring dance, portraying the different moods of March, Waltz and Polka (all pieces are from the German operetta "Frau Luna") in an excellent manner. Their marks ranged between 5.2 to 5.6 and 5.4 for composition/required elements to 5.7 for presentation.

"That's a partial success for us, no matter what happens tomorrow", Kati said. "It was great how the audience got into our program and clapped along. I didn't expect this. It really helps a lot when the audience is behind you." Rene: "We felt great today in practice this morning, and we were able to skate as well in the competition."

 

Cup of Russia

Winkler/Lohse finish 4th at Cup of Russia

Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse finished fourth at the Cup of Russia in Moscow on Sunday (November 24). They pushed through their modern free dance, although they were tired, and the audience received the dance well. The team had made some changes to the dance, especially in the beginning, to give it more flow.

Their marks ranged from 5.2 to 5.4 for technical merit and from 5.4 to 5.7 for presentation. Unfortunaly, Cup of Russia (and not the Bofrost Cup) was a scoring event for the Germans. They still have a chance to qualify for the Final at the NHK Trophy in Japan, but it will be tough. They have to finish as high as second.


Winkler/Lohse in fourth after the CD and OD in Moscow

Kati Winkler/Rene Lohse are currently standing in fourth place following the Compulsory and Original Dances at the Cup of Russia on Saturday, November 23. The couple produced an excellent Quickstep that was crisp and precise and should have earned higher marks than it did.

In the OD, Kati and Rene got the crowd going and clapping along their operetta music from "Frau Luna" right away. The flowing and happy dance portrayed the ballroom mood perfectly. The team showed the differences between the rhythms March, Waltz and Polka very well. With marks from 5.1 to 5.6 for both composition/ required elements and presentation, the Germans were ranked third in the OD but remained fourth overall.

Coach Martin Skotnicky was pleased. "Many people came up to me and said that it is a very good dance", he commented.

 

Cup on Ice

 

Bronze medal at Cup on Ice in Gelsenkrichen

Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse placed third at their first ISU Grand Prix event this season in Gelsenkirchen. The four-time German Champions defended their position from original dance behind the Bulgarians Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviyski and Galit Chait & Sergei Sakhnovski from Israel. They skated their new free dance "Energy" for the first time in a competition. In futuristic silver costumes with fuzzy styled hairs Kati and Rene showed good shape. The serious knee injury Rene suffered one year ago at the same place during training and his shoulder injury he suffered after a mountain bike accident last summer do not hinder him anymore. The ice dancers from Berlin placed second at the compulsory dance behind Albena Denkova & Maxim Staviyski but lost one place after the original dance against Galit Chait/Sergei Sakhnovski. Winkler & Lohse's next competitions are Cup of Russia and NHK-Trophy.

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