The triumph of Evgenia Medvedeva and the gold of the Japanese prodigy Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2017 World Cup have not yet been forgotten, and the World Cup is already looming on the sports horizon. figure skating 2018! New main draw after Winter Olympics Competitions among figure skaters will be held in the Italian city of Milan. Dozens of world-famous athletes will compete for the championship awards. But special attention will again be focused on athletes from Russia, Canada, Japan and China. At the moment, these are the main “figured” powers!
Where and when will the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships take place?
Milan is the world capital of high fashion. In the period from March 19 to March 25, 2018, this city will also become the center of world figure skating. If local authorities fail to organize sporting event– the competition will take place in Turin. This is a reserve city.
Milan hosted the World Cup only once - back in 1951. In total, the homeland of Leonardo da Vinci and Giuseppe Verdi became the host country of the competition only 4 times.
The sports arenas where figure skaters will perform at the 2018 World Cup are still unknown. Milan is replete with a variety of sports clubs for all sports. Most likely, the competition of the championship participants will be held in one of the following arenas:
- Forum di Assago;
- MazdaPalace;
- PalaLido;
- Agora;
- Nuovo Giuriati.
Most for the role sports arena The 16,000-seat Forum di Assago is suitable for hosting the competition. This is a multi-disciplinary sports complex that can be easily converted into a site for any type of competition.
2018 World Figure Skating Championship program
Athletes will compete in four categories:
- single men's skating;
- ice dancing;
- women's single skating;
- pair skating.
The competition for all participants will consist of two sections: short and free programs. The first part will last 2 minutes. 50 seconds. During it, athletes will demonstrate their basic skills. But the free program will require the participant to reveal his full potential! This will be the most important part in the schedule of the world championship among figure skaters. In the free program, the participant will have to not only skate his routine cleanly, but also show remarkable artistry. This competitive block lasts almost 5 minutes. However, in order to qualify for the free part, the championship participant must score short program a certain number of points.
Competition participants
In order to demonstrate results at the World Figure Skating Championships, participants in the upcoming competition must represent a country that is part of International Union speed skaters. Each member of the union has the right to nominate from 1 to 3 athletes (pairs) in each discipline. Here is what the list of countries with maximum quotas looks like:
- Japan;
- Russia;
- Canada;
- China.
Our country can boast of 3 quotas in women's singles and pair skating. Therefore, the Russian national team at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships will include 8 people. But the most impressive representation will be from Canadians. The North Americans will bring 10 athletes to Milan.
How did the World Championships go in 2017?
The last World Cup ended with Canada winning overall medal standings. True, the triumph cannot be called loud. The awards were “spread out” among other participants in the championship. Canada, Russia, Japan and China each won one gold. Representatives of the Country of the Maple Leaf came out ahead thanks to one silver and bronze:
- Canada: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze;
- Japan: 1 gold, 1 silver;
- China and Russia: 1 gold, 1 bronze.
What about the Russian team? It’s not to say that the Russians had a successful last championship. The men at the World Figure Skating Championships disappointed once again. Still, Mikhail Kolyada’s 8th place is far from the ultimate dream for the national team.
In the pair skating category, our athletes were content with bronze. The medal was won by the duet Evgeniy Morozov and Alexander Morozov. Another couple, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, are in 5th place.
In the discipline of ice dancing, Russia was left without any awards. The best domestic duet Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov took only fifth place.
Last year's rally could have been called a failure if not for Evgenia Medvedeva's first place at the World Championships among women's singles. For the native of Moscow, this gold was the second in her career!
Afterword
Last year's competition was controversial. As expected, the women and the “greenhouses” were delighted. However, fans have long missed gold in men's single skating and ice dancing. At the upcoming World Cup Russian athletes have a great opportunity to make the dreams of their fans come true!
Today at the World Championships in Milan the fate of the medals was decided. It’s unlikely that anyone expected such a result. Gold went to Canadian figure skater Caitlin Osmond (223.23), silver to Japanese figure skater Wakaba Higuchi (210.90), and bronze to another representative of Japan, Satoko Miyahara (210.08). Russian Alina Zagitova is fifth (207.72), Maria Sotskova is eighth (196.62), Stanislava Konstantinova is 19th (153.03).
The broadcast is on Ural time
02:40 Under the arches of the Sports Palace in Milan, the national anthem of Canada sounds, the flag of Canada and two Japanese flags are understood...
I absolutely can’t believe what we are seeing, and this is not, of course, the end of the season we expected. But sport is beautiful not only with victories, but also with moments like this, when everything turns upside down in an unexpected way, emotions overwhelm you. Alina remains an Olympic champion - and we believe she has many other titles ahead of her.
A very difficult World Championship. It feels like almost no one has any strength left after the Olympics. Alina did what she could, what she was capable of. She is beautiful, we are fans, we simply have to support our girl. The medals will still come - we will still see the triumph of both Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva.
Thank you for reading this broadcast - today, together with the whole country, we experienced these emotional moments.
We remind you that we have a telegram channel @kiss_and_cry_fk. We are also grateful to you for your questions and feedback and are waiting for new ones: @yannet_bel (Yana Belotserkovskaya) and @NataShadrina (Natalya Shadrina).
Let's take another look at Alina's rental.
And rent Masha
02:28 Of course, how could we have imagined that on the pedestal we would not see any Carolina Costner or Alina Zagitova? A very unpredictable result. In general, no one could even predict that a Canadian figure skater would become world champion Caitlin Osmond. Caitlin herself did not expect this - she, of course, is now glowing with happiness.
02:22 Why is it wonderful? figure skating? An incredible concentration of emotions. We have not yet recovered from our worries about Alina - and now the very heartfelt and powerful performance of Carolina is simply breathtaking. But there were mistakes - and it felt like the whole stadium was falling along with Carolina.
So much drama today! Carolina Costner at home - past the pedestal.
02:19 The whole stadium is crying now along with our figure skater. And in this electrifying atmosphere, Carolina Costner, the leader of the short program, takes to the ice.
2:16 It was incredible difficult season for Alina. She spent it in incredible tension, making no mistakes at all. Now I simply didn’t have enough strength for the last start - 128.21 points for the free program. 207.72 - the sum of two programs - and Alina will not be on the podium.
2:13 It feels like they replaced Alina. Dear friends. We don’t even know how to write about this now. Nobody expected this...
We are used to seeing Alina flawless. And we don’t remember her falls at all...
How Alina is crying now in kiss and cry!
2:10 On the ice - Olympic champion, European champion Alina Zagitova. Only this 15-year-old figure skater, who, by the way, is spending her first senior season, does not have a World Championship gold in her treasury! Let's see!
2:05 Japanese Satoko Miyahara on the ice. She did a great job in the short program.
But in the free program, not everything worked out... Although it was clear how Satoko was fighting for her elements, saving her jumps. But there was a fall... 210.08 - Satoko's sum.
2:00 It remains for the three athletes who took the first three places in the short program to perform.
Let us remind you that the top three leaders at the end of the short program look like this:
The first is the Italian Carolina Kostner (80.27), the second place is the Russian Alina Zagitova (79.51), the third is the Japanese figure skater Satoko Miyahara (74.36).
1:59 Canadian figure skater on ice Gabriel Daleman. Based on the sum of the two programs, she scores 196.72
We admire our beautiful Masha.
1:49 Got it done Maria Sotskova, but alas, not without a fall at the end of the program. The feeling is that by the end she was simply tired, and did not have enough strength for the final. It's a pity. Because the other skaters skated great. After the short program, Masha was fifth. Now she is being given 124,81 - few. She is currently fourth overall.
1:44 Our Masha Sotskova took to the ice. Let everything work out...
1:42 Caitlin made a mistake at the beginning - she landed on two feet, but overall the performance was a success. Her black swan held the hall today - the audience watched her every move. Yes, maybe the Canadian lacks sophistication, not a ballerina. But a great skater. 150.50 points and 223.23 in total.
1:36 And the first of the strongest to take to the ice is the Canadian figure skater, Olympic champion in the team, bronze medalist of the PyeongChang Olympics in individual competitions Caitlin Osmond. Let's see.
1:33 While the girls are warming up, let us remind you that after the short program our “red ballerina” is less than one point behind the mistress of the ice, Caroline Kostner. This can be easily played out, so the intrigue will continue today until the very last seconds of this evening.
1:32 The girls of the strongest warm-up came out for the warm-up, where two of our brilliant figure skaters Maria Sotskova and Alina Zagitova. The Italian will be the last to compete today Caroline Costner.
1:29 Wakaba cries after the skate, but this, it seems to us, is out of happiness. She did everything she could, everything she needed . 145.01 and a total of 210.90 - great, this is the result!!
1:26 Wakaba skated great - inspired, wide, with courage, punching out jump after jump! What will the judges give her?
1:18 Well, Mirai She doesn’t intend to give in, she tried to do everything in her power. How the public supports her! In general, it should be noted that the Italians are great at welcoming absolutely all the girls, it’s a wonderful atmosphere.
But the judges give her much less points - 122, 31. She has 187, 52 in total- this is only third place now. A Japanese woman took to the ice Wakaba Higuchi.
1:16 We are already closely following the free program of our compatriot Brady Tennel - Mirai Nagasu.
1:10 On the ice Brady Tanner- the main hope of the Americans in women's figure skating at this World Championships. And it justifies these hopes - a very clean, powerful product. Brady herself is very pleased with the performance - 131, 13, and in total 199, 89. She's the first one on at the moment.
1:03 Meanwhile, the 21-year-old German figure skater finished her performance Nicole Schott. Nicole is a German champion and took 10th place at the European Championships in Moscow. Last year at the World Championships she was 19.
Nicole didn’t do a lot of things today; she had a fall. The judges gave her 112, 29 , in total she gains 174, 13 - currently in fourth place.
In the meantime, let's watch Stasia's performance again.
00:53 The free program was presented by a star from Kazakhstan - Elizabeth Tursynbaeva. This is a very fragile girl who trains with the legendary Brian Orser.
It’s a pity that not all of her jumps were successful today, although compared to the Olympics (she was 12 there), Elizabeth is doing very well in Milan. At least the coach is very happy with his student! She has 124.47 points.
00:42 The first in this group to take to the ice is an 18-year-old Belgian athlete Luna Hendrix. Luna is the champion of her country; at the European Championships in Moscow, Luna rose to a high fifth place - right after the Russian Maria Sotskova.
Wow! This is the introduction - Luna is just great, how confidently she skated today. The judges rejected almost all of her jumps; without a doubt, this is the strongest performance at the moment. Luna’s dress is very beautiful, and she herself is a very pretty girl - the Milanese public is simply delighted with her. 128.24 points and 192.31 in total- just great.
00:39 In this warm-up, special attention should be paid to the figure skater from the USA Mirai Nagasu, and also in Japanese Wakabu Higuchi- they can interfere in the fight for high places.
00:36 On the ice - the third group of participants- now we will see free skates of those who take 7th to 12th place in the short program.
At the moment, places are distributed as follows:
00:26 And while we have a short break, we invite you to read the interview with Olga Ryabenko.
Olga - costume designer for Yulia Lipnitskaya, Alina Zagitova, Elena Radionova, Evgenia Medvedeva... about how the famous “red coat” is fastened (and why there was no sketch!), how many times Zagitova’s tutu was shortened and why Zhenya Medvedeva changed her dress for “Karenina”
00:25 Continuing the topic - difficulty levels of step tracks in single skating:
1. Minimal Variety (Level 1), Simple Variety (Level 2), Variety (Level 3), Difficulty (Level 4) difficult steps and turns along the entire track (required)
2. Rotation in both directions (right and left) with full body rotation (at least 1/3 of the total figure in each direction of rotation)
3. Use trunk movements for at least 1/3 of the pattern
4. Two different combinations of 3 difficult turns, performed with a clear rhythm while performing the track (on different feet)
00:20 So, we were asked to tell you more about the difficulty levels of the elements. What is this?
Difficulty levels are a system for evaluating specifically non-jumping elements. Since each element in this system has its own value, it is logical that complex elements should cost more than simple ones. The fact is that historically there were no strict criteria for assessing the complexity of non-jumping elements (with the exception of dividing paired lifts into groups); a new gradation was introduced for them - difficulty levels.
There are four difficulty levels. The simplest is basic or first. The most difficult one is the fourth one.
In most cases, the first/basic level is the minimum requirements for a given element. More high levels complexity is achieved by incorporating additional complications into the element.
These include:
- complex variations of entries or exits from elements,
- complex position variations.
Due to their novelty, these requirements are sometimes not fully thought through and are often revised.
00:18 And we have ice filling. While the ice harvester - resurfacer is working - we will answer your questions.
00:16 Well, while we were discussing Stasi’s use, a Finnish figure skater spoke Viveca Linfords . She competed at the World Championships in 2016 and finished 20th there, but missed the World Championships last season. We remember her well from the European Championships - there Viveka became 14th. Her total is 166.23, so far she is fourth.
00:12 Of course, Stasi’s rental won’t let us go now.
Of course, I couldn’t cope with my nerves - after the first fall I got upset, nervous, scared and couldn’t pull myself together. On the one hand, this is understandable - the first adult start, and immediately the World Cup! On the other hand, Stanislava is already 17 years old, and if you want to break into the elite of figure skating, you need to learn not only to skate, but also to pull yourself together.
By the way, Stasya’s excitement was noticeable even during the warm-up. She also fell there... Perhaps the failure in the warm-up threw her off track.
00:10 Four falls and only 93.84 points in the free program for Stanislava Konstantinova. Amount - 153.03.
00:08 Well, what can I say... Stasya is not at my feet. There is no need to be so upset, I really want to cheer up Stasya, of course she is very upset now. This is her first adult tournament, Stanislav is replacing Zhenya Medvedeva, which will not take part in this World Cup due to the recommendations of doctors.
00:03 We're rooting for Stanislava Konstantinov! On the ice - a Russian figure skater. Let us remind you that she is in 16th place after the short program.
Stanislava is originally from St. Petersburg, she is from sports family- The girl’s dad has a black belt in karate. And my mother is a candidate for master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics and by athletics. By the way, Stanislava's younger sister Christina He also does figure skating. Stanislava, by figure skating standards, is not the youngest athlete - just like her Maria Sotskova, 17 years old. Training Stanislava Konstantinov at Valentina Chebotareva(coach Mikhail Kolyada).
Stanislava Konstantinov in training.
23:57 On ice - representative South Korea Hanul Kim. In the short, she scored 60.14 points. 170.68 - the sum of alls for both programs.
She skates very gently to the soundtrack to “Mamma Mia.” 110.54 - points for free.
We will take a little break from what is happening on the ice and talk about the records that have already been set at this World Championship.
A German couple broke two world records Alena Savchenko and Bruno Massot- in the free program (162, 86) and a record in total (245, 84).
The French updated the world record in ice dancing Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron.
Well, we are waiting for new records for women. We know that our Alina Zagitova can do this!
23:49 Eliška Brzezinova from the Czech Republic on ice. She, as you might guess, is the sister of a famous figure skater Michal Brzezina. At the European Championships in Moscow she became 12th.
In the short program she had 58.37 points. In free - 94.77, total points - 153.14
Michal, by the way, is currently 17. Tomorrow Eliška will cheer for his brother in the free program.
23:40 Laurin Lecavalier from France on ice.
This figure skater is interesting primarily... for her costume. In the first part of the program she skates in one, and in the second she transforms and remains in a beautiful dress. This Lauren program is already familiar to figure skating fans. The costume changes - the image, mood, music, style changes!
But it seems that this costume is more of a hindrance to the skater and distracts her. We remember how something went wrong at the European Championships, and part of the skater’s costume came unfastened ahead of time. Maybe it’s worth making such costumes only if you are impeccably confident in your technique.
173.23 - Lorin's sum. These are good points for her - and Lorin is very happy in the kiss and cry zone!
23:32 The American opens the performance in this warm-up Mariah Bell. After the short program, we already shared our subjective view of Bell’s skating: arms separately, legs separately. Yes, there is no bright leader in the women's team in the USA yet - the level of Ashley Wagner. Mariah scored 59.15 points in the short program. Now gaining 115.25 and the sum of the two programs scores 174.40
But she will succeed - with such a legendary coach Rafael Harutyunyan, how could it be otherwise? In Russia, the Armenian specialist is known primarily as a figure skater’s mentor Alexandra Abta, and in the west - as the last coach of the five-time world champion Michelle Kwan. Also among his top-level students are Ashley Wagner,Nathan Chen, Mao Assad...
23:29 This is how things stand after the first group's performance. Kailani Krain from Australia is still in the lead. The second one is already warming up on the ice with might and main. group, including including Russian Stanislav Konstantinov.
23:23 The lights go down and we are introduced to the second group of participants.
We never tire of talking about the amazing atmosphere in Milan! Everything is done with taste and style - including the presentation ceremony of the participants of each group.
23:16 Dasha Grm from Slovenia on the ice. Dasha tore off many elements and is now crying on the ice...
Dasha has been the undisputed leader in her country for the past four years. In Pyeongchang, Dasha became 20. In the short, she scored 52.43 and was 22. She scored 92.08 in the free, the total was 154.51.
23:08 Ivet Toth from Hungary on ice
In the short program she appears before us in the image of a rocker, skating to AC/DC. And now she demonstrates the miracles of transformation: before us is the passionate and feminine Carmen to the immortal music of Shchedrin.
In the short program, nothing worked out for Yvette - we remind you that she scored only 50.63 and miraculously got into the free program. Today, alas, it was not possible to rehabilitate... Ivette did not succeed at all. Its amount is 136.87 and at the moment this is the last place.
23:00 Kailani Krain from Australia on the ice. The athlete pleasantly surprised us with her very spirited performance in the short program, although her program was not the most difficult, but it was purely executed. In the short, she scored 56.90 points and became twentieth.
By the way, this is her second world championship, a year ago she was 24. In Pyeongchang she became 17. Kailani is the undisputed leader in her country, they love her very much.
Now she scored 97.51 in the free program, and according to the total points - 154.41. Extremely the first one so far.
22:55 The Italian public warmly welcomes their compatriot - Elisabeta Lecardi. This is her debut world championship. 98, 01 - and this best result season in the free program and personal best. It feels like even Elizabeta herself and her team are in shock! Not bad points, homemade ice helps. Lecardi amount - 149.17
22:51 And again a little about what you see on the screen.
Each element in the upper left corner is indicated by a special abbreviation. Let's figure out how jumps are shortened.
- A Axel
- S Salchow
- T sheepskin coat
- F Flip
- Lo Rittberger
- Lz Lutz
The number before the name of the jump= number of revolutions. For an axel, 1A = one and a half turns, 2A = two and a half turns (“duplo”) and so on.
Mark e at the jump means that the jump was performed from the wrong edge.
Mark SEQ between jumps means that the jumps are not connected in a cascade, when the jumps are performed directly one after the other, but through an intermediate jump (“jump”).
This is important! For all other elements except jumps, the number next to the abbreviation means difficulty level from 1 to 4
22:50 Alexia's points are 91, 80. This is her debut world championship, everything is still ahead.
22:43 Our favorite figure skater is on the ice Alexia Paganini. She was born in the USA plays for Switzerland. After the short program she is in 19th place. The athlete is only 16 years old. We remember her well back at the European Championships in Moscow - the athlete is distinguished by her musicality and good sense of ice. In the short program, Alexia has 57.86 points.
She started her performance with two falls and now there is no face on the athlete...
But it’s worth mentioning separately about the public in Milan! The audience is very friendly and appreciative and supports the skaters with applause. It was clear that Alexia really needed this support.
17:38 16 year old on ice Alexia Paganini, loved by many figure skating fans this season. Alexia presents her variation of "Romeo and Juliet".
22:40 While the warm-up is underway, again (for those who have not read our previous broadcasts) we will tell you that thanks to technical innovations, you can watch figure skating at home like a real professional: many different numbers and words are displayed on the screen in the upper left corner...
What do they mean? So, at the top we see the name of the element just performed by the athletes. Nearby are numbers highlighted in red or green. Red means that the element was not executed perfectly and points are subtracted from the basic cost of the element. If we see green, it means points are added to the base cost. That is, the element was executed well.
22:35 Start list
22:30 Good evening! Milan is the capital of fashion, beauty... And figure skating. We are starting our live broadcast. Right now the second set of medals will be played out, the girls will perform a free program. In total, four groups of participants are waiting for us.
Alina Zagitova and Maria Sotskova will start in the strongest group. We will see Stanislav Konstantnova in the second warm-up.
22:00 About why Alina lost to Carolina in the short program. Alina beat Carolina in terms of technique. 42.52 for Zagitova, 41.30 for Kostner.
But the second grade - that is, the points for the presentation - is lower for Alina. 38.97 for Kostner, 37.00 for Zagitova.
Thus, in terms of the sum of the two estimates, Zagitova is inferior to Costner. The difference, of course, is very small: 80.27 for the Italian figure skater, 79.51 for the Olympic champion in Pyeongchang. Everything will be decided in the free program!
Alina, judging by the training, is determined. We wish good luck to our “red ballerina” at the final performance of this season!
In the meantime, we are looking forward to the battle of our girls, we advise you to read our text on how to distinguish jumps in figure skating. And try to put your knowledge into practice - while watching! We also run a telegram channel about figure skating, where all the results appear promptly. Subscribe so you don't miss new broadcasts, texts, photos and results. @kiss_and_cry_fk. And by the way, send us your questions about figure skating, skaters, the World Championships on Telegram - @yannet_bel
Live broadcasts of the championship and all the tournament news.
“If we evaluate the World Cup based on maintaining quotas for the next season, and this is exactly the task that the President of the FFKKR Alexander Gorshkov called, then it can be considered successful. In pairs and women, we still have three vacancies left, the dancers still have two, and the guys were able to win three. However, the overall impression of the championship still remains painful - primarily due to the unsuccessful performance of Alina Zagitova. The Olympic champion's falls in the free program, in which she frantically tried to catch up with the music, were comparable to a horror film.
If Alina had saved at least one of the three jumps from falling, she would have stood on the pedestal with silver medal– everything would be psychologically easier. How could this happen? There are a number of reasons: the athlete’s physical growth, fatigue from the Olympic season, and a training schedule that was disrupted after returning from Pyeongchang. The absence of Evgenia Medvedeva, who would have shared the burden of responsibility with Alina and drawn some of the attention, also played a role.
It is possible that at some point Alina encountered a psychological barrier: after all, the starting signature cascade of triple lutz and loop did not work out right away in Pyeongchang and at the Moscow show of champions, and at the world championship the lutz ended in a fall. Fortunately, the season is over, the Olympic champion will be able to recharge her batteries and decide how to continue her journey.
Was it possible to leave Alina to rest at home and send another skater to Milan to maintain quotas? Taking into account the removal of Medvedeva and the inclusion of Stanislava Konstantinova in the team instead, who ultimately took 19th place, Polina Tsurskaya or Elizaveta Tuktamysheva could theoretically play instead of Alina. But hardly any of the girls could show a result higher than the 8th position of Maria Sotskova,” says Sport Express columnist Ekaterina Bespalova.
58 - Internal news page
The Russians have two medals: Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov won the first silver in their careers in pairs skating, Mikhail Kolyada received a bronze award in men's singles.
5:06 25.03.2018
The World Figure Skating Championships ended on Saturday in Milan, Italy, with a dance tournament, won for the third time in their careers by the French Gabriela Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron. Russia remained in this type of program without awards, however overall result The team's performances should be considered worthy. The Russians have two medals: Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov won the first silver in their careers in pair skating, Mikhail Kolyada received bronze award in men's single skating.
2018 World Figure Skating Championships. Milan (Italy).Russian national team composition:
In three types of programs, Russian figure skaters provided maximum quantity quotas at the next World Championships (three each), in dance, like a year ago, they won two vacancies.
The last one is remembered
Papadakis and Cizeron updated all three world records in Milan, which became another achievement for the duo, in addition to medals: despite the fact that the French collected all the highest titles for three years (the only exception was the Olympic Games), a record result in the short dance never did not previously belong to them. Now the dance records are as follows: 83.73 points in the short dance, 123.47 in the free dance and 207.20 in the two programs.
The French free dance, of course, brightened up the current world championship - the performance of many leaders in the other three disciplines turned out to be frankly disastrous in Milan.
The dance tournament was a benefit for Canadian coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Frenchman Romain Haguenauer: second place was also won by their wards Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue, who had never stood on the podium of a major tournament (the duo was ninth at last year’s World Championships). The dancers became US champions for the first time this season, and in Milan they beat Canadians Caitlin Weaver/Andrew Poje, who became bronze medalists.
Russian athletes Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin and Tiffany Zagorski/Jonathan Gureiro are in seventh and eighth positions. Both duets exceeded their personal bests in the free dance, with the second of the couples adding four points to their best personal result.
Bronze with little blood
18-year-old American Nathan Chen became the world champion in men's single skating on Saturday. Having shown the best result of the season in the world in the free program, he was ahead of the vice-champion Olympic Games Shomu Uno by 47.63 points.
The celebration also happened on the Russian street: Mikhail Kolyada became third, Dmitry Aliev - seventh, and with these results the skaters provided Russia with the maximum number of quotas at the next world championship, which was a big surprise: to perform at the world championships full staff Russian singles skaters haven't had to for many years.
"Rental ( free program) I was dissatisfied, mistakes were made, but according to the second assessment, according to the presentation, I liked everything. There are, of course, questions regarding the technical part. But the season is over. I think I performed quite well here at the World Championships,” Kolyada told the press service of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR).
“My coach and I decided before the World Championships that we would skate such programs, a lighter version of the short program,” the athlete added. “Only three weeks have passed since the Games, and not everyone has time to recover in such a short period of time. And only now is the realization coming what happened at the Olympics. The season was quite long and intense, but today I felt it was quite easy. After the short program, I tried not to think about places and medals. If you think about it, you can go crazy.”
Chen repeated his Olympic achievement, performing six jumps in four rotations in a free program, and established new record season for free skate and the sum of two programs (219.46 and 321.40).
Second Russian participant Dmitry Aliev took seventh place, performing three quadruple jumps in his free program.
“These are my first three quadruples in a free program that I managed to do,” the skater told the FFKKR press service. “In general, I’m happy with the performance, with the exception of the butterfly on the Axel, which I could not have done because I had the strength. I felt that I was tired. But I could have jumped. This is my first season at the senior level. I myself understand that I can work and compete with the guys who are on the podium. For me, these points that I received today are not what I am going for. “I want to earn more, rise higher, for this I need to work harder and skate cleaner.”
Shock therapy
Women's final single skating, which was supposed to be triumphant for Russia, turned out to be the most painful. Canadian Caitlin Osmond became the world champion for the first time, but Olympic champion Alina Zagitova and five-time European champion Caroline Costner, who, according to all forecasts, were supposed to compete for gold and silver at the world championship, remained fifth and fourth.
With the exception of the “double Axel - triple toe loop” cascade, performed with a slight blemish on the landing from the second jump, all other elements of the free program were performed by the Canadian to the pluses; she scored a fairly high amount of points in two skates (223.23), but it is worth recognizing that the skater would hardly have been able to compete with Zagitova if the latter had not experienced force majeure in the form of three falls.
Olympic champion Oleg Vasiliev told RIA Novosti that he was not surprised by Zagitova’s defeat.
“The problem, first of all, is that after the Olympic Games Alina’s training regimen was greatly disrupted. When a person is, as they say, “put on the rails,” he will go normally, despite the stress. But when work is thrown off that well-worn daily schedule, which was the case for many months, when an athlete jumped a hundred or two hundred jumps every day, it was enough to miss training several times to get out of this standard,” the specialist said.
“When you have a huge amount of continuous work behind you, it creates an inertia that kind of pushes you forward when you go out to compete. Zagitova’s victory at the Olympic Games is precisely the result of that hard, brutal work that she did. And then there was a pause, and there is less work. In this case, you have to concentrate more. It’s a very difficult thing to concentrate on the maximum result when there is no tenfold reserve,” the expert explained.
According to Vasiliev, at a certain moment the Olympic champion “panic set in.” “Zagitova fell on the first jump, and since her jumps in the free program go one after another at a very high pace, there was no time to understand what to do. Panic set in. That’s all that happened,” he concluded.
Elena Buyanova's ward Maria Sotskova finished eighth, performing a free program with a fall on a triple Lutz, and the third Russian participant Stanislava Konstantinova, who made her debut this season in senior competitions, took only 19th place, calling the experience terrible.
Sixfold Alena
The most striking performance of the championship was the free program Olympic champions Alena Savchenko/Bruno Massot in pair skating. The 34-year-old added her sixth top world title to her collection, while her partner became world champion for the first time. The skaters completed their free skate with a world record and beat the current European champions Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov by about twenty points.
If we evaluate the World Cup on the basis of maintaining quotas for the next season, and this is precisely the task that the president of the FFKKR called, then it can be considered successful. In pairs and women, we still have three vacancies left, the dancers still have two, and the guys were able to win three. However, the overall impression of the championship still remains painful - primarily due to the unsuccessful performance. The Olympic champion's falls in the free program, in which she frantically tried to catch up with the music, were comparable to a horror film.
If Alina had saved at least one of the three jumps from falling, then she would have stood on the podium with a silver medal - everything would have been psychologically easier. How could this happen? There are a number of reasons: the athlete’s physical growth, fatigue from the Olympic season, and a training schedule that was disrupted after returning from Pyeongchang. The absence of a woman who would share the burden of responsibility with Alina and draw some of the attention also played a role. It can be argued that in December last year, Zagitova won the Grand Prix final without Medvedeva. But then it was only the first half of the season, Alina was not yet the champion of the country, Europe and the Olympic Games and did not have time to go through a head-to-head confrontation with Evgenia twice. By the way, the December performance was not ideal either.
PROGRAM WITH INITIAL RISK
For all the outstanding results of her three senior seasons, Medvedeva also had her share of falls, but this never led her to failure. And it's not just about more experience and more sustainable nervous system. Not one of Medvedeva’s six competitive programs during her adult career was staged at such a crazy pace as Zagitova’s Don Quixote. If she fell, Evgenia had time to get up, recover and continue skating, rather than chasing the music. Alina’s free program initially did not leave the right to fall, and was worked out to such an extent that even thoughts about it did not arise. When the fall in Milan occurred from the first cascade, it was no longer possible to stop this chain.
It is possible that at some point Alina encountered a psychological barrier: after all, the starting signature cascade of triple lutz and loop did not work out right away in Pyeongchang and at the Moscow show of champions, and at the world championship the lutz ended in a fall. Fortunately, the season is over, the Olympic champion will be able to recharge her batteries and decide how to continue her journey. Was it possible to leave Alina to rest at home and send another skater to Milan to maintain quotas? Taking into account the removal of Medvedeva and the inclusion of Stanislava Konstantinova in the team instead, who ultimately took 19th place, theoretically, or could have played instead of Alina. But hardly any of the girls could show a result higher than 8th position.
JOY AND BRONZE KOLYADA
Joy came to us from where we didn't expect it - from men's singles skating. and , who finished third and seventh respectively, returned three men's vacancies for the next season after many years. And Kolyada entered himself into the history of our men's singles: the first medal since 2011 and the second since 2004. If we talk specifically about the quality of skating, then in comparison with the European Championships, our guys seemed to have changed places: Dmitry took risks in both programs, and Mikhail in the short program decided to return to a reliable option with one quadruple sheepskin coat. What the famous coach called “girl skating and content from 20 years ago” brought Kolyada 100.08 points in the short program and allowed her to become second in its results, less than 2 points behind the leader. In the free program, it was not possible to repeat the same brilliant performance - again three quadruples (Lutz and two sheepskin coats), from which Mikhail was only able to perform a sheepskin coat, and even then with difficulty.
In the free program, Chen saved the impression from the warm-up performance of the strongest. In it, he fell three times, the same number of times - trying to perform six quadruple jumps, and the two-time bronze medalist of the world championships, the Chinese, fell even five times. Against this background, Kolyada, with his two falls, looked like a model of composure. As for Aliyev, who became, the assessment of his performance depends on the approach. If assessed locally, he should be offended by an error in the short program that cost 10 points. With them, Dmitry would confidently occupy fourth place, and maybe higher. But globally, Aliev turned out to be on top - he landed a quadruple Lutz twice, and only he and Chen succeeded in this in the free program.
OPTIMISTIC DYNAMICS
Second place, as well as fourth, coupled with seventh place, look optimistic. Although the last two duets could have taken higher places, in the short program the judges withheld their scores, and in the free program our pairs could not do without mistakes. For Evgenia and Vladimir, this championship was an opportunity to rehabilitate herself for a disappointing fourth place in the individual tournament in Pyeongchang. But the chance to win the championship also depended on the Olympic champions. The German couple did not provide it with a brilliant free skate for a world record. But the dynamics of our couple’s performances at world championships are very pleasant: debut 6th place, then 5th, last year’s bronze against the backdrop of an injury, silver at the end of a difficult Olympic season, next year gold suggests itself.
UNFULFILLED HOPES
When they announced their non-participation in the World Championships, there was still hope for the return of three quotas in dance. There was a feeling that, already in the status of the first couple of the country, they were able to compete for getting into the top five. For this, more than three points were missing, lost due to lost difficulty levels and a penalty point in the short dance. As a result, in the absence of two world leaders, they managed to take only seventh place.
But our other duet can take their debut eighth place to their advantage, because, according to technical assessment, in the free dance they were able to beat not only their national team partners, but also the Americans who came in fifth. There is also a sad circumstance for us: this season we won the right to be in the group of the strongest couples silver medalists American championship. This means that even a possible departure will not free up higher places for our dancers. Taking into account the fact that Bobrova/Soloviev will miss the next season, a battle is expected not only for the status of the country’s first couple, but also with foreign couples who will also want to take advantage of the leaders’ departure.
