Paired competitions at the Russian Championships keep fans in the most intense tension - out of 12 participants, one third could safely claim victory in Krasnoyarsk, and a few more pairs to impose a fight for medals. It is no accident that it was sports duets that the organizers of the competition entrusted with closing the first day - hardly anyone wanted to miss such a sight.
Already the third on the ice were the leaders of the season in terms of points scored by Alexander Boykov and Dmitry Kozlovsky. Since the students of Tamara Moskvina brilliantly performed at the home stage of the Grand Prix, they have known failure in the finals and have somewhat lost their positions against other couples. It was necessary to save the reputation in Krasnoyarsk.
With a short program, Boykova and Kozlovsky have long had no serious problems, and the performance at the Russian Championship even surpassed the previous ones. The judges turned a blind eye to the blots on the todes and the rotation after a wonderful twist with a raised hand and the release of the rittberger. The pair crossed the milestone a second time in their careers, gaining 80.39 points in the end. Kozlovsky admitted that he and his partner are so motivated by fierce competition in the country.
“The rental was good, working, restrained. What was required of us, we did. Now it's up to the arbitrary. There is a break day, it always helps to be distracted and reboot. The middle class of couples in the country determines the entire team. The fact that there is such high competition confirms the power of the Russian pair school. It pleases, because you always love to compete with strong opponents, ”said Kozlovsky.
After the rental, the couple answered the questions for several minutes - about the Grand Prix finals, about the importance of the Russian championship, about the draw, and about health, jokingly inviting one of the journalists to do the rental themselves and then try not to sneeze after it. At this time, the next pair of favorites Daria Pavlyuchenko and Denis Khodykin ran past the mixed zone, and they left their rental without comment.
But all the participants of the Grand Prix finals went well, and they should not be shy of something at all. Pavlyuchenko and Khodykin completed their entire set of elements, albeit not the most difficult for a short program. Large, they lost to Boykova and Kozlovsky only in the components - to work on being just a pair, and not a set of two skaters, they still need a lot. In the meantime, they earned 76.13 points and settled in second place.
Next, the bronze medalists of the Grand Prix finals Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov entered the fight for medals. An accident happened immediately with them - after the release of a triple flip, the partner fell. For the guys, this was very unexpected, because earlier on this element they weren’t so mistaken. The rest of the program, Mishina and Galliamov were hardly rolled up, torturing each element. Estimates of recent juniors hit hard - they received only 67.73 points, losing to Alice Efimova and Alexander Korovin at the same time. After the rental, Misha could not explain her fall.
“I can’t say what the mistakes are connected with. We approached the competitions in normal form, nothing has changed in terms of elements and figures. Perhaps home tournaments are more exciting than foreign ones, because everyone around speaks their native language, everything is read on all plates. I don’t feel like blaming anything, it just happened, ”the skater said.
The pair now need to win back almost nine points from Pavlyuchenko and Khodykin. On the day off, she will try to distract herself from the competition and take a walk around Krasnoyarsk, and the skaters will not frighten the severe frosts that will fall on the city.
“They were not particularly nervous, everything went by itself. We are not robots, and cars also fail. Maybe this moment just happened. This day must be forgotten and on Saturday to be treated in a new way. Tomorrow will be training, take another walk around the city to discharge and forget a little about figure skating. -30 degrees? We were preparing for this, we warmed ourselves, we looked at the weather forecast in advance. Siberia, what else can you say, ”Gallyamov said.
The last of the contenders for the championship were Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov. Unlike earlier pairs, they missed the Grand Prix finals, but took advantage of a forced break to rework their short program. The result exceeded all expectations - the students of Marina Zueva began to ride under the "Bolero" even more confidently and to match the majestic music.
The judges were really captured by such skating, and the highest points fell on the skaters, especially for the twists and supports. But the technical assessment could not be left without generous components, and as a result, Tarasov and Morozov exceeded the Chinese world record of Sui Wenjing and Han Tsun - 83.91 points. Again, the most experienced couple in Russia became the best in the country, albeit so far only in a short program. But the skaters themselves reacted to the unofficial world record quite restrained.
“I'm not chasing scores, but for good hire. Today he was good, you can say with a bang, almost five plus. I am pleased with the program and the emotions I experienced. This is more important than numbers. We worked on the elements, made a revision of the short program, changed the sequence. Used their time to the maximum and prepared for the competition. We will not say that skipping the Grand Prix finals was a plus for us. We proceeded from what we have, wisely used the time, ”Morozov noted after the rental.
The short program sharply reduced the intrigue of the doubles competition - the first three created such a gap for themselves that it would not be easy for other duets to eliminate it. But before the final competition, everyone will have a day of rest, and for some it can do good, and for others it can hurt.