2026 European Championships Women's Free Skate

[chepe]

Okay simmer down, Evgeni Tarasova.

Also no ultra-C elements! There are 27 Russian skaters better than the winner!

 

[augusztus]

My very amateur thoughts from the arena. I went with 6 other friends and family, none of whom have any skating knowledge. Was a lot of fun!

Petrokina: Clear winner. Has some champions aura. Confident, assertive, really went for it. Beautiful, deserved winner.

Hendrickx: Big, powerful skating! Good basics. In a way I'm surprised she nabbed the silver, but I will say this - her general skating is very polished, she has a real "it" quality and charisma for me. Everything looks very well finished off, and she really has a cool, mature, classy presence on the ice. Loved watching her.

Gutmann: Love the Jaws idea, and she loved all the shark plushies which were thrown onto the ice. Her winning bronze was also a surprise, but she does have nice quality, and it was good to see someone attempt a different style.

Pinzarrone: Beautiful dress, and very classy programme. She has some real style. Shame a few of the jumps being under, which were visible in real time. Skates a little smaller than say her compatriot, Loena. She was v disappointed.

Gubanova: Has some real presence! Definitely got a champions aura as well. Fabulous LP. Ughhh at that lutz in the short! Wish she could have won the bronze. Didn't love the music for the LP but whatever, she's fabulous.

Repond: Gorgeous to watch, really elegant. Shame she didn't finish higher.

Pezzetta: Has a bit of star quality. Needs to sort out the nerves; all got a bit messy. She had a chance here, it's a shame she couldn't take it. Huge jumps!

Kurakova: Also a star. A bit slower than some, smaller edges. But has some real performance quality that a lot of the other women could take notes from. Really sold it. Very, very popular in the arena.

Karhunen: Fabulous! She's small, and doesn't cover as much of the ice as some. But I will be watching out for her. Such jumping talent, but also, interestingly for such a young looking skater, she more or less lived up to the big music as well for the most part. Again is a bit small, but still impressive. She came and sat a couple of rows behind us for the final group, and my sister applauded her and gave her the thumbs up - she gave a nod and a big smile back. Sweet! One to watch.

Sauter: Lovely performance, she was v emotional afterwards. Good for her!

Taljegard: Probably one of the biggest ovations of the night. My sisters favourite. Again, some of the others should watch her; so nice to see someone projecting to the audience, and selling her programme. Total committment. Fabulous!

Sorry I know that's not everyone; ask away if you have any questions about anyone in particular.

Everyone was great to watch, even when it went badly, and I loved how supportive the audience was. Great to watch in person, really made me appreciate our sport. So thankful I got tickets.

 

[TallyT]

Also no ultra-C elements! There are 27 Russian skaters better than the winner!

And considerably more mechanical and boring, if the ones ranked enough to appear on youtube are anything to go by.

 

[Karoltyna]

Also no ultra-C elements! There are 27 Russian skaters better than the winner!

So what? It's figure skating, not ice jumping. (there are no ultra-C in figure skating, this slang is really annoying)

 

[chepe]

So what? It's figure skating, not ice jumping. (there are no ultra-C in figure skating, this slang is really annoying)

I know. I roll my eyes bigtime at the folks who think that for example, Taljegård's FS last night was not 'good' because jumps were 'easy'.

 

[FlossieH]

Late to the party but I just watched the NBC cover of the event and when Livia Kaiser was on screen and everytime she fell or made a mistake the commentators kept mentioning that she would lose her Olympic spot. Maybe I’m under the wrong impression but dosent Switzerland have 2 Olympic spots for women? Kimmy is most likely going and Livia is the only next logical choice right? Is it something about not having the technical minimum?

Switzerland have two spots for ladies, but their olympic committee has set a minimum score for them to go. I can't remember the exact score but it was around 180-185 and it needs to have been achieved within a certain time period (it might be the last year, but I'm not certain). Kimmy has the score from Worlds. Livia is a fair way off. It is why she has been doing so many competitions. I think she might have been better resting properly and then trying for it once healed, rather than competing while injured.

 

[Karoltyna]

I know. I roll my eyes bigtime at the folks who think that for example, Taljegård's FS last night was not 'good' because jumps were 'easy'.

yeah, I'd like to see those "jumps were easy" jumping on ice themselves - or even off ice

 

[soccerjc77]

Does Julia Sauter is qualified for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano ? I read somewhere that she is qualified base on this european championship but I don't understand how this competition make her qualified for the Olympic ? Could someone help me to understand the situation ? Thank you.

 

[Karoltyna]

Does Julia Sauter is qualified for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano ? I read somewhere that she is qualified base on this european championship but I don't understand how this competition make her qualified for the Olympic ? Could someone help me to understand the situation ? Thank you.

Yes, she qualified at last Worlds.

 

[3T3T]

Thank you @augusztus for a great review. Also nice to hear what the stadium experience is like

Two skates that I aLeo enjoyed were Taljegard and Sauter. Josefin really is a great performer and just connects with the audience. I was disappointed to discover she hasn’t got the world’s minimums. I wonder will she continue into the next quad? Sauter gave a beautiful performance and finished 6th in the free. She was so emotional in the K&C, nice see her hard work pay off.

I feel Gubanova should be on the podium, the judges held back on PCS as usual. I feel we are lucky to see her skate internationally as she was buried in Russia and would never an internationals assignment and certainly not a championship.

For me, Figure Skating is missing the Russian’s and not the the 3A or quad brigade but the likes of Anna Frolova, Sofia Muravieva, Ksenia Sinitsina, Ksenia Guschina, Veronica Yametova, Elizaveta Kulikova. I feel they all could be European medalists or maybe a champion. Just my opinion and others may and can disagree. I still enjoy watching Russian figure skating.

 

[flakyy]

Well (not well), the level of this competition was atrociously low. Now wonder no European skater made it to GPF (which was not stellar ... at least the US and Japanese girls try 3A or 3-3loop here and there) - given Petrokina's absence from the Grand Prix who could have done it and had the only reasonable skate of the night. Saying "oh, it's figure skating, not a jumping contest" is really rich and a very lame excuse for the fact that more difficult elements were falling apart all over the place - and really difficult elements were not to be found. Not so long ago people were complaining about some flat edges and prerotations when some of the Eteri girls managed to rotate more or less 4 times without falling. Most girls on screen yesterday were barely able to get a 3loop rotated, let alone a flip or lutz, and are invested in 3toe-combination with the 3toe being the first jump. Seriously? In THIS case Plushenko is perfectly right (https://fs-gossips.com/15239/) although 1985 is a bit harsh, but not very far off ... even Kati Witt did 2lutz3toe here and there in her career and Liz Manley had more content jumpingwise than quite a lot of participants yesterday. Would I be able to do what the skater who finished last in this event did? Of course not. BUT - those skaters receive fundings, are supported by their federations and get screentime. Some people should rethink that and demand more output.

 

[chepe]

Yea, and current crop of sprinters are not as good as Usain Bolt. So what?

 

[Skating91]

And considerably more mechanical and boring, if the ones ranked enough to appear on youtube are anything to go by.

I would say the opposite. Even Russian juniors at city championships have lovely elaborate costumes, and a lot of work put into choreography, into their lines, stretching, using their hands.

 

[Reah]

Sauter: Lovely performance, she was v emotional afterwards. Good for her!

Given the long road she has traveled, this overwhelming performance came as a complete surprise... such a magnificent free skate, figure skating in its original meaning, a wonderful moment that will not be forgotten (I won't forget it, it was so beautiful it brought many, many tears to my eyes).

 

[flakyy]

So what? This was not only an event without an exceptional talent (of course someone like this does not appear every year), it was a down-to-earth event so far off from what is to be expected about 30 years after 3A and 3-3 combinations appeared in this discipline that there is no reason to watch it (contrary to a sprint that can be entertaining even without times under 9.90 (who are pointed out as "weak") this accident in slow motion lasts .. and lasts) - and certainly no reason to praise skaters as "wonderful" who cannot get an easy content together. perhaps/probably they would be good solo ice dancers (?). RusNats was watchable - although Petrosian "failed" and the level has deteriorated compared to previous years. Simple solution: don't waste your time watching it. Of course I did not watch after a glance at the SP protocols and the points. Watched Petrokina LP today, scanned the protocols (judges noticed wonderful Pinzarrone is underrotating like no tomorrow, good) and scrolled through the replay here and there. If skiers in speed disciplines would fail so miserably in such a large number races would be interrupted all the time.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

With this event, I loved watching skaters like Kimmy and Niina come back from injury and prove how strong and resilient they are. Kimmy may not have been perfect, but she put out her best efforts after a tough year and had a beautiful program. Niina fought for everything and had so much emotion in her program, she was absolutely the deserving champion and I am so impressed with her comeback. I loved watching Lara's shark program, even though she had some jump errors she is such a fun and unique skater. I loved watching Julia Sauter have the free program of her life and earn a SB after years of financial hardships and struggles with injury. I loved seeing Loena show amazing sportsmanship to the winner Niina, and Anastasiia come back from a rough short with a free program that showed how much mentally stronger she has become as a competitor. There were a lot of messy skates here, to be sure, but I find the joy in figure skating not necessarily in who wins or what they score or what jumps they can do, but in the joy, effort, talent, and unique perspective that every single one of these athletes bring.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Tatiana Tarasova was griping about how there were only two clean programs.

Sis, I’d rather watch clean skaters than clean programs. Oop!

 

[chepe]

So what? This was not only an event without an exceptional talent (of course someone like this does not appear every year), it was a down-to-earth event so far off from what is to be expected about 30 years after 3A and 3-3 combinations appeared in this discipline that there is no reason to watch it (contrary to a sprint that can be entertaining even without times under 9.90 (who are pointed out as "weak") this accident in slow motion lasts .. and lasts) - and certainly no reason to praise skaters as "wonderful" who cannot get an easy content together.

Yeah there is no 'reason' to watch an entertaining, gripping program like Taljegårds' or Sauter's, because it didn't have 3-axel or 3T-3T Unwatchable without that, like a 100m sprint where nobody runs under 9.9, level which sprinters reached 60 years ago.

Also, what is the 'good times' you compare it to? Many people seem to think Kim-Asada era was 'golden', but ECh of that era were overall technically weaker than today.

 

[Skating91]

Tatiana Tarasova was griping about how there were only two clean programs.

Sis, I’d rather watch clean skaters than clean programs. Oop!

We don't need the political stuff.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Yeah there is no 'reason' to watch an entertaining, gripping program like Taljegårds' or Sauter's, because it didn't have 3-axel or 3T-3T Unwatchable without that, like a 100m sprint where nobody runs under 9.9, level which sprinters reached 60 years ago.

Also, what is the 'good times' you compare it to? Many people seem to think Kim-Asada era was 'golden', but ECh of that era were overall technically weaker than today.

To those people I say don’t watch. Nobody is forcing them or Tarasova/Plushenko to watch. But to know going in that in Euros nobody was going to do ultra c elements - only to whine about it being lacking technically after the fact - is just so out of touch and ridiculous. Like omg apologies that not every European country is as committed to figure skating, has the funding, or is as supported by an ongoing system of state sponsored d…edication to training as Russia has.