The competition program of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Turin started on December 5 with junior rentals, for which short programs of men and couples were planned for the evening. Girls whose competitions the Russian fans are looking forward to with special impatience will start their performances only the next day. On Thursday, they had planned only official training to music on the main ice of the Palawela.
The group of Eteri Tutberidze traditionally arrived in Turin directly to the control rolling, in order to work out at home longer. Because of this, all four skaters from Russia missed the draw, which took place on Wednesday. The absence of two-thirds of the participants, for whom Rick Kihira and Brady Tennell pulled the numbers, was a joke among the fans - they suggested the skaters play gold and silver until the Russians arrived.
But the Russian girls did not miss the official training anymore and staged a real show. Especially tried Alexander Trusova. On the roll, she performed the triple axel - a new leap in her arsenal that could help her score more points in the short program. Trusova did not begin to include him in the preliminary content for the Grand Prix finals, but now fans still have a chance to see the 12th figure skater in history, who performed the triple axel in competitions.
During the run, Trusova returned to the status of “queen of the quadruple jumps” and again surprised everyone who was lucky to see her free rental. She started the program with a fourth flip - a new leap in her arsenal. Previously, only Anna Shcherbakova showed him in training, and Alina Zagitova tried to jump with a fishing rod. Trusova did not stop there and then made a quadruple salchow and a quadruple lutz. The fact that there were no problems with the first of them was especially important - it was salchs that have not been given to the skater recently.
Trusova also did not forget about the fourth sheepskin coat. From it she began a cascade with a triple salchow through an oiler. At the end of the performance, the 15-year-old skater again performed the fourth sheepskin coat, and only on it there was a single glitch, which could be explained by the athlete’s fatigue - it is customary to show such difficult jumps at the beginning of the rental.
Another performer of the quadruple jumps Anna Shcherbakova also showed her skills. She performed her signature lutz twice in solo and in cascade. The skater also tried to show the quadruple flip, but fell. The champion of Russia said that so far she is only developing this jump and cannot show it at competitions.
“I think I'm a fighter. On ice, you need to show more character, fight for each element. The coaches teach me this so that such a “calm girl” would not crawl out on the ice. Yes, I'm fragile and small, but at the same time I try to show everything on the ice as a full-fledged adult skater. It is important for me to be seen, and not just that the little girl went out on the ice. Now I train the quadruple lutz and flip. Lutz is already in my program, the flip is still in the training stage. I really like to work on jumps, it’s adrenaline, the feeling of flying, ”Shcherbakova said in an interview with the Olympic Channel.
The training run at Alena Kostornaya did not work out clean either. The figure skater, who mastered the triple axel during the season, threw this jump once, landing on both legs. The second attempt in a cascade with a double sheepskin coat was already perfect. But then a cascade of flip - a sheepskin coat caused criticism, on which Kostornaya again had to make every effort not to fall.
Alina Zagitova was the best hire in training. The Olympic champion made no mistakes, including the Lutz - Rittberger at her most difficult cascade. She absolutely needs to perform in the Grand Prix finals purely in order to hope for a medal, since all competitors are significantly ahead of Zagitova in the technical complexity of the programs.
The main rival of the Russians Rick Kihira on Thursday did not try the quadruple salchow, although it is indicated in its planned content. The Japanese girl showed the old version of her free program with two triple axels, of which one turned out to be underwound - the skater made only one revolution.
If judges set grades for control rents, then Trusov would probably have scored the most, and Shcherbakova and Kostornaya would have followed her, followed by Kihira, Zagitova and Tennell. But everything will be decided only after official performances, and the girls will still need to show a short program. It will begin on December 6 at 21:50 Moscow time. Kostornaya, Trusova, Shcherbakova, Kihira, Tennell and Zagitova will take turns on the ice of Turin.