Athletes of the Nina Moser group in pair skating.
The tournament ended on Saturday in St. Petersburg ice palace"Anniversary". According to the results of the championship, the executive committee of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) must approve the composition of the team for the European Championship on Sunday, which will be held in January in Moscow.
New surprise from Tutberidze
Following the Grand Prix Final, the debutant of the adult season, Zagitova, won the national championship. A student of Eteri Tutberidze performed in the absence of another figure skater of this coach, two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva. Already for the short program, Zagitova received 78.15 points. For comparison: the world record set by Medvedeva on team championship World 2017 is 80.85 points. True, in the table of the best results of the International Skating Union (ISU), the results of domestic championships are not taken into account.
At the same time, on Friday, Zagitova made a blot on the “expensive” cascade of triple lutz - triple rittberger. “The reason for the blot, I think, is in my head,” Zagitova said after the short program. The next day, she performed the free program quite cleanly, allowing an underrotation on the triple salchow, and designed the gold of the national championship with a score of 233.59 points.
"I am satisfied with the free program. I am glad that I was able to show good skating, something that we worked on with the coaches. I am very pleased with the points and glad that I took first place, -. - Of course, I am glad that I became the champion of Russia. For me, this the start is very important, and I probably didn’t think what place I would take in this championship. I thought about how to implement what I had gained with the coaches. But after this result, I became more confident in myself."
The second, as in the Grand Prix Final, held on December 7-10 in Japanese Nagoya, became, which, like in Japan, was not ideal in training, but stable at the start. The result is 221.76 points.
"I'm happy that I completed my tasks at the tournament. But there is only the first place. So far I can say that I'm losing, but I'm glad that from start to start I prove to myself that nothing is impossible. Every time I do something new , something better, and I will soon have to be reckoned with, -. - I was very restless today, it was unrealistically hard for me, but I'm glad I did it.
Third place was taken by 14-year-old junior Alena Kostornaya, who, due to her young age, cannot qualify for inclusion in the European Championship and the Olympic Games. When Kostornaya just skated the free program, she did not admit that she would be among the winners. “No, I won’t get (on the podium), other girls have stronger content,” - to the question of the R-Sport correspondent regarding medal prospects after the 216.57 points received as a result.
The tournament became both official, in fact, the return of the winner of the Final of the Junior Grand Prix of the 2015/16 season, Polina Tsurskaya, after health problems, and the athlete’s not very successful free skate. 16-year-old Tsurskaya, who was tormented by injuries for a year and a half, won a place on the podium in the short program, but in the free program she could not cope with the triple lutz and took the final fifth place (207.61), losing also to Stanislava Konstantinova from St. Petersburg (211.28), which showed the third result in the free program and the fourth in the end.
Bronze medalist Kostornaya was at a loss, sitting in the company of Sotskova and Zagitova at the final press conference. “In general, I’m very satisfied with the rental, in principle there were no shortcomings. But for me it was a complete surprise that I got on the podium. By age, I’m not going anywhere yet, but I’m still very pleased,” said the 14-year-old figure skater from the Tutberidze group.
The championship turned out to be very unsuccessful for Elena Radionova, who before the start was considered one of the contenders for participation in the European Championship, and then in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. In the short program, the athlete fell after a triple loop, scored 66.16 points, taking 13th intermediate place. The free skate was also flawed, as a result, the skater received 196.78 points.
“Naturally, I’m not happy, there’s nothing to be happy about. Of course, I expected more, that I would skate both programs with dignity and ... It’s a shame, unpleasant, because I was ready quite well,” adding that she still doesn’t know anything about further competitive plans for the season.
Tarasova and Morozov breathed fresh air
In pair skating, the pairs of the Moser group excelled, but Nina Mikhailovna herself was not present at the tournament for health reasons. Intermediate leadership after the short program was taken by Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, but in the end they were surpassed by Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who scored 223.34 points in the end. The victory was especially pleasant for these skaters, since in the Grand Prix Final the couple made a lot of marriage and took only fifth place.
"Today's program can be perceived as a breath of fresh air after the Grand Prix Final, which was unsuccessful," -. “We fought and skated with dignity, so today is a plus for us,” he said at a press conference. “In the short program, we didn’t succeed in everything, unlike what happened today.”
Stolbova and Klimov finished second (215.55). The partner made a number of mistakes during the execution of several elements. “They are absolutely dissatisfied with the rental, they made mistakes. The reasons are a mixture of chance and nervousness. Half of the season has passed, some fatigue has accumulated.
The third place, which gives a big advantage in the selection for the European Championship, was taken by Natalia Zabiyako and Alexander Enbert (207.51). Athletes overtook their direct competitors in the fight for participation in the main starts of the season, Kristina Astakhova and Alexei Rogonov (198.41). But Enbert did not focus on the confrontation with this particular pair.
“We beat them (Astakhova/Rogonov) for the third time this season. It was interesting for us to perform in the strongest warm-up, compete with Astakhova/Rogonov, Stolbova/Klimov and Tarasova/Morozov. The whole warm-up was strong, and it’s hard to beat each athlete, but this does not mean that it is impossible. We are striving for this," the partner said.
A real man
After the seventh victory in the championships of the country, Bobrova / Solovyov, the hashtag # Tears of Zhulin appeared on social networks. “Tears of a coach are worth a lot. This man is a man, he is the core we look up to. He will never show too much emotion, and today he shed a tear. He is a real man,” -.
Stepanova/Bukin finished second (188.28). “We will try to add even more to the European Championship and perform better there than at the Russian Championship, so that everyone can see how we added,” -.
If the unconditional leadership of Bobrova/Soloviev is contested, it is still cautious and, if possible, imperceptible. Serious competition between Stepanova/Bukin and Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov was expected for the second position.
But the rivalry didn't work out. In the short dance, Victoria made a mistake on twizzles, and in the free dance, after an incident with support, Nikita grabbed his leg, the performance was suspended,. Later, the president of the FFKKR, Alexander Gorshkov, told R-Sport that. Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro finished third with 175.78.
Silicone Samarina
“Let’s say I’m satisfied with the result, but I’m not quite satisfied with the performance,” after he didn’t really cope with the quadruple lutz both in the short and in the free program, screwed up a quad salchow and made a "butterfly" on a triple axel. The Petersburger still scored 281.16 points in both programs and won gold. Explaining the mistakes, he traditionally said that he "did not fully understand what it was", but then mentioned that he did not recover enough after the Grand Prix Final in Japan, where he became the third.
Alexander Samarin could encroach on the leadership of Kolyada, who purely performed short rental with a quad lutz and a sheepskin coat, but in the free program he swung at two quad lutz. From the first one he fell, on the second he made a "butterfly" and made a whole series of mistakes. "Two quadruples brought down Sasha psychologically", -. Samarin himself denied, spoke of the unwillingness to name the true motive for the failure in the free program, promising along the way "you will not be offended at the European Championships."
But then, in an interview with R-Sport, he nevertheless admitted: “At the very beginning of the program, my shoe broke, and because of this, the silicone “moved out” - the inner lining. As soon as this happened, I stopped feeling that the shoe was holding my foot "At first I thought it was just the shoelace untied, but then I realized that it was something else. Because of this, all the landings turned out to be so uncertain. This is by no means an excuse, and I do not exonerate myself. So , I should have taken better care of my boots, and I didn't." As a result, Samarin became the second (258.53).
Third place was taken by Dmitry Aliev, who has been struggling with the consequences of an ankle injury throughout the season. He eliminated the quadruple lutz from the free program, but nevertheless scored 249.11 points and won bronze. Sergey Voronov, who made it to the Grand Prix Final and skated well in the short program, the next day made a lot of mistakes in the free program and ended up fourth.
The next morning Kovtun. “I had no illusions, but Maxim really wanted to try to start. Now he has to decide for himself what he wants to do next this season, he is an adult. In my opinion, now he needs to calm down and decide on future plans, otherwise it turns out some kind of jerkiness, "- having also said about Kovtun's problems with being overweight.
Details Category: Russian Figure Skating Championships Published: 19 December 2017From 21 to 24 December 2017 in St. Petersburg will be the championship of Russia in figure skating. The city on the Neva has repeatedly hosted Russian championships. The last one took place here in December 2009.
Based on the results of the national championship, the composition of the Russian national team for the European Championship will be formed, where the fate of Olympic vouchers will be finally decided. Thus, the championship of Russia is actually a qualifying one and for XXIII Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Athletes are allowed to participate in the Russian Championship based on the highest amount of points scored in the form of two stages of the Russian Cup in accordance with the table of scoring points for the places occupied by athletes, as well as the results of participation in the stages and finals of the Grand Prix among adults and juniors. In the case of the same amount of points for one or more athletes (pairs), the sum of the referee points scored in two stages is decisive. Athletes who have reached the age of 14 are allowed to participate in single skating. In single skating, no more than 18 athletes among men and women are allowed, in pair skating - no more than 12 pairs, in ice dancing - no more than 15 pairs. Total maximum amount 90 participants.
Shortly before the championship, Anna Pogorilaya, one of the country's leading single skaters, withdrew from the competition due to a back injury. Also, the Russian Championship will be missed by two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, who had her cast removed just a week ago. In this regard, on Monday evening it was decided not to speed up the preparation, but to systematically prepare for the European Championship. At the same time, among the participants is Maxim Kovtun, who missed almost the entire first part of the season.
The Yubileiny sports complex, which will host the Russian championship, was not chosen by the organizers by chance. "Jubilee" - the mecca of figure skating will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017. For 50 years, more than one galaxy of champions in figure skating has been prepared in this palace. Among them are the champions of the USSR, and now great coaches - Tamara Moskvina and Alexei Mishin, Olympic champions Elena Valova - Oleg Vasilyev, Natalya Mishkutenok - Artur Dmitriev, Oksana Kazakova - Artur Dmitriev, Alexei Urmanov, Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko, world champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and other.
Championship Broadcasts
The first day is December 21, 2017. Start - 13.50 h. (Moscow time)
The second day is December 22, 2017. Start - 13.50 h. (Moscow time)
The third day is December 23, 2017. Start - 14.50 hours. (Moscow time)
Demonstration performances - December 24, 2017. Start - 13.50 h. (Moscow time)
Schedule of the Russian Figure Skating Championship - 2018
December 21 (Thursday)
14.00 - 16.30 Men's short program
16.50 - 18.50 Pairs, short program
19.15 - 20.00 Opening of the competition
20.30 - 22.15 Ice dancing, short dance
December 22 (Friday)
14.00 - 16.30 Women's short program
16.50 - 19.50 Men's free program
20.10 - 21.55 Ice dancing, free dance
December 23 (Saturday)
15.00 - 17.15 Pairs, free program
17.15 - 17.35 Ice preparation
17.35 - 20.35 Women's free program
December 24 (Sunday)
13.00 - 13.45 Award ceremony
14.00 - 16.30 Demonstration performances
List of participants
Men: start list in the short program
| № | Athlete | The subject of the Russian Federation |
|---|---|---|
Group 1 |
||
| 1 | Roman SAVOSIN | ISO |
| 2 | Dmitry ALIEV | S/K |
| 3 | Sergey VORONOV | ISO |
| 4 | Alexander PETROV | St. Petersburg |
| 5 | Artyom LEZHEEV | S/K |
| 6 | Vladimir SAMOILOV | ISO |
Group 2 |
||
| 7 | Konstantin MILYUKOV | MOB |
| 8 | Anton SHULEPOV | St. Petersburg |
| 9 | Alexander SAMARIN | ISO |
| 10 | Murad Kurbanov | ISO |
| 11 | Andrey LAZUKIN | S/S |
| 12 | Maxim KOVTUN | M/S |
Group 3 |
||
| 13 | Alexey EROKHOV | ISO |
| 14 | Mikhail KOLYADA | St. Petersburg |
| 15 | Egor MURASHOV | ISO |
| 16 | Makar IGNATOV | St. Petersburg |
| 17 | Andrey ZUBER | FOREHEAD |
| 18 | Artur DMITRIEV | ISO |
Women's short program starting order
| № | Athletes | The subject of the Russian Federation |
|---|---|---|
Group 1 |
||
| 1 | Valeria MIKHAILOVA | ISO |
| 2 | Polina TSURSKAYA | M/O |
| 3 | Anna TARUSINA | ISO |
| 4 | Stanislav KONSTANTINOV | St. Petersburg |
| 5 | Elena RADIONOVA | ISO |
| 6 | Anastasia GUBANOVA | St. Petersburg |
Group 2 |
||
| 7 | Anastasia GULYAKOVA | ISO |
| 8 | Alena LEONOVA | St. Petersburg |
| 9 | Serafima Sakhanovich | St. Petersburg |
| 10 | Daria PANENKOVA | ISO |
| 11 | Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA | St. Petersburg |
| 12 | Alena Kostornaya | ISO |
Group 3 |
||
| 13 | Alina ZAGITOVA | ISO |
| 14 | Anastasia GRACHEVA | ISO |
| 15 | Sofia ISTOMINA | ISO |
| 16 | Sofia SAMODUROVA | St. Petersburg |
| 17 | Maria SOTSKOVA | ISO |
| 18 | Lydia YAKOVLEVA | St. Petersburg |
Pairs: start list in the short program
| № | Athletes | The subject of the Russian Federation |
|---|---|---|
Group 1 |
||
| 1 | Anastasia Mishina / Alexander GALLYAMOV | St. Petersburg |
| 2 | Ksenia STOLBOVA / Fedor KLIMOV | ISO |
| 3 | Alisa EFIMOVA / Alexander KOROVIN | St. Petersburg |
| 4 | Bogdana LUKASHEVYCH / Alexander STEPANOV | St. Petersburg |
Group 2 |
||
| 5 | Natalia ZABIAKO / Alexander ENBERT | KRK |
| 6 | Tatyana LYYROVA / Maxim SELKIN | PfP |
| 7 | Daria PAVLYUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN | ISO |
| 8 | Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV | M/T |
Group 3 |
||
| 9 | Anastasia POLUYANOVA / Dmitry SOPOT | PfP |
| 10 | Apollinaria PANFILOVA / Dmitry RYLOV | PfP |
| 11 | Alexandra BOYKOVA / Dmitry KOZLOVSKY | St. Petersburg |
| 12 | Kristina ASTAKHOVA / Alexey ROGONOV | ISO |
Ice Dancing: Short Dance Start Order
| № | Athletes | The subject of the Russian Federation |
|---|---|---|
Group 1 |
||
| 1 | Betina POPOVA / Sergey MOZGOV | ISO |
| 2 | Ludmila SOSNITSKAYA / Pavel GOLOVISHNIKOV | ISO |
| 3 | Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV | ISO |
| 4 | Annabel MOROZOV / Andrey BAGIN | ISO |
Group 2 |
||
| 5 | Sofia EVDOKIMOVA / Egor BAZIN | MYSELF |
| 6 | Anastasia SAFRONOVA / Ilya ZIMIN | St. Petersburg |
| 7 | Alla LOBODA / Pavel DROZD | ISO |
| 8 | Ekaterina LUCINA / Mikhail BRAGIN | CBE |
Group 3 |
||
| 9 | Vlada SOLOVIEVA / Yuri VLASENKO | ISO |
| 10 | Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN | ISO |
| 11 | Margarita SHESTAKOVA / Savely UGRYUMOV | CYRUS |
| 12 | Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitry SOLOVIEV | ISO |
| 13 | Tiffany ZAGORSKI / Jonathan GUREIRO | ISO |
The absence of Evgenia Medvedeva at the Russian Figure Skating Championships did not make the competition less spectacular. On the contrary, the girls have to fight for the first two places: if the two-time world champion returns to the ice, the third-place athlete is unlikely to receive a ticket to the Olympics.
For the favorites - Alina Zagitova and Maria Sotskova - the competition in St. Petersburg became the sixth tournament of the season - no one else has such a load. Other participants in the competition could take advantage of the situation to claim their place in the team.
Polina Tsurskaya improved the step sequence, raising it to the fourth level, and successfully completed all the jumps, including the triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, which is not the easiest. She scored 75.33 points - only Medvedeva and Elena Radionova received more in the Russian championships in the short program.
For Radionova, the tournament ended as soon as it began. A fall on a triple loop and a shortage on the other elements threw her far from the leaders. With 66.16 points, she misses the national team for the second year in a row.
Until the last group entered the ice, no one could move Tsurskaya from first place. Zagitova succeeded, but she put in a lot of effort. The old problems returned to the 15-year-old athlete, preventing her from skiing cleanly in the short program. She made a mistake on the rittberger in the cascade and miraculously avoided falling. Only due to the complexity of the element, Zagitova took the lead with 78.15 points.
To sum up the results of the competition, it remained to wait for the rental of Sotskova. She performed without any blots, as if there were no trials of the entire current season behind her. But by definition, she should have been lower than Zagitova. Still, the triple lutz cascade - a triple sheepskin coat, and even performed at the very beginning of the program, is by default valued lower than what a 15-year-old figure skater does. But Sotskova still received high marks - 76.39 points. With such results, the fight in the free program will start from scratch.
Men: Kolyada took his
Following to play the medals of the championship of Russia on the ice came men. According to the results, the circle of applicants narrowed down to four people, who just performed last in the free box office. This quartet did not turn out to be a beautiful argument - everyone who tried to perform quadruple jumps made mistakes and fell, and without them you can’t count on medals in the second half of the season.
Sergei Voronov was the first to present his free program. The veteran of Russian figure skating all season surprised with his character, tenacity, thirst to continue performing at a high level. But almost immediately, his fabulous season came to an end. A fall on a quadruple sheepskin coat, a torn axel and a cascade - Voronov tried to stretch the skate and even performed an extra jump, but the total amount was lower than at many international starts - 245.88 points.
Leading after the first day, Alexander Samarin performed even worse. His technically very complex program fell apart into separate elements, among which there were practically no clean jumps. Only thanks to the reserve created in the short program, Samarin scored 258.53 points and bypassed Voronov, guaranteeing himself at least a trip to the European Championship.
The victory of Mikhail Kolyada immediately ceased to be in doubt. But he also failed to perform flawlessly. He started the program with a solid quad lutz, in which only the landing caused questions from the judges. The quadruple salchow ended in a fall. There was also a “butterfly” on the axel and an unsuccessful loop, but these errors no longer led to serious losses. Due to very generous components, Kolyada's final score was 281.16 points. The 22-year-old figure skater won the Russian championship for the second time in a row and earned the right to represent the country at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Dmitry Aliyev was the last to intervene in the distribution of tickets and medals. He was the only one who cleanly performed both quadruple sheepskin coats. In order to become a winner, this was enough. In the course of the rental, Aliev's leg injury again began to bother him, he broke several jumps on duty and ended up on the ice twice. The 18-year-old athlete bypassed Samarin in the free program and became second, but remained in third place in total. If Aliyev's injury does not worsen, then in Moscow he will make his debut at the European Championship.
Dancing: Zhulin's tears in honor of the record championship
As soon as the strongest couple in ice dancing began their performance, all the intrigue disappeared. Victoria Sinitsyna and Nikita Katsalapov expected to rise from fourth place, but after a disrupted support, the partner interrupted the performance and drove up to the judges. Olympic champion and his partner announced that they were withdrawing from the competition, although until the stop their dance caused nothing but admiration.
Thus, the path to the podium was opened to Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro, who will now be able to represent Russia at the European Championship. She could play for Great Britain or France, he could play for Australia or Portugal, but they chose a team that is extremely difficult to get into. They managed to take third place thanks to a harmonious performance under the composition Muse. Although Zagorski and Gureiro lost out to rising stars Betina Popova and Sergey Mozgov in the free dance, in the end they were the leaders before the release of the country's two main duets.
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin habitually tried to take the perfect performance, fulfilling all the requirements of the technical team of judges. Their performance could be called impeccable if Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov hadn’t come out on the ice - they raised the bar even higher. Suffice it to say that their mentor Alexander Zhulin could not hold back his tears when the skaters played the last touching scene on the ice. Bobrova and Solovyov became national champions in ice dancing for the seventh time, breaking the record of Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov.
Someday the world will see an amazing battle on highest level two outstanding Russian figure skaters - Evgenia Medvedeva And Alina Zagitova. Maybe it will happen already at the Olympic Games in Korea. But the Russian championship was held without the participation of the current world champion and the main contender for Olympic gold. Frankly speaking, there were no sensations in St. Petersburg - in the absence of Medvedeva, she naturally won Alina Zagitova. Her short program did not come out in the best way, and the judges gave some marks in advance, which was justified in the free program. Amazing energy, amazing emotions, weightless jumps and aerial cascades - it really was the champion's performance!
Why this circus? Figure skaters skate according to judges' calculations
Ratings are set in advance. The lists have already been sent to the IOC. Why create unnecessary problems?
The second place was taken by Maria Sotskova, who did not slow down on the second day and retained her second position. And now it is Mary who has best odds get a third ticket to the Moscow European Championship and Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. Polina Tsurskaya performed unsuccessfully in the free program and dropped from third place to fifth, leaving not only Alena Kostornaya behind, who, despite the bronze medal of the Russian Championship, does not yet qualify for participation in international starts due to her age, but also Stanislav Konstantinov from St. Petersburg, shone in the free program to the delight of local viewers.
Figure skating. Russian championship. Saint Petersburg
Women. Single skating
1. Alina Zagitova - 233.59.
2. Maria Sotskova - 221.76.
3. Alena Kostornaya - 216.57.
Men. Single skating
1. – 281,16.
2. Alexander Samarin - 258.53.
3. Dmitry Aliev - 249.11.
Drama Kovtun
Four years ago, the newly-minted 18-year-old champion of the country fell victim to the authority of the eminent Evgeni Plushenko and, despite the fact that he won a ticket to the Olympics on a sporting basis, he did not go to Sochi. The best Russian figure skater of the past four-year cycle will not be able to go to Pyeongchang either. For fans of figure skating, this fact, of course, did not come as a surprise, because at the start of the Olympic season, Kovtun simply fell apart: before the Russian Championship, he performed only at the American stage of the Grand Prix - and that was unsuccessful. The key tournament of the season in St. Petersburg has become a kind of experiment - what if it works out? But, unfortunately, it didn't work out. Maxim took 16th place after an extremely unsuccessful short program and decided to withdraw from the competition.
The Russian Championship may well become a point of no return for Maxim. Many coaches and experts recommend that Kovtun finish the season ahead of schedule and decide on his future. Is he ready to work tirelessly for another four years to realize his Olympic dream?
In the meantime, it is being implemented by others. won the Russian championship for the second time in a row, showing the audience three different quadruple jumps, albeit not without errors. Added in the stability and technique of Alexander Samarin, again received the silver of the national championship. These two skaters received direct tickets to the Moscow European Championship and, if no force majeure happens, they will go to the Olympic Games in South Korea.
Switched places
In pair skating, a colorful, exciting struggle unfolded between the two leading pairs of the country: Stolbova and Klimov tried to defend their champion title from the encroachments of Tarasova and Morozov. Following the results of the short program, it seemed that keeping the gold medals was an easy task. Stolbova and Klimov skated confidently, efficiently and showed one of best rentals in the current season. Tarasova and Morozov, on the contrary, were wrong: the partner landed unsuccessfully after the ejection, fell from triple jump. However, in the free program, the pairs seemed to switch places: the current champions made mistakes on jumps and ejections, and their rivals skated with inspiration, cleanly and managed to win the Russian championship for the first time.
“Jumping mistakes are big problems with concentration. There is practically nothing to fix, everything usually works out in training, ”said Klimov. “In the short program, we didn’t succeed, unlike what happened today. We got used to the image, it is easier for us to roll it to the fullest throughout the program, we have a surge of emotions. Today's program can be perceived as a breath of fresh air after the Grand Prix final, which was unsuccessful,” Vladimir Morozov rejoiced at his victory.
To tears
In ice dancing, unfortunately, a spectacular fight did not work out. The fact is that during the execution of a free program, he injured his ankle, and the couple had to complete the performance and withdraw from the competition. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov, in the absence of competitors, could only do without gross mistakes. However, the couple not only skated their program technically cleanly, but also showed a real performance on ice, moving many spectators to tears - the audience gave her a standing ovation. Thus, Bobrova and Solovyov became seven-time champions of Russia.
The second place was taken by Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, who showed high-quality performances, both in the short program and in the free program. However, the athletes themselves were critical of their performance: “We will try to add even more to the European Championship and perform better there, so that everyone can see how we added,” Alexandra noted.
It is also impossible not to mention the first bronze award for the colorful international couple Tiffany Zagorsky and Jonathan Gureyro, who showed the third result in the short dance and the fourth in the free dance. However, it is too early to book tickets to Moscow for the European Championship: the coaching council will make the final decision on the composition of the team.
The Russian Championship, which will be held in St. Petersburg from December 21 to 23, will not only determine the best skaters of the season. It will also decide who will represent the national team at the main starts of the rest of the season: in 2018 it will be the European Championship in Moscow, the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang and the World Championship in Milan.
Men
Since only two athletes will compete at the Olympic Games, for a trip to Pyeongchang you need to fight for first or second place. The third place winner is entitled to a ticket to the continental championship.
The unequivocal favorite of the tournament in St. Petersburg is Mikhail Kolyada, who can be called the master of the ice: in sports complex"Jubilee" he took his first steps in figure skating. This season, the 22-year-old athlete does not stop progressing: he scores a lot of points for the quadruple lutz, even when he falls on it, consistently performs the combination of the quadruple toe loop - triple toe loop, continues to delight with the triple axel in the second half of the programs. Each participation in the Grand Prix brought Kolyada new personal records and medals. For success, it is enough for him to go on the ice in good mood and with a clear head, and he already has the rest of the components.
For the first time in three years, Sergey Voronov can become the winner of the Russian championship, and he immediately claims a silver award and an accompanying ticket to the Olympics, possibly the first in the career of a 30-year-old skater. As is known, in men's skating athletes experience two career ups: when they just grow out of juniors and when they become wise over the years. Voronov's last skates can be called completely unmistakable, and if the trend continues, he will be able to leave his competitors far behind even with one quadruple sheepskin coat.
The vacancy for bronze is open, and two young figure skaters, Dmitry Aliev and Alexander Samarin, will fight for it. Both started the season promisingly, including two quadruple jumps in their programs. However, both lack stability, and Aliyev also lacks the health to bring all the elements together and execute them cleanly. Samarin looks more preferable in this duel, especially since he already has the title of vice-champion of the country.
The championship of Russia will not do without Maxim Kovtun. Due to injuries, he managed only an extremely unsuccessful short program at the US Grand Prix. What form the three-time national champion is in now is a mystery to everyone except himself and the coach. But Kovtun is present in the application for the tournament, so theoretically he can compete for medals.
Women
The best figure skater in the country will have to be determined without Evgenia Medvedeva. Still reeling from a stress fracture in her foot, she decided to continue her recovery at the cost of missing out on a second consecutive tournament. Nevertheless, the two-time world champion will certainly go to the Olympics: the champion and vice-champion of Russia will receive two tickets, and the third will go to someone else by decision of the coaching staff. If Medvedeva is unable to go to the Games for health reasons, the struggle for places in the national team will intensify.
The Grand Prix Final in Japan showed that Alina Zagitova and Maria Sotskova can get to Moscow and Pyeongchang. Moreover, on this moment they are definitely included in the number and must confirm the class at the national championship. They should only be afraid of the fatigue accumulated during the season. For both Zagitova and Sotskova, this will be the sixth official rental for the season. With their overly complex programs, which sometimes have to pay with injuries, it makes sense to be more careful about last speeches in a year.
If the fans' worst nightmare comes true and Medvedev misses the rest of the season, the coaching staff of the national team will turn their attention to the bronze medalist of the Russian championship. Here, as in men, the competition is higher than for more valuable medals. Polina Tsurskaya and Elena Radionova, who missed the Grand Prix final, had enough time to prepare for the tournament. Both athletes have long learned all the theory that is needed for a successful performance, but they cannot put it into practice. In St. Petersburg will be the last chance to save the season.
Alena Kostornaya, the silver medalist of the last junior Grand Prix, promises to become a troublemaker. She can already fight with adult girls, but the rules do not allow her to do this at the international level: Eteri Tutberidze's ward is only 14 years old.
Nevertheless, she has already mastered all the basic jumps and, like Zagitova, calmly performs them in the second half of the program. If Kostornaya manages to climb onto the podium, this should not come as a surprise.
Couples
The first half of the season clearly marked the alignment of forces among Russian couples. Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov and Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov are still on a different level compared to all other duets. Like a year ago, the gold and silver of the Russian Championship will most likely be played between them, and then the formal obstacles to their participation in the European Championship and the Olympics will be removed.
True, both couples cannot relax in St. Petersburg. All wards of Nina Moser need to be rehabilitated for their failed performance in the Grand Prix finals. The national championship provides an opportunity in a calm atmosphere to restart a not entirely successful season.
Natalia Zabiyako / Alexander Enbert and Christina Astakhova / Alexei Rogonov will compete for third place in the national team. The latter looked preferable throughout the season, especially thanks to two medals at the Grand Prix stages and a new personal record that exceeded the grandmaster mark of 200 points. But at the last moment, Moser's students showed their trump cards in the form of a victory on the Golden Skate of Zagreb and a new career achievement of 202.96 points. Now both pairs are equal in their claims to the bronze, and the fight between them will be main intrigue in this discipline.
Dancing
In ice dancing, the situation around tickets to tournaments is the same as for men. Russia has three quotas for the European Championship and only two for the Olympic Games and the World Championship.
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov, despite missing the Grand Prix finals, remain the country's main duet. During the forced downtime, they did not waste time and performed on the Golden Skate of Zagreb.
There, Alexander Zhulin's wards lost only two hundredths of a point to their personal record - proof that Bobrova and Solovyov retain leadership status at the Russian Championship and will single-handedly claim gold.
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, as well as Victoria Sinitsyna and Nikita Katsalapov will compete for silver and bronze for the second year in a row. But if in Chelyabinsk the difference in class was obvious, now both duets have almost equal chances to go to Pyeongchang. The loser in this duel will be limited to playing at the home European Championship.
