Sapporo (Japan) (AFP)
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, quadruple world champions and vice-Olympic champions in 2018, won their first NHK trophy, with a record of 226.61 points on Saturday in Sapporo.
In Japan, the pair of French skaters also qualified for the Grand Prix Final scheduled for Turin (5-7 December).
After becoming the first dancers on ice to achieve more than 90 points (90.03 pts) during the short program on Friday, French skaters set a new personal best with 136.58 points in the free program.
They had skated on the catchy tunes of the famous musical "Fame" on Friday during their first visit. Papadakis and Cizeron danced for the free program on Forest Blakk's poem "Find me", mixed and arranged with a composition by Icelandic musician Olafur Arnalds.
"We are very happy with our results here, there have been a lot of improvements on both programs since Grenoble, we've done a lot of technical work on rhythmic dance and free dance, and I think we're really starting to embody all of that." the characters in our programs, "said the 25-year-old skater.
"We were very focused on not making mistakes and skating with emotion," said Gabriella Papadakis, 24.
The podium is completed by the Russian pair Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin (208.81 pts), also qualified for the Final, and the Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (198.06 pts).
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron will be joined in Italy by Kevin Aymoz, who, in the men's event, finished second in the NHK Trophy on Saturday, behind Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu, with 250.02 points.
He won his qualification for the Grand Prix Final, a first for the skater from Echirolles.
© 2019 AFP