Sotnikova captures third national title

The Ladies Long Program at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships was a nerve-racking event, but in the end, overnight leader Adelina Sotnikova was able to withstand the pressure to capture her third title. Julia Lipnitskaia won the silver, while Alena Leonova rose from fifth place to win the bronze.

Skating right after Lipnitskaia, who earned loud ovations from the crowd, Sotnikova seemed to be handling the pressure well as she reeled off a triple Lutz-triple loop combination (the second jump was downgraded by the technical panel), a triple flip, a double Axel-triple toe loop combination, and another triple.

At that point, the defending champion seemed to relaxed a bit and allowed a smile to appear on her face. Her performance to Die Liebertraum began to give an impression of serenity which…

Bazarova and Larionov win their first national title

As predicted, Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov captured their first national title at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov rose from third to take the silver, while Anastasia Martiusheva and Alexei Rogonov slipped to the third to take the bronze.

Bazarova and Larionov were focused but tentative in their performance to Lara’s Theme from the Dr. Zhivago soundtrack. Bazarova had to fight for the landing of a triple toe loop and later singled and stumbled out of the second double Axel attempt.

Otherwise the team was clean and the quality of their non-jumping elements, especially the level two triple twist, allowed them to win the event by a comfortable margin. They…

Bobrova and Soloviev defend national title

The second set of medals at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships was decided in the ice dancing competition. The top three teams maintained their overnight positions with Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev winning their second consecutive title in a row.

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov captured the first silver at this event (at the senior level), while and Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko settled for the bronze.

Bobrova and Soloviev were last to skate in the Free Dance and their Walpurgis Night provided a great closure to the tight and error-ridden event. They were one of the few teams to avoid visible stumbles and maintained strong flow throughout the entire dance. They scored 101.24 for the free dance and 171.47…

Plushenko wins ninth national title

The first medals of the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships were decided in Men’s division. As expected, Evgeni Plushenko had no trouble with defending his overnight lead and won the ninth national title of his career. Artur Gachinski repeated his last season silver, while Sergei Voronov rose from fifth place to win the bronze.

Skating to El Tango de Roxanne, Plushenko checked out his opening elements: quad toe loop, two triple Axels, and a triple loop, but ran out of stream in the second half of the program. He doubled his the first triple Lutz attempt and stepped out of the second one.

The 2006 Olympic Champion mostly relied on his command over the attention of the audience as a means of interpretation, however, his skills in forging connection with spectators served him very well…

Sotnikova, Makarova come back strong at Russian Nationals

The second day of the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships continued with the Ladies Short Program, which was expected to be the most competitive event. Of the 18 competitors, 16 worked on a a triple-triple combination during the practices in Saransk. Twelve skaters made an actual attempt at the jump combination during the performance, with eight of them approved by the technical panel as fully rotated.

Adelina Sotnikova finished first, followed by Ksenia Makarova and Julia Lipnitskaia.

A ‘comeback’ might be a strange word to apply to a 15-year-old, however, it fits Sotnikova’s situation perfectly. After hit-and-miss performances at the ISU Senior Grand Prix events, many were quick to write her off as another skater succumbing to puberty. However, the two-time and defending national champion proved the critics wrong and delivered a clean…

Plushenko returns triumphant

Evgeni Plushenko’s second comeback to eligible figure skating turned out to be as triumphant as the first one at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships. The 2006 Olympic champion currently leads the field ahead of training mate Artur Gachinski and last year’s bronze medalist Zhan Bush.

Skating to music arranged by his long-time collaborator Edvin Marton, Plushenko did not appear to be a day older than he had been at this event two years ago. His strongest points remain the same: power, attack, and charisma to spare. Surprisingly, his weakest points were the jumps.

The 29-year-old failed to attach the second jump to his opening quad toe loop, and with no steps preceding it, the element received a negative Grade of Execution (GOE). He also was only able to improvise a triple-double…

Bazarova and Larionov shine on home ice

The withdrawal of the two leading pair skating teams – Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov and Yuko Kavaguti /Alexander Smirnov (both due to injuries of the male partners) – left the field at the 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships wide open.

Last year’s bronze medalists Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov stepped up and captured the overnight lead, however, even though the lead itself is not a surprise, the manner in which the skaters achieved it was noteworthy. The favorites are unexpectedly followed by Anastasia Martiusheva/Alexei Rogonov and Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov.

Bazarova and Larionov relocated to Saransk at the end of the last season after their coach had received an offer to establish a pair skating school in the town. Despite it being a relatively…

Bobrova and Soloviev skate last to finish first

The 2012 Russian National Figure Skating Championships began today in Saransk, Mordovia with the Short Dance event. Despite being held the last weekend before New Year, the competition attracted a sizable and enthusiastic crowd to the city’s ice palace with a capacity of 5000. Those in attendance were well rewarded for deciding to forgo last-minute shopping and preparations in favor of watching figure skating.

It seemed that the skaters and their coaches drew the right conclusions from what is generally perceived to be a somewhat under whelming showing by the Russian ice dancers at the international events this fall, and all participants brought their best game to Saransk.

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev currently lead, followed by Elena Ilinykh/Nikita Katsalapov and Ekaterina Riazanova/Ilia…