ISU annouces 2008-09 World Standings Bonuses
Kim, Verner earn first-prize bonuses in singles divisions
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| Yu-Na Kim hopes her life will get a little more exciting now that the ladies world title is under her belt. (Getty Images) |
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The ISU awards additional prize money to the three skaters or couples per discipline who earned the most World Standings points during the 2008-09 season. The following amounts will be awarded to the concerned skaters or couples:
Ladies/Men
• First place -- US$ 45,000
• Second place -- US$ 27,000
• Third place -- US$ 18,000
Pairs/Ice Dancing (per couple)
• First place -- US$ 67,500
• Second place -- US$ 40,500
• Third place -- US$ 27,000
In the ladies division, world champion Yu-Na Kim of Korea earned the World Standings Bonus by accumulating 2,320 points. Mao Asada of Japan, who won the SBS ISU Grand Prix Final, came in second with 2,075 points. World silver medalist Joannie Rochette of Canada picked up 2,063 points to finish third in this season's bonus race.
Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic pocketed the top prize in the men's category. He collected 2,203 points. World silver medalist Patrick Chan of Canada claimed second place with 2,005 points. World champion Evan Lysacek of the U.S. ranked third with 1,848 points.
World champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany took the World StandingS Bonus for the pairs, just like they did last year, collecting 2,498 points during 2008-09. World silver medalists Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang of China were second at 2,200 points, exactly like last year. The third-place bonus goes to world bronze medalists Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia, who got 2147 points.
World ice dancing champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia earned the World Standings Bonus with 2,320 points. Four Continents gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S. came in second at 1,923 points. World silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto of the U.S. took third place with 1,800 points.