The further the first day of the championship of Russia in Krasnoyarsk advanced, the more the stands of the Platinum Arena filled. Men could still complain about the lack of fans - the winner of the short program, Makar Ignatov, was even slightly offended by this, suggesting that women's competitions are more interesting. But the rhythm dance was already taking place in a very festive atmosphere.
The resourceful group of fans, who decided not to support one of the participants with the help of the banner, was prepared for the next issue of the program, but made one universal one and before the performance of each next idols only changed their photos. Of the dancers, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov were the first to receive such honor, with whom the draw decided to perform already under the third number.
The current champions did not surprise, performing just as well under the tunes of “Singing in the Rain”, as well as at previous competitions of the season. The judges, no matter how strict they were, had no choice but to give high marks - 88.43 points, which is two more than their official personal record.
“We are very pleased with the numbers that we saw on the scoreboard, this is a very big assessment. Thanks to the judges for being so appreciated. The rental was a little different than we wanted, there were still small blots. We don’t understand what they are connected with. In general, the rental was good and worthy. The championship of Russia is a huge responsibility, the main tournament of the country. Now the whole world is watching him. Wherever the championship of Russia is held, the organization is top-notch everywhere. I can safely compare with the Grand Prix finals and say that the difference is enormous in favor of the Russian championship. Therefore, we are very glad that we are here and ride, ”said Katsalapov after the rental.
The last Grand Prix finals in Turin for the students of Alexander Zhulin turned out to be unsuccessful, and the journalists were more interested in whether the athletes made conclusions from this failure. Katsalapov assured that a lot of work had been done in the free dance so that no more nit-picking would arise.
“I managed to make out everything, because of what it was. We redid the last three elements. The rotation was not changed, only added in rotation in each position. We ourselves gave occasion to the judges. For example, Vika had a jagged body in the choreo element, and the rules clearly indicate that any loss of balance equals a fall. We didn’t get the rotation - somewhere we would have forgiven it, because there wasn’t half a turn, but we were taken seriously. And in support, I did not twist on one leg. We changed the second position, removed one leg, and now I twist one revolution more. We managed to break in everything and deal with everything, ”Katsalapov assured the fans.
Until Alexander Stepanova and Ivan Bukin took to the ice, Sinitsin and Katsalapov could be calm for their leadership. Last year's bronze medalists Sofya Evdokimova and Yegor Bazin did not interfere with them - this season they took a step back and have not yet returned to their former level. In their rhythm dance, there were both twizzles and second-level finnstep, because of which they received only 71.42 points without much hope of repeating past success.
“Getting these levels is bad. It felt like they performed normally, compared to other starts. Here you need to show the maximum, because the peak of the season is already. Probably, it turned out to do approximately this without obvious stocks. Everything is going hard for us. Perhaps this was the best rental among all that were. Rhythm dance is not our trump card this season, so we will randomly show what we can. We don’t get along with Finstep, not really ... Last season we skated with hip-pop, were internally pleased with ourselves, but the judges did not evaluate. Now it’s impossible to fight with such points for the third place, in the rhythm dance it’s definitely not, ”said Bazin.
While the Samara skaters summed up their performance, Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureyro danced to the fiery tunes of "The Greatest Showman". They had no problems with technology, and each element received a level no lower than the third. With a score of 77.38 points, they took second place, losing a lot to Sinitsina and Katsalapov, but also ahead of the rest of the pairs.
“We liked the performance. We did not get to the Universiade, so it’s cool now to be in Krasnoyarsk. The arena is cool, the organization is good. The only thing here is hot, but it's normal, it happens. We hope that we will successfully perform in free dance in order to stay at the demonstration performances. The coaches wanted us to emotionally skate, let go of ourselves. I think we did it. Perhaps there were roughness in the technique, ”said Gureiro.
Just in case, in the mixed zone, a couple was asked if they were ready for free dancing and possible excesses - a year ago, one torn string deprived them of bronze and prospects for the second half of the season. Gureiro in response showed how the coaches personally sewed up his pants, and said that now his best friend is scotch tape, because with him you can always urgently fix clothes.
Until Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin took to the ice, the fight for fourth place was in full swing. World champions among juniors Alexander Skoptsov and Kirill Aleshin scored 73.98 points, and after that they nervously watched the performance of Annabelle Morozova and Andrei Bagin, who worked this season to be considered a very promising couple. Morozov and Bagin scored more points for the components, but Skoptsova and Alyoshin outranked them by 0.31 points due to technology.
Speech by Stepanova and Bukin on the musical “Moulin Rouge!” Put a beautiful point in the competition - they made all the talk about pre-distributed medals in ice dancing disappear. The pair showed the ideal section of the Finnish steppe and was unmistakable on twizzles, so for some time they chased Sinitsina and Katsalapov. It was not possible to just reach the maximum level on the track, because of which Stepanova and Bukin still released their main rivals, but not by much - only 1.3 points. At the same time, last year’s silver medalists of the Russian championship turned out to be better in the components - the pair could well have brought a long kiss at the end of the performance.
“The coaches said that we were great, we rode well. We worked on what we worked on. After the Grand Prix finals, there were a lot of questions, and here I hope that we have managed to fix a lot. In general, we are satisfied with the rental, although we still need to look at ourselves from the side. Feels like they did a lot of what they trained. The coaches know what we need to focus on, and we try to add in everything - in speed, in softness, in emotions, ”said Stepanova after the rental.
“After Turin, we worked a lot on technology. Specifically, in the rhythm dance practiced finestep and track. We will show ourselves in an arbitrary one, so we won’t talk yet. We lost a lot at Finnestep and therefore tried to do everything right. With suits we are now in order, more problems will not be repeated with them, ”added Bukin.