Joanne Carter has skated to eighth place in the short program of the Four Continents competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in her final warm-up event prior to Torino 2006,
Carter scored 47.
Joanne Carter has skated to eighth place in the short program of the Four Continents competition in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in her final warm-up event prior to Torino 2006,
Carter scored 47.19 points to finish six places clear of major Australian rival Miriam Manzano, who has been challenging Carter's nomination to the 2006 Games team.
Manzano, from the ACT, scored 38.78 points in the first of the two rounds of competition.
Beatrisa Liang of the United States leads the event. on 61.04 points after the opening round, with team-mate Katy Taylor in second place on 57.26 points.
Carter produced Australia's best Olympic result at her first Olympics in Nagano in 1998, finishing in 12th position, and she also holds the record for the best Australian women's placing at a world championships, finishing 11th in the 1997 world titles.
The New South Wales 25-year-old suffered a major knee injury after the 1998 world titles, where she finished in 13th place, but made a remarkable comeback in the subsequent seasons to post an 11th place result in the free program of the 2005 world championships, eventually finishing in 16th place.
That result guaranteed Australia a berth in the ladies' figure skating line-up for the 2006 Games.
The free program of the Four Continents will be skated on Sunday morning AEDT.
Carter scored 47.19 points to finish six places clear of major Australian rival Miriam Manzano, who has been challenging Carter's nomination to the 2006 Games team.
Manzano, from the ACT, scored 38.78 points in the first of the two rounds of competition.
Beatrisa Liang of the United States leads the event. on 61.04 points after the opening round, with team-mate Katy Taylor in second place on 57.26 points.
Carter produced Australia's best Olympic result at her first Olympics in Nagano in 1998, finishing in 12th position, and she also holds the record for the best Australian women's placing at a world championships, finishing 11th in the 1997 world titles.
The New South Wales 25-year-old suffered a major knee injury after the 1998 world titles, where she finished in 13th place, but made a remarkable comeback in the subsequent seasons to post an 11th place result in the free program of the 2005 world championships, eventually finishing in 16th place.
That result guaranteed Australia a berth in the ladies' figure skating line-up for the 2006 Games.
The free program of the Four Continents will be skated on Sunday morning AEDT.
