Adelia's idyll: what surprised the Moscow Grand Prix of Figure Skating stage

The fourth round of the Russian Grand Prix of Figure Skating has come to an end in Moscow. There were enough frank words in interviews and unexpected results. First of all, we're talking about men's figure skating, where this year's competition is the highest. This time Grigory Fedorov interfered in the fight for the top 3, and he lost the victory to Evgeny Semenenko by only half a point. More about the competition held in the capital - in the material of "Izvestia".

"One place" on fire

In women's competition there was no competition - two pupils of Eteri Tutberidze easily took the first and second places. Adelia Petrosyan made a triple axel in the short program and one quadruple tulup in the free skate (she fell from the other). But she had enough difficulty margin to win the tournament with 26.5 points. The second was Daria Sadkova, the third place was somewhat sensational for Ksenia Gushchina, who broke her personal record, but when asked about her future goals, she gave general phrases about clean rolls and improvement.

But Adelia Petrosyan, the winner of the stage and of the last seven major tournaments, except for the Jumping Championships, was unusually frank after another unqualified victory in response to the Izvestia reporter's questions.

- I missed the competition, I want "one place" to be on fire," she said. - It was interesting when you made a mistake and you were out. But now... Maybe because of this, I can have a slip. Clean rides come from competition, it motivates me. I don't think if I can break 270 points, 280. Maybe I'll think about it when we return to the international arena. After all, there will be evaluated differently, I realize it and I am ready for it.

Petrosyan also admitted that she does not count on the Olympics, which will start in a year and two months. If figure skaters started to be given neutral status now, Adelia would almost 100% close the only Russian quota and would most likely win Milan-2026.

- Is there any anticipation of the Olympics, that they will be allowed? Of course, there is always hope, but it seems to me that we will have to work longer. Well, that's the fate, maybe it's for the best. Who knows what will happen in the future," Petrosyan admitted, and also said that her photo on accreditations and posters is "a horror".

Daniil Gleikhengauz, the choreographer of Tutberidze's staff (who did not appear at the tournament), commented on Petrosyan's words.

- We can only applaud that she wants to bonk longer - in the sense of a longer career. There is no coach who wants a skater's career to be cut short early. But we are preparing for the nearest starts, we don't have the Olympics sitting in our heads all the time. Figure skating used to be watched only during the Olympics. Then there was this boom, and people started watching every tournament, every breath. Perhaps now, when there are no Olympics and other big starts, there is no such interest. But everything is cyclical. So, I think, there will be a period of maximum rise in the popularity of our sport ahead," Gleichenhaus expressed hope.

0.56 points in the fight for gold

In the battle for victory in the men's event, the beer plot proved to be the coolest. Grigory Fedorov reacted emotionally to his result - he scored over 300 points in total - and right in the kiss-and-cry zone, where athletes are waiting to be evaluated, shouted into the camera, "I'm off to open a beer!" On Saturday, having received high results in the short program, Fedorov said on air that "we can go for a smoke".

Said - done. The Izvestia correspondent quickly ran to the second floor and bought a can (though only non-alcoholic stuff is sold at the arena). And presented the much-desired after-work drink. As Grigory himself said, the phrase was part of an argument with bandmate Mikhail Tikhonov.

And although Fedorov's coach Svetlana Sokolovskaya said on Channel One's Telegram channel that "he is the first" (pointing to her ward), and his pupil replied that "the judges decide, not us" - it's hard to say that the young CSKA skater deserved the gold. Still, the lack of artistry and pauses in the program "to rest" are too conspicuous, and the judges gave a very generous subjective assessment for the components.

But what Fedorov did was to put pressure on his teammate Mark Kondratyuk, who was right behind him. The series of successful rolls of Sokolovskaya, the leader of the team, is over - he is third. And the Russian champion Evgeny Semenenko won.

In general, the men's competition is blooming and smelling. In contrast to the dances, where the most interesting things remain for the Russian Championship, but in Moscow veterans Stepanova/Bukin again expectedly outplayed young Khavronina/Narizhny. The dances, unfortunately, were held in the thinning stands, while the remaining fans in the corridors hunted for autographs of the singles players.

Grand Prix of Russia, 4th stage (Moscow)

Women

1. Adelia Petrosyan - 251.57

2. Daria Sadkova - 224.93

3. Ksenia Gushchina - 212,79

Men

1. Evgeny Semenenko - 301,60

2. Grigory Fedorov - 301.04

3. Mark Kondratyuk - 289,11

Dancing

1. Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin - 213,90

2. Irina Khavronina/David Narizhny - 206,10

3. Elizaveta Pasechnik/Dario Cirizano - 189,39