Elevate to the Quad: How the Russian Grand Prix in St. Petersburg was held

The final stage of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating ended on November 24 in St. Petersburg. It was the most star-studded event in terms of the number of participants, and in terms of emotions and the heat of the competition, it reminded us of the good old Russian qualifiers for the World Championships and the Olympics. The loudest sensation happened at the end of the women's competition. The details are in the Izvestia report.

Akatieva's fall

Several super sensations happened in women's competitions at once - and it means that women's singles is not lost yet. Sport without sensations dies, and now the champion - Tutberidze's mentee and Plushenko's prima donna - is off the podium. The winner was the one who chased not for jumps, but for results.

Before the free skating program the layout was very tight: Sofia Akatieva was the leader with 75 points, Alina Gorbacheva and Veronika Yametova - 71 points each, Sofia Muravyeva - 68 points. The winner was Gorbacheva, who hit a magnificent quadruple salchow (+3.1 bonus) and did not take any more risks in the hunt for other quads.

The leader Akatieva, who could easily have done a triple jump at the beginning and not go for a quadruple tulup and take bronze, took a risk - fell, did not finish. Then she fell apart in the end - "butterfly" on the lutz, 3+2 cascade, small undercurl on the rittberger. The program to the music from the movie "Admiral" also suffered - the components were around 8.5.

Because of this Akatieva, starting the day first, rolled back, as in Formula 1 after a pit stop, to the fifth place. A very unusual merry-go-round for our women's figure skating - they have it there, abroad, where five people can finish the first day with two points. It's usually different here.

Sofya Vazhnova took the bronze and her first 200 thousand rubles in prize money at the adult level for the first time. Absolutely deservedly. Yametova is the second, for the fifth time in a row in the Grand Prix series. However, one gold medal should have been given to her - Valiev's at the stage in Kazan 2022. Whether they gave it to her is a mystery behind seven seals.

Dikidji is out of reach

Peter Humennik is definitely not the one who can't take this stage as an asset. A terrible fall in the corner of the rink, where the girls had already fallen yesterday (many singles skaters complain that the ice is broken). But this does not cancel equal conditions for all - and Peter this time with his "Onegin" did not cope with his "Onegin", becoming sixth.

Aliev's skating was much more integral and clearer with words in music. It is very happy that on Saturday "the oldest" (according to him) participant of the Grand Prix told journalists that his thoughts about the end of his career are gone. And on Sunday he deservedly took silver.

In general, there were a lot of emotions this time in Yubileyny. Lutfullin fought with himself the whole program and at the end collapsed on the ice with his head. Gleb almost did all the jumps, but the work of his hands and choreography is clearly lacking.

Competitive St. Petersburg: figure skaters are expected to fight hard at the Grand Prix stage

The battle of the pupils of Plushenko and Tutberidze and the confrontation of the singles players

But it was Vlad Dikidzhi, who after one of the jumps managed to shake his fist victoriously during the program, and after the final pose outdid his predecessor in playing to the audience - he lay down on the ice and did not get up for a long time, adding drama. I'm not saying it was artificial - first of all it was beautiful. And the grandmaster mark of 300 points at the fifth stage of the Grand Prix was broken again - yes, the judges gave Vlad a generous amount, but for the sake of a good cause, why not?

A separate phrase about himself deserved Mikhail Ternovsky - a man from the second echelon, who became fifth, ahead of Gumennik and Ignatov. I can't say anything good about the athletic Makar, but I think his move to Plushenko's Angels was the right decision anyway. By today's standards, there is something more important than sport. Not only love, but also a show with solid fees.

Galliamov's rematch

But the real beauty happened in the pairs. Boykova/Kozlovsky vs Mishina/Gallyamov - the most beautiful confrontation, perhaps, in the whole world figure skating. You can see how both pairs and both coaching staffs are trying to win back centimeters and fractions of a second in standardized pair skating to become better than their opponents and find a couple of extra tenths of a point.

Mishina and Galliamov withstood the battle of nerves - they skated on the spur of the moment as they should, clearly wanting to prove that they were not going to give up their first place. And Nastya and Sasha defended it on business. There was a psychological advantage - they were the first to perform and could put pressure on their rivals, there was a sporting mood, which Dmitry Kozlovsky could not find, according to him. There was even anger - going into the mix zone, Galliamov was obviously getting high from what was happening. Expressively looking at me, he said that yesterday they had already "buried and asked unprofessional questions. And today, he said, everything fell into place. Well, if the Izvestia correspondent's questions help you tune in to the free skating program and win - figure skaters, I'm at your service.

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Boykova and Kozlovsky were in a completely different mood. The program was botched by their partner, and he honestly admitted it - one of the jumps, the ejection and even the last support, which Dmitriy abandoned after realizing that defeat was inevitable, didn't work out. There was no face on Gleichenhaus, Trankov even laughed out of nerves. In the mix zone, Alexandra supported her partner as best she could, who said that he "needs to change something in himself."

And in the dances, Khudaiberdieva/Bazin snatched victory from young Kaganovskaya/Nekrasov - and were clearly happy with what was happening. The sensation did not happen - and for them it is good. But the deserved pair was clearly shown that they will not stay on top for long. And here either to work with triple force, or to leave. Liza and Egor are clearly in favor of the first option. Khudaiberdiyeva also did the most beautiful thing on Mother's Day - she gave her mom a bouquet and carried it to the podium.

It's beautiful that we have principled confrontations again. And bouquets. A beautiful rehearsal for the Russian Championship, which is just a month away.

Results of the Russian Grand Prix, 5th stage (St. Petersburg)

Women

1. Alina Gorbacheva - 234.58

2. Veronika Yametova - 213.39

3. Sofya Vazhnova - 208.49

Men

1. Vladislav Dikidzhi - 302,47

2. Dmitry Aliev - 272,68

3. Gleb Lutfullin - 267,14

Pairs

1. Anastasia Mishina / Alexander Galliamov - 239,05

2. Alexandra Boikova / Dmitry Kozlovsky - 216,35

3. Yasmina Kadyrova / Ilya Mironov - 193,32

Dancing

1. Elizaveta Khudaiberdiyeva / Egor Bazin - 207,81

2. Vasilisa Kaganovskaya / Maxim Nekrasov - 205,74

3. Ekaterina Mironova / Evgeny Ustenko - 201,50