They didn't finish it: Humennik is fighting for status, Akatieva is returning

Omsk will host the fifth stage of the Russian Grand Prix of Figure Skating on November 22-23, the final major tournament before the national championships, bringing together leaders in each discipline. In addition, the entire series is coming to an end, which means that the selection for the main domestic competitions of the season is entering a crucial phase. Izvestia lists the five main intrigues of the tournament.

Humennik versus his backup

As is often the case, the whole color gathers at the last stage — many leaders missed previous starts due to injuries or ailments. So it is here: in general, all three contenders for the Olympic ticket last winter will clash among men: Peter Gumennik, who won it, Vladislav Dikidzhi, who was a reserve, and Evgeny Semenenko, who was not included in the application.

In Moscow, Humennik performed poorly, scoring 265.76 points with two falls. Not only the fans, but also Alexey Yagudin, who commented on the start, had questions about the estimates — the gap from Makar Ignatov was only 0.96 points. Peter himself said that he was not in optimal shape, but everything would be better by Omsk. Of course, Peter's main start is ahead — the February Olympics. But for the status (not neutral), it would be very useful for him to win against the super-stable Dikigi and the silver medalist of the Moscow stage Semenenko.

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During the week, Peter's coach Veronika Daineko even got into a debate with fans on social media about the performances of her student and Makar's underachievers. I wonder with what mood Gumennik's team is approaching Omsk now.

The return of Akatieva

For the first time in a long time, women also have a real intrigue in the fight for victory. 16-year-old Alice Dvoeglazova seems to be the favorite. She might even be able to beat Adelia Petrosyan at the Russian championships. But if she goes to the quadruple lutz again and gets hurt, it will open the way to gold for other participants. Alina Gorbacheva is still skating without a quadruple salchow, but with pure triples — and can score 210 points.

Sofia Akatieva finally appeared in the final bid — it is unlikely that the participants of the second-tier stage, who were stripped of two points in the fight for entry to the Russian championship, will like this. But even after numerous injuries, she is a contender for a medal and gold in the case of a clean performance of her elements.

In what form are the Galliams?

Anastasia Mishina's last performance/Alexander Gallyamov turned out to be a failure — the fall of both partners, the lack of support, and Sasha's (figurative) hit on his partner after the rental.

At this stage, there are no sworn rivals — Boykova/Kozlovsky can only be forced to compete by Mukhortov./Evgeniev and Chikmareva/Yanchenkov. But for the wards of Tamara Moskvina, it is more important to roll their maximum, and ideally score more than the other pairs in the previous stages.

Who will qualify for the Russian Championship and the Grand Prix finals?

For the leaders of the national team, a ticket to both tournaments is guaranteed, but for the second—tier skaters Omsk is almost the main start of life - there is a queue for the opportunity to show themselves to a large audience and the bosses of the federation at the national championship in St. Petersburg. The March Grand Prix final in Chelyabinsk will be held after the Olympics in an even narrower circle (12 participants instead of 18 for singles) — it also makes sense to appear there. Moreover, there are fewer tickets being played — the same Akatieva or the pair of Khabibullina/Knyazhuk have the right to qualify for the Russian championship out of competition as members of the national team.

The overall standings for all four types can be viewed here.

How many people will come?

Separately, it is worth noting the arena where the tournament will be held. The 12,000-seat G-Drive Arena is considered the best in the country for figure skating. And surprisingly, only a few hundred tickets remained on sale a few days before the start. Perhaps this is another bug or elements of ticket distribution, an inflated VIP grandstand, and the like. But if figure skating in Omsk actually gathers more than 20 thousand people in two days, this means a mega success.

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Preliminary list of participants

Men: Peter Gumennik, Vladislav Dikidzhi, Arseniy Dimitriev, Egor Kovalenko, Gleb Lutfullin, Ilya Mavlyanov, Andrey Mozalev, Daniil Samsonov, Nikita Sarnovsky, Evgeny Semenenko, Dmitry Shelkovnikov.

Women: Sofya Akatieva, Alina Gorbacheva, Alisa Dvoeglazova, Maria Elisova, Eva Zubkova, Anna Lyashenko, Maria Mazur, Sofya Muravyeva, Kamilla Nelyubova, Daria Sadkova, Alisa Tsvetkova.

Couples: Daria Andreeva/Alexander Akimov, Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Gallyamov, Anna Moskaleva/Artyom Rodzyanov, Anastasia Mukhortova/Dmitry Evgeniev, Eva Khmelkova/Vladislav Antonyshev, Valeria Khodykina/Daniil Butenko, Ekaterina Chikmareva/Matvey Yanchenkov, Taisiya Shcherbinina/Artem Petrov.

Dancing: Alisa Abdullina/Egor Petrov, Elizaveta Kirillova/Ilya Karpov, Alisa Kraynyukova/Semyon Netsev, Milana Kuzmina/Dmitry Studenikin, Ekaterina Mironova/Evgeny Ustenko, Elizaveta Pasechnik/Dario Cirizano, Olga Fedorova/Pavel Drako, Elizaveta Shichina/Pavel Drozd, Anna Shcherbakova/Egor Goncharov.

Stage schedule

Saturday, November 22

11:00 Dancing, rhythm dance

12:30 p.m. Women, short program

14:30 Men, short program

16:15 Couples, short program

Sunday, November 23rd

10:00 Dancing, free dance

11:45 Women, free program

13:45 Men, free program

15:45 Pairs, free program