The Grand Prix series in figure skating is coming to an end, and before the final, which will be held in Vancouver from December 6 to 9, it remains to conduct one stage. It will take place in French Grenoble next weekend, from November 23 to 25. According to the results of this tournament, all 24 participants of the final competition will be determined.
Almost half of the vouchers remain unanswered at the moment - two for men and sports couples and three for girls and dance duets. In fact, there are also three free places in the men's singles, as it is very likely that the past selection Yuzuru Hania will refuse to compete due to the injury received at the Moscow stage.
Most of the favorites have already achieved their goals and qualify. Perhaps the brightest star of figure skating, which has not yet done so, is Yevgeny Medvedev. In the three previous seasons, she calmly made out a ticket to the competition in advance or did not give reason to doubt that at the last moment she would get the right amount of points.
Now the two-time world champion and her fans are not sure that she will succeed in forming a company for Alina Zagitova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Japanese Satoko Miyahara, who have already entered the Grand Prix finals. Along with the 19-year-old Russian woman, six more female figure skaters apply for the remaining three passes, and they all will perform in France.
The shortest way to the final for Medvedeva is the victory in Grenoble. Then the Russian woman will not care how the other competitors are located in the final protocol. The Russian figure skater will score as many rating points as Tuktamyshev, and will definitely be in the six at the end of all stages of the Grand Prix.
But if you evaluate the form of Medvedeva in the tournament in Canada, in which she took third place with a score of 197.91 points, it will be very difficult for her to win. Then she flunked the cascade in the short program and with a lot of minor bugs performed jumps in an arbitrary box office. One of the mistakes - the incorrect execution of the triple lutz - has remained a chronic problem of Medvedeva. If there are no questions to the program of the skater, then technically it still lags behind the rivals of the elite level.
At the same time, a figure skater will perform in France, whose complexity of rentals is amazing. 16-year-old Japanese woman Rika Kihira recently won the stage in Hiroshima with a score of 224.31 points - more than Alina Zagitova gained more this season, and then not in the Grand Prix, but in pre-season tournaments. On the home ice, Kihira performed a purely triple Axel three times, one of which in a triple toe loop cascade - no figure skater showed this.
If Kihira again cleanly executes both his programs, then Medvedeva will not be able to count on victory. You can get into the Grand Prix finals from second place, but then she will score as many rating points as Sofia Samodurova and Kaori Sakamoto. In this case, the figure skater who shows the best total result at two stages will be higher in the waiting list. Samodurov earned 396.71 points, and Sakamoto - 411.32 points. In order to overtake the Japanese, Medvedev should roll back 213.42 points in France. Her best result this season - 204.89 points.
It should be borne in mind that the Russian Stanislav Konstantinova, who ranked second in Finland with a score of 197.57, also leads the real fight for getting into the Grand Prix finals. An 18-year-old athlete will qualify if she conquers gold or silver. If she conquers bronze, she will become the fourth girl who, along with Medvedeva, Samodurova and Sakamoto, will have to scrupulously tally points from previous competitions. How many vouchers will be played out between them depends on whether Kihir is selected. They will be either three or two.
American Brady Tennell, Japanese Mai Mihara and Swiss Alexia Paganini also have theoretical chances to press the whole company, but all three need to accomplish a real feat and win the stage in France, which is hard to believe.
Medvedeva's chances of getting into the Grand Prix finals are lower than those of Kihira and Konstantinova, but not at all ghostly. The two-time silver medalist of the Olympic Games needs to gain more than 213 points, which should be enough to take second place, and ideally even the first. It is impossible to drop below or show the worst result. Medvedeva cannot be - rivals will keep their ears sharp in order to get around it.
Skater coach Brian Orser does not doubt that his ward will fight for the victory. He noted that four weeks after his previous start, the athlete became stronger.
“Any competition is good to win for confidence. Don't get me wrong, but ... Is she able to win? Yes, in strength. Has it gotten better than performing in Canada? Yes, it has. So far this is all I am ready to talk about, ”commented on the performance of the ward at the Grand Prix stage in Moscow, Orser.
According to mentor, Eugenia knows what she needs to continue to work on, and now she is working with a specialist in rotations.
“It's time to focus on this element. We act on the situation. Sometimes it is needed, sometimes not. Usually we have a plan for the week, which we adjust according to the sensations. We are working on jumps, spins, paying special attention to the triple lutz, ”Orser added.
If Medvedeva still fails to qualify for the Grand Prix finals, then her next start will be the Russian championship in Saransk, which will be held from December 19 to 23. It will determine which of the figure skaters will be in the national team and will take part in the European and World Championships next year.