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Bobrova and Soloviev win first Russian National title
Published on 28 Dec, 2010 at 20:18 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The decision to end the competition with the free dance provided an excellent conclusion to a strong and entertaining championships. The final flight catered to all kinds of tastes, and the fate of the title was not decided until the last competitor.
Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev defended their overnight lead, while Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko won the silver. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov slipped to the third place.
First to skate among leaders, Bobrova and Soloviev successfully delivered all required elements and enchanted the audience with the mesmerizing flow of their dance to Melody of White Nights. They were soft, lyrical and inspired, and impressed both the spectators and the technical panel with their skills. They received 99.95 (49.15/50.44) points and earned a level…
Sotnikova grabs second Russian National title
Published on 28 Dec, 2010 at 16:38 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The Ladies Long Program of the Russian National Championships turned out to be a test of nerves. Adelina Sotnikova and Alena Leonova passed the test with flying colors, capturing gold and silver respectively. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva rose from seventh place to win the bronze.
Sotnikova was the first to skate among the contenders for the title, and the 2010-11 Junior Grand Prix Champion put a lot of pressure on the following skaters by delivering a clean routine to Rondo Capriccioso. Her skate featured seven triple jumps, including a triple Lutz – triple loop combination and a double Axel – triple toe loop combination.
While still not on her artistic best, the student of Elena Vodorezova was more relaxed than in Beijing, especially in the second half of the program….
Makarova and Sotnikova a close 1-2 after Short Program
Published on 27 Dec, 2010 at 20:34 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The Ladies Short Program competition turned out to be a battle between two Russian Champions. Defending champion Ksenia Makarova edged the 2009 Champion Adelina Sotnikova for the overnight lead, but the two are closely followed by the number of skaters including Alena Leonova, Julia Lipnitskaya, and Sofia Biryukova.
Makarova, who skated in the first warm up group, made a clean and obvious statement that, despite her struggles at home Grand Prix event in October, she is not giving up her title without a fight. The student of Viktor Petrenko nailed the opening triple toe loop – triple toe loop combination and proceeded to land an equally strong triple loop out of steps and a double Axel.
However, what truly set her performance to Flamenco by Didulia apart from the rest of the competitors was…
Volosozhar and Trankov take Russian National title
Published on 27 Dec, 2010 at 20:30 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The top three teams after the short program were able to defend their lead in the long program. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov captured their first national title, while Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov finished second. Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov defended their bronze medal from last year.
Skating first in the final warm up group, Volosozhar and Trankov left nothing to chance, delivering all their technical content clean and with a lot of power and energy, which earned them major bonus points for the quality of execution.
Their Romeo and Juliet routine might not have been the best interpretation of the theme, but the overall impression from their skating was that it was as good as it could ever get. Solid, confident, and inspired, they captured the audience’s…
Menshov wins Gold at Russian Nationals
Published on 27 Dec, 2010 at 20:27 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The Men’s Long program competition proved to be as prone to dramatic rises and falls as the short program yesterday, and once again, only a few skaters were able to deliver all planned content without mistakes.
Despite the difficulties, the competition was an intense one with the fate of the title in the air up until the penultimate competitor. Overnight leader Konstantin Menshov won, while Artur Gachinski rose from ninth place to capture the silver. Zhan Bush edged the rivals for the bronze.
Menshov, a veteran skater with a rather short international resume, delivered what could be described as his typical routine. He had an impressive opening which featured a a quad toe loop – double toe loop combination, a triple Lutz, and another quad toe loop (the only attempts on that…
Menshov in front at Russian Nationals
Published on 26 Dec, 2010 at 20:38 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The final event of the first day of the Championships provided a lot of drama, but only a handful of truly impressive performances.
Konstantin Menshov finally got a chance to attend the press conference at the national championships as an overnight leader, but the skater, who is prone to making mistakes, is closely followed by Artur Dmitriev, Jr.. The only other skater to score above 70 points was Ivan Tretiakov who is currently third.
Performing a program called the “Silver Guitar”, Menshov began with a clean and solid triple Axel, but had a tight landing on a quad toe loop immediately afterwards. After a bit of fighting for balance, he was able to tack on a double toe loop at the end of it, and then went on to execute a…
Bobrova and Soloviev take the lead in Saransk
Published on 26 Dec, 2010 at 16:53 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The 2011 Russian National Championships began today in Saransk, the capital of Republic of Mordovia, some 650 km east of Moscow. The town, which has no strong skating traditions, managed to attract a sizable and very enthusiastic crowd for a colorful opening of the Championships.
The small venue, which was filled almost to capacity, saw the Championships off to a very touching start. All renowned coaches in attendance at the opening ceremony were asked to join officials at the podium and receive their share of ovations.
The ice dancing couples upheld the festive mood with strong and inspired performances with remarkably few mistakes. As expected, the trio of medalists from the Grand Prix events are in tight competition for the title. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev…
Volosozhar and Trankov first after Short Program
Published on 26 Dec, 2010 at 16:51 in Figure Skating News | | No Comments
The pressure of intense competition for three spots on the national team proved to be too much for the majority of the competitors in the Pairs Short Program.
One of the few teams to skate clean, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, walked away with the overnight lead by a 4-point margin, followed by the defending champions Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov. Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov are currently third.
Skating in the first warm up group, Volosozhar and Trankov stunned the audience with their sky high triple twist and continued to impress with each and every element they performed. The only technical glitch in their program was the loss of unison on a side by side spin, but otherwise this performance would not have…
