At the European Figure Skating Championships, which these days are held in Austrian Graz, dancing couples entered the fray. After a short program, the Russian duet Victoria Sinitsina - Nikita Katsalapov takes second place, losing only 0.05 points to the main favorites of the competition - the French Gabriele Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron.
Commenting on his speech, Katsalapov admitted that he was satisfied not only with points, but also with the rental itself. According to him, the couple got absolutely everything conceived.
“She skated cool, just the easiest. It is clear that we were well prepared, in training we do not allow ourselves any indulgences. But now everything turned out so successfully that I wanted to go forward and forward, continue to ride, and by the end it was very easy, ”Katsalapov shared his impressions.
For the first time in their career, a Russian couple got so close to Papadakis and Sizeron and got a real chance to compete for the gold medals of the continental championship.
“Yes, this has never happened before, but it's hard for me to judge, because I have not seen how they performed. Of course, responsibility was felt because they were the last to leave on the ice. Although I like to close the program. Of course, our hopes were justified: we showed good scores with good hire, ”the skater added.
The attention of the fans was attracted by the fact that Katsalapov lacked the usual details of the costume in the rhythm dance: he went out onto the ice without a jacket.
“Did the lack of a jacket help me today?” Hard to tell. It’s hot here, so it was not easy for me to play like that anyway, ”Katsalapov concluded.
In turn, Sinitsina admitted that she did not feel the excitement before going on the ice.
“Today was very cool, because they performed immediately after Sarah Hurtado and Cyril Halyavin (Spanish duet, training under the guidance of Zhulin. - RT ). Therefore, they felt at home. Morally, it helped a lot. I was very sick for them, and there was no nervousness, ”Sinitsina said.
The mentor of the Russians, Alexander Zhulin, was also satisfied with their performance. In an interview with RT, he said that between him and the wards a complete understanding was established, and the athletes themselves realized what was necessary to do in training in order to improve their results.
“In my opinion, so far this is their best rental of the season. It was necessary to skate the short program well, and now for the first time I am satisfied with everything. Absolutely calm, without nerves, in pleasure. I think this was transmitted both to the judges and the audience. For the first time, we got so close to a great French couple. Nikita and Vika themselves understand that while they do not have such a level to ride "for conservation". I can’t say that they rode on aortic rupture. But it was ripe, very good from a physical point of view. I hope that in arbitrary it will be possible to repeat this, ”summarized Zhulin.
In his opinion, such a small difference in scores is explained by the fact that the rental of Sinitsina and Katsalapov is comparable to the level of performance of Papadakis and Sizeron.
“We had only one joint training with the French. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of their short dance this season. It is significant that many consider our short program the best among all dancing couples, no matter how immodest it may sound. But there is nothing to be afraid of, we will work further, ”Zhulin concluded.
Another Russian duet of Alexander Stepanov - Ivan Bukin is located on the fourth line. Athletes complained of insufficiently high marks, although in general they were satisfied with the rental.
“Of course, adjustments were made even before the Russian championship, where we carried out the program much better, corrected the shortcomings. They also tried to correct something, we are trying to work after each start, improve the program and listen to those people who are telling us something, ”said Bukin.
The tournament in Graz will be remembered by many very unusual conditions. So, Stepanova said that the rink is located in an inflatable tent, which is stuffy enough. At the same time, she liked the quality of the ice.
“Once upon a time we had demonstrations on a small ice rink, but there the ice was bad, unlike what is here. All the best athletes gathered at the European Championships, and the point is not where it is held, so, of course, the atmosphere of a major tournament is felt, ”Stepanova admitted.
Mentors of the couple Irina Zhuk and Alexander Svinin praised the wards and also complained about not the highest points.
“Well done guys, we rode well, we are happy with them. So their assessment is far from the limit. We expected more. It means that the judges see something else, ”Passin quotes TASS.
Fifth place was left to the Russians Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro. Despite the personal record of the season, the skaters admitted that they counted on a better result.
“In general, it seems to me that we radiated good energy. The audience liked it, clapped well. For the first day, everything is fine. I can’t say that we were very worried. Although the excitement still makes itself felt - we were at the European Championships only once, ”Gureyro explained.
He added that the couple did not have time to get used to the new arena, and called the strange ice rink in Graz.
“There were problems with warming up on the main ice - there was only one training, and that was early in the morning. Therefore, although we felt a little bit of an arena, the very next day we were discussing in the locker room how all this had quickly been forgotten. But in general, the arena is not much affected, ”summed up Gureyro.
The fate of the medals in ice dancing will be decided on Saturday, January 25th.