The triumph of Evgenia Medvedeva and the gold of the Japanese wunderkind Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2017 World Cup have not yet been forgotten, and the World Championship in figure skating 2018! New drawing of the main after Winter Olympics competition among figure skaters will be held in the Italian city of Milan. Dozens of world-famous athletes will compete for championship awards. But special attention will again be riveted to athletes from Russia, Canada, Japan and China. At the moment, these are the main "curly" powers!
Where and when will the world figure skating championship 2018 take place
Milan is the world capital of haute couture. 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 birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci and Giuseppe Verdi became the host country of the competition only 4 times.
The sports arenas where the figure skaters will perform at the 2018 World Cup are not yet known. Milan is replete with many SCs for all kinds of sports. Most likely, one of the following arenas will host the championship competition:
- Forum di Assago;
- Mazda Palace;
- Pala Lido;
- Agora;
- Nuovo Giuriati.
Most for a role sports arena the 16,000th Forum di Assago is suitable for the competition. This is a multi-profile SC, which can be easily converted into a platform for any kind of competition.
2018 World Figure Skating Program
Athletes will compete in four categories:
- single men's skating;
- dancing on Ice;
- women's single skating;
- pair skating.
The competition for all participants will consist of two sections: a short program and a free program. The first part will last 2 minutes. 50 seconds. During it, athletes will show their basic skills. But the free program will require the participant to reveal their full potential! This will be the most important part in the schedule of the planetary championship among figure skaters. In the free program, the participant will not only have to skate his number cleanly, but also show remarkable artistry. This competitive block lasts almost 5 minutes. However, in order to qualify for an arbitrary part, a participant in the championship must score in short program a certain number of points.
Competitors
To demonstrate the results at the figure skating planet championship, the participants of the upcoming competition must represent a country that is part of International Union skaters. Each member of the union has the right to nominate from 1 to 3 athletes (pairs) in each discipline. Here is the list of countries with maximum quotas:
- Japan;
- Russia;
- Canada;
- China.
Our country boasts 3 quotas in women's singles and pair skating. Therefore, the Russian national team for the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships will include 8 people. But the Canadians will have the most impressive representation. The North Americans will bring 10 athletes to Milan.
How was the 2017 World Cup
The last World Cup ended with the victory of Canada in general medal count. True, you can’t call it a loud triumph. The awards were "smeared" among other participants in the championship. Canada, Russia, Japan and China won one gold each. Representatives of the Maple Leaf Country took the lead 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.
And what about the Russian team? Not to say that the Russians successfully held the last championship draw. The men at the World Figure Skating Championships disappointed once again. Still, the 8th place of Mikhail Kolyada is far from the ultimate dream for the national team.
In the category of pair skating, our athletes were content with bronze. The medal was awarded to the duo Evgeny Morozov and Alexander Morozov. Another pair of Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov is in 5th place.
In the discipline of ice dancing, Russia was completely left without awards. The best domestic duo Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov took only fifth place.
Last year's draw could have been called a failure if not for the first place of Evgenia Medvedeva at the World Women's Singles Championship. For a native of Moscow, this gold was the second in her career!
Afterword
Last year's draw of the competition turned out to be ambiguous. Expectedly pleased women and "hotbeds". However, fans have long missed gold in men's singles and ice dancing. At the upcoming World Cup Russian athletes have a great opportunity to fulfill the dreams of their fans!
Today at the World Championships in Milan decided the fate of the medals. Hardly anyone expected such a result. Canadian figure skater Caitlin Osmond (223.23) has gold, Japanese Wakaba Higuchi (210.90) has silver, and Satoko Miyahara (210.08) has bronze. Russian Alina Zagitova is fifth (207.72), Maria Sotskova is eighth (196.62), Stanislav Konstantinova is 19 (153.03).
The broadcast is on Ural time
02:40 Under the arches of the Palace of Sports 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 we, of course, did not expect such an end of the season. But sport is beautiful not only with victories, but also with such moments when everything turns upside down in an unexpected way, emotions overwhelm. Alina remains an Olympic champion - and we believe she has many other titles ahead of her.
A very tough world championship. It feels like almost no one has strength left after the Olympics. Alina did what she could, what she was capable of. She is beautiful, we are fans, we are simply obliged to support our girl. 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 . And we are also grateful for your questions and feedback and are waiting for new ones: @yannet_bel (Yana Belotserkovskaya) and @NataShadrina (Natalia Shadrina).
Let's look at Alina's rental again.
And the rental of Masha
02:28 Of course, how could we assume that on the pedestal we will not see Carolina Kostner or Alina Zagitova? A very unpredictable result. In general, no one could even imagine that the Canadian figure skater would become the world champion Caitlin Osmond. Caitlin herself did not expect this either - she, of course, is glowing with happiness now.
02:22 How wonderful figure skating? Incredible concentration of emotions. We have not yet moved away from feelings for Alina - and now it is simply breathtaking from the very soulful and strong performance of Karolina. But there were mistakes - and it felt like the whole stadium was falling along with Karolina.
How many dramas today! Carolina Kostner at home - past the pedestal.
02:19 Now the whole stadin is crying together with our skater. And in this electrified atmosphere, Carolina Kostner, the leader of the short program, enters the ice.
2:16 It was incredible heavy season for Alina. She spent it in incredible tension, making no mistakes at all. There was simply not enough strength for the last start - 128.21 - points for a 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 it 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 ice - Olympic champion, European champion Alina Zagitova. Only this 15-year-old figure skater, who, by the way, is spending her first adult season, does not have the gold of the World Championship! Look!
2:05 Japanese Satoko Miyahara on ice. She did a great job with the short program.
But in the free program, not everything turned out ... Although it was clear how Satoko was fighting for his elements, saving his jumps. But it didn't come without a fall. 210.08 is Satoko's sum.
2:00 It remains to speak to three athletes, who occupy the first three places in the short program.
Recall that the top three according to the results of the short program looks like this:
First - Italian Carolina Kostner (80.27), in second place - Russian woman Alina Zagitova (79.51), the third was the Japanese figure skater Satoko Miyahara (74.36).
1:59 Canadian figure skater on ice Gabriel Daleman. On the sum of two programs, she is gaining 196.72
We admire our beautiful Masha.
1:49 coped Maria Sotskova, but alas, not without a fall at the end of the program. The feeling is that by the end she was just already tired, and she didn’t have enough strength for the final. It's a pity. Because other skaters skated great. After the short program, Masha was fifth. Now she is given 124,81 - few. She is the 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 legs, but in general the rental was a success. Her black swan held the hall today - the audience followed her every movement. Yes, maybe the Canadian woman 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 on the ice is the Canadian figure skater, Olympic champion in the team, bronze medalist of the Olympic Games Pyeongchang in individual competitions Caitlin Osmond. We look.
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 owner of the ice, Carolina Kostner. This is easy to win back, so the intrigue will continue today until the very last seconds of this evening.
1:32 The girls of the strongest warm-up came to the warm-up, where two of our brilliant skaters Maria Sotskova and Alina Zagitova. The Italian will be the last to perform today Carolina Costner.
1:29 Wakaba cries after the performance, but it seems to us, from happiness. She did everything she could, what was needed . 145.01 and a total of 210.90 - great, what a result!!
1:26 Wakaba skated great - inspired, wide, full of courage, churning out jump after jump! What will the judges give her?
1:18 Well, Mirai not going to give in, she tried to do everything in her power. How the public supports it! In general, it should be noted that the Italians are great at accepting absolutely all girls, a wonderful atmosphere.
But the judges give her a lot less points - 122.31. She has 187.52 in total- it's only third place now. A Japanese woman took to the ice Wakaba Higuchi.
1:16 We are already closely following the free program of the compatriot Brady Tennel - Mirai Nagasu.
1:10 On ice Brady Tenner- the main hope of Americans in women's figure skating at this world championship. And she justifies these hopes - a very clean, powerful rental. Brady herself is very pleased with the performance - 131, 13, and in total 199, 89. She is the first to this moment.
1:03 Meanwhile, the 21-year-old German figure skater completed her performance Nicole Schott. Nicole is the champion of Germany, she took 10th place at the European Championship in Moscow. Last year at the World Championships, she was 19.
Today, Nicole did not succeed much, there was a fall. The judges gave her 112, 29 , but in total she gains 174, 13 - at the moment it is the fourth place.
In the meantime, let's watch Stacy's performance again.
00:53 An asterisk from Kazakhstan presented a free program - Elizabeth Tursynbaeva. This is a very fragile girl who is trained by the legendary Brian Orser.
It is a pity that not all of her jumps were successful today, although compared to the Olympics (where she was 12), Elizabeth enters 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 go on 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 a fine fellow, how confidently she skated today. Almost all the jumps of the judges gave her a plus, without a doubt, this is the strongest rental at the moment. Luna has a very beautiful dress, and she herself is a very pretty girl - the Milanese audience 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 skater from the USA Mirai Nagasu and also in Japanese Wakabu Higuchi- they can interfere in the struggle for high places.
00:36 On the ice - the third group of participants- now we will see free skates of those who take from 7th to 12th place in the short program.
At the moment, the places are distributed as follows:
00:26 And while we have a short pause, we invite you to read an 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 the dress for "Karenina"
00:25 Continuing the topic - the difficulty levels of the steps in single skating:
1. Minimal variety (level 1), simple variety (level 2), variety (level 3), complexity (level 4) difficult steps and turns along the entire track (mandatory)
2. Rotation in both directions (right and left) with full body rotation (at least 1/3 of the pattern in total in each direction of rotation)
3. Use of body movements for at least 1/3 of the drawing
4. Two different combinations of 3 complex turns performed with a clear rhythm during the execution of the track (on different feet)
00:20 So, we were asked to tell in more detail about the levels of complexity of the elements. What is it?
Difficulty levels are a system for evaluating precisely 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 easiest one is basic or first. The most difficult is the fourth one.
In most cases, the first/basic level is the minimum requirement for a given element. More high levels complexity is achieved by including additional complications in the element.
These include:
- complex variations of entries or exits from elements,
- complex positions.
Due to their novelty, these requirements are sometimes not fully thought out 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 In the meantime, we were discussing Stassi's proca, a Finnish figure skater performed Viveca Linfords . She competed at the World Cup in 2016 and became 20 there, and missed the World Championship last season. We remember her well from the European Championship - there Viveka became 14th. Her total is 166.23, while she is fourth.
00:12 Doesn't let go, of course, Stacy's hire is now.
Of course, she could not cope with her nerves - after the first fall she was upset, nervous, scared and could not pull herself 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 figure skating elite, you need to learn not only to skate, but also to pull yourself together.
By the way, Stacy's excitement was noticeable even during the warm-up. She also fell there ... Perhaps the failure at the warm-up and unsettled her.
00:10 Four falls and only 93.84 points in the free program for Stanislava Konstantinova. The amount is 153.03.
00:08 Well, what can I say ... Not at the feet of Stasya. 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 tournr, Stanislav replaces Zhenya Medvedev, which will not take part in this World Cup because of the recommendation of the doctors.
00:03 Cheer for Stanislav Konstantinov! On the ice - Russian figure skater. Recall that she has 16th place after the short program.
Stanislava is 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, the younger sister of Stanislava Christina He is also into figure skating. Stanislav, by the standards of figure skating, is not the youngest athlete - she, like Maria Sotskova, 17 years. Trains Stanislav Konstantinov at Valentina Chebotareva(coach Mikhail Kolyada).
Stanislav 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 has a very gentle skating to the soundtrack to "Mama Mia". 110.54 - points for the free program.
We will digress a little from what is happening on the ice and talk about the records that have already been set at this world championship.
Two world records were updated by a German couple Alena Savchenko and Bruno Massot- in a free program (162, 86) and a record in total (245, 84).
Ice dancing world record set by France Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron.
Well, we are waiting for new records for women. We know that our Alina Zagitova can do it!
23:49 Eliska Brzezinova from the Czech Republic on ice. She, as you might guess, is the sister of a famous figure skater Michal Brezina. At the European Championships in Moscow, she became the 12th.
In the short program, she had 58.37 points. In the free program - 94.77, total points - 153.14
Michal, by the way, is currently 17. Tomorrow Elishka will be rooting for her brother in the free program.
23:40 Lauren Lecavalier from France on ice.
This figure skater is interesting first of all... for her costume. In the first part of the program, she rides 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 change!
But it seems that this costume interferes more with the skater, distracts her. We remember how something went wrong at the European Championships, and part of the skater's costume came unbuttoned ahead of time. Maybe you should make such costumes only if you are impeccably confident in your technique.
173.23 is Lauryn's sum. These are not bad points for her - and Lauryn in the kiss and cry zone is very happy!
23:32 An American opens the performance in this warm-up Mariah Bell. After the short program, we have 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 US yet - the level of Ashley Wagner. In the short program, Mariah scored 59.15 points. Now gaining 115.25 and on the sum of two programs is gaining 174.40
But she will succeed - with such a coach as the legendary 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 pupils - Ashley Wagner,Nathan Chen, Mao Asada...
23:29 This is how things stand after the performance of the first group. Kailani Krain from Australia while leading. Already now the second group, including including a Russian woman Stanislav Konstantinov.
23:23 The lights go out and we are introduced to the second group of participants.
We never get tired of talking about the amazing atmosphere in Milan! Everything is tasteful and stylish - including the introduction ceremony for the members of each group.
23:16 Dasha Grm from Slovenia on ice. Dasha plucked many elements, and now she is 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 scores 92.08 in the free program, the total is 154.51.
23:08 Yvet Toth from Hungary on ice
In the short program, she appears before us in the form of a rocker, skating under AC / DC. And now she demonstrates the wonders of reincarnation: before us is the stratsic and feminine Carmen to the immortal music of Shchedrin.
In the short program, Ivette did not succeed - we recall that she scored only 50.63 and, in general, miraculously got into the free program. Today, alas, it was not possible to rehabilitate ... Yvette 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 ice. The athlete pleasantly surprised us with her very provocative 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 the 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, she is very much loved there.
Now she scored 97.51 in the free program, and by the sum of points - 154.41. Extreme is the first.
22:55 The Italian public warmly greets their compatriot - Elizabeth Lecardi. This is her debut world championship. 98, 01 - and this best result season in the free skate and a personal best. It feels like even Elizabeta herself and her team are in shock! Good scores, home ice helps. Lecardi sum - 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 see how jumps are shortened.
- A Axel
- S Salchow
- T Toe loop
- F Flip
- Lo Rittberger
- Lz Lutz
The number before the name of the jump= number of revolutions. For the axel, 1A = one and a half turns, 2A = two and a half turns (“snipe”) and so on.
e mark y jump means that the jump was executed from the wrong edge.
SEQ mark between jumps means that the jumps are not connected in a cascade, when the jumps are executed directly one after the other, but through an intermediate jump ("jump").
It is important! For all other elements, except for jumps, the digit at 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 On the ice, our favorite figure skater Alexia Paganini. She was born in the USA plays for Switzerland. After the short program, she takes 19th place. The athlete is only 16 years old. We remember her well at the European Championships in Moscow - the athlete is distinguished by musicality and a 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 is worth mentioning separately about the public in Milan! Very friendly and grateful audience, supporting the skaters with applause. It was clear that Alexia really needed this support.
17:38 On ice 16 year old Alexia Paganini, loved this season by many fans of figure skating. Alexia presents her variation of Romeo and Juliet.
22:40 While the warm-up is going on, 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: a lot of different numbers and words are displayed on the screen in the upper left corner...
What do they mean? So, on top we see the name of the element just performed by the athletes. Next to the numbers, highlighted in red or green. Red - it means that the element was executed not quite perfectly and points are subtracted from the base cost of the element. If we see a green color, it means that 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. Let's start our live stream. The second set of medals will be played right now, the girls will perform a free program. There are four groups of participants in total.
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. In terms of technique, Alina won against Carolina. 42.52 for Zagitova, 41.30 for Kostner.
But here is the second assessment - that is, points for the presentation - Alina has lower. 38.97 for Kostner, 37.00 for Zagitova.
Thus, according to the sum of two marks, Zagitova is inferior to Kostner. The difference, of course, is quite small: 80.27 for the Italian figure skater, 79.51 for the Olympic champion 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 rental 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 apply knowledge in practice - while watching! We also run a telegram channel about figure skating, where all the results appear promptly. Subscribe to not miss new broadcasts, texts, photos and results. @kiss_and_cry_fk . And by the way, send us your questions about figure skating, figure skaters, the World Championship - @yannet_bel
Live broadcasts of the championship and all the news of the tournament.
“If we evaluate the World Championship based on the preservation of quotas for the next season, and this is precisely the task called by the president of the FFKKR Alexander Gorshkov, then it can be considered successful. We still have three vacancies in couples and women, two have been saved for dancers, and guys managed to win three at all. However, the overall impression of the championship still remains painful - primarily because of the unsuccessful performance of Alina Zagitova. The fall of the Olympic champion in the free program, in which she frantically tried to catch up with the music, was comparable to a horror movie.
Save Alina from falling at least one of the three jumps, then she would stand on a pedestal with silver medal Everything would be psychologically easier. How could this happen? There are a number of reasons: the physical growth of the athlete, fatigue from the Olympic season, and the training schedule that went astray after returning from Pyeongchang. The absence of Evgenia Medvedeva also played a role, who would share the burden of responsibility with Alina and draw some attention to herself.
It is possible that at some point Alina had a psychological barrier: after all, the starting signature cascade of triple lutz and rittberger did not work out on the move in Pyeongchang and at the Moscow show of champions, and at the World Championship lutz ended in a fall. Fortunately, with the season over, the Olympian will be able to recharge her batteries and decide how to continue on her journey.
Was it possible to leave Alina to rest at home, and send another figure skater to Milan to maintain quotas? Given the removal of Medvedeva and the inclusion of Stanislava Konstantinova in the national team instead, who eventually took 19th place, Polina Tsurskaya or Elizaveta Tuktamysheva could theoretically replace Alina. But hardly any of the girls could have shown a result higher than the 8th position of Maria Sotskova, ”says Ekaterina Bespalova, columnist for Sport-Express.
58 - Inside news page
The Russians have two medals: Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov won the first silver medal in their career in pair skating, Mikhail Kolyada received a bronze medal in men's single skating.
5:06 25.03.2018
The World Figure Skating Championships ended on Saturday in Milan, Italy with a dance tournament, the winners of which for the third time in their career were the French Gabriela Papadakis / Guillaume Sizeron. Russia remained in this type of program without awards, however overall result performances of the team should be considered worthy. The Russians have two medals: Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov won the first silver in their career in pair skating, Mikhail Kolyada received bronze medal in men's singles.
World Cup 2018 in figure skating. Milan, Italy).The composition of the Russian team:
In three types of programs, Russian skaters provided maximum amount quotas at the next World Championships (three each), in dancing, like a year ago, they won two vacancies.
Remember the last
Papadakis and Sizeron updated all three world records in Milan, which was another achievement for the duet, in addition to medals: despite the fact that the French have collected all the highest titles for three years (the only exception was the Olympic Games), the record result in the short dance has never did not previously belong to them. Now dance records look like this: 83.73 points in the short dance, 123.47 in the free dance and 207.20 in the standings of two programs.
The free dance of the French, of course, adorned the current world championship - the performance of many leaders in the other three disciplines turned out to be frankly a failure in Milan.
The dance tournament was a benefit for Canadian coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Frenchman Romain Hagenauer: second place was also won by their wards Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donoghue, who had never climbed the podium of major tournaments (the duo was ninth at last year's World Championships). The dancers became US champions for the first time this season, and in Milan overtook Canada's 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 records in the free dance, and the second of the pairs added four points to the best personal result at once.
Bronze in small blood
On Saturday, 18-year-old American Nathan Chen became the world champion in men's single skating. 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 holiday also happened on the Russian street: Mikhail Kolyada became the third, Dmitry Aliev - the 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 compete at the world championships at full strength Russian single skaters have not had to for many years.
"I am dissatisfied with the performance (of the free program), mistakes were made, but according to the second assessment, according to the performance, I liked everything. Of course, there are questions about the technical part. But the season is over. I think that I performed quite well here at the World Championships," said Kolyada to the press service of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR).
“Even before the World Championships, my coach and I decided that we would skate such programs, a lighter version of the short one,” 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 comes the realization "It's like the Olympics. It's been a pretty long, intense season, but it felt pretty easy today. 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 turns in a free program, and set new record season for free rental and the sum of two programs (219.46 and 321.40).
The second Russian participant Dmitry Aliev became the seventh, having completed three quadruple jumps in a free program.
“These are my first three quads in the free program, which I managed to do,” the skater told the FFKKR press service. “In general, I am satisfied with the performance, with the exception of the “butterfly” on the axel, which I could not do, because I had the strength. "I'm tired. But I could jump. 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'm going to .I want to get more, go higher, for this you need to work harder and ride 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 Carolina Kostner, who, according to all forecasts, should have played gold and silver of the world championship, remained fifth and fourth.
With the exception of the combination "double axel - triple toe loop", performed with a slight blot on the landing from the second jump, all other elements of the free program were performed by the Canadian on the pluses, she scored a rather high amount of points in two rentals (223.23), but it is worth recognizing that the skater would hardly have been able to compete with Zagitova if the latter had not had a force majeure in the form of three falls.
Olympic champion Oleg Vasilyev told RIA Novosti that he was not surprised by the defeat of Zagitova.
“First of all, the problem is that after the Olympic Games, Alina’s training regimen was greatly lost. When a person, as they say, is “put on rails”, he will go normally, despite the stress. which was for many months when an athlete jumped a hundred, two hundred jumps daily, it is enough to skip training several times to get out of this standard," the specialist said.
“When you have a lot of continuous work behind you, it creates inertia that kind of pushes you forward when you go out to compete. Zagitova’s victory at the Olympics is just the result of the 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 get ready for the maximum result when there is no tenfold margin," the expert explained.
According to Vasiliev, at a certain moment the Olympic champion "had a panic." “Zagitova fell on the first jump, and since her jumps in the free program go one by one at a very high pace, there was no time to figure out what to do. Panic set in. That’s all that happened,” he concluded.
Elena Buyanova's ward Maria Sotskova finished eighth with a triple lutz free skate, while third Russian participant Stanislava Konstantinova, who made her senior debut this season, finished only 19th, calling the experience terrible.
Sixfold Alena
The most striking performance of the championship was a free program Olympic champions Alena Savchenko/Bruno Massot in pair skating. The 34-year-old athlete has added a sixth top world title to her collection, and her partner has become a world champion for the first time. The skaters finished the free skate with a world record and beat the reigning European champions Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov by about twenty points.
If we evaluate the World Cup based on the preservation of quotas for the next season, and this is precisely the task that the president of the FFKKR called, then it can be considered successful. We still have three vacancies in couples and women, two have been saved for dancers, and guys managed to win three at all. However, the overall impression of the championship still remains painful - primarily because of the unsuccessful performance. The fall of the Olympic champion in the free program, in which she frantically tried to catch up with the music, was comparable to a horror movie.
Save Alina from falling at least one of the three jumps, then she would stand on a pedestal with a silver medal - everything would be psychologically easier. How could this happen? There are a number of reasons: the physical growth of the athlete, fatigue from the Olympic season, and the training schedule that went astray after returning from Pyeongchang. The absence also played a role, which would share the burden of responsibility with Alina and draw some attention to herself. It can be argued that in December last year, Zagitova won the Grand Prix final without Medvedeva. But then it was still 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 also not ideal.
INITIAL RISK PROGRAM
With all the outstanding results of three adult seasons, Medvedev also did not do without falls, but this never led her to failure. And it's not just about more experience and more sustainable nervous system. None of Medvedeva's six competitive programs during her adult career was staged at such a crazy pace as Zagitova's Don Quixote. In the event of a fall, Evgenia had time to get up, recover and continue to ride on, and not chase the music. For Alina, the free program initially did not leave the right to fall, and was rolled up to such an extent that even thoughts about it did not arise. When the fall in Milan occurred from the first cascade, it was already impossible to stop this chain.
It is possible that at some point Alina had a psychological barrier: after all, the starting signature cascade of triple lutz and rittberger did not work out on the move in Pyeongchang and at the Moscow show of champions, and at the World Championship lutz ended in a fall. Fortunately, with the season over, the Olympian will be able to recharge her batteries and decide how to continue on her journey. Was it possible to leave Alina to rest at home, and send another figure skater to Milan to maintain quotas? Taking into account the removal of Medvedeva and the inclusion of Stanislav Konstantinova in the team instead of her, who eventually took 19th place, theoretically, or could have performed instead of Alina. But hardly any of the girls could show a result higher than the 8th position.
JOY AND BRONZE KOLYADA
Joy came to us from where they did not expect - from the side of men's single skating. and , which finished third and seventh respectively, returned three men's vacancies many years later for the following season. And Kolyada inscribed himself in the history of our male "loner": 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 Championship, our guys seemed to have changed places: Dmitry took risks in both programs, and in the short program Mikhail decided to return to a reliable variant with one quadruple sheepskin coat. What the famous coach called "girl's skating and 20-year-old content" brought Kolyada 100.08 points in the short program and allowed her to become second according to its results, lagging behind the leader by less than 2 points. In the free program, they failed to repeat the same brilliant performance - again three quads (a lutz and two sheepskin coats), from which Mikhail was able to leave only a sheepskin coat, and even then with difficulty.
In the free program, Chen saved the impression from the warm-up performance of the strongest. He fell three times in it, the same number of times - trying to perform six quadruple jumps, and the two-time bronze medalist of the world championships, the Chinese collapsed five times at all. Against this background, Kolyada, with his two falls, looked like a model of composure. As for Aliyev, who has become, the assessment of his performance depends on the approach. If evaluated locally, he should be offended by a mistake in a short program that cost 10 points. With them, Dmitry would confidently take fourth place, and maybe even higher. But globally, Aliyev was at his best - he landed a quadruple lutz twice, and in the free program only he and Chen succeeded.
OPTIMISTIC DYNAMICS
The second place, as well as the fourth, together with the seventh place, look optimistic. Although the last two duets could have taken higher places, but in the short program the judges kept their marks, and in the free program our couples could not do without mistakes. For Evgenia from Vladimir, this championship was an opportunity to redeem herself for the offensive fourth place in the Pyeongchang individual tournament. But the chance to win the championship also depended on the Olympic champions. The German couple did not provide a brilliant free skate for the world record. But the dynamics of our couple's performances at world championships is very pleasant: debut 6th place, then 5th, last year's bronze against the backdrop of injury, silver at the end of a difficult Olympic season, next year gold suggests itself.
FAILED HOPES
When they announced their non-participation in the World Championships, the hope for the return of three quotas in dancing still remained. There was a feeling that, already in the status of the first couple of the country, they could compete for getting into the strongest five. For this, more than three points were not enough, lost on the flown levels of difficulty and a penalty point in a 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 the debut eighth place into their asset, because, according to the technical assessment, in a free dance they were able to bypass not only their teammates, but the Americans who became fifth. There is also an unfortunate circumstance for us: this season, the right to be in the group of the strongest pairs was won by 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 first couple of the country, but also with foreign couples who also want to take advantage of the departure of the leaders.
