Return to the top: Tarasova and Morozov became Russian champions in pair skating for the third time

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov regained the title of national champions in pair skating, which they had lost a year ago.

After a successful performance in the short boxing, they scored the best points in the free program, celebrating their third victory in the national championship.

Last year's winners Aleksandra Boykova and Dmitry Kozlovsky dropped to second place, and the duet of Daria Pavlyuchenko and Denis Khodykin again won bronze.

As a result of the short program, the intrigue in the doubles tournament escalated to the limit.

The first five duets are located so close to each other, as it has never happened at the Russian championships under the new refereeing system.

Suffice it to say that Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov, who were in fifth place, lost only 7.40 points to the leaders - such a gap is more common to see at the World Championships and the Olympic Games, but not at the national championship.

So the fans shouldn't have been surprised if the figure skaters who performed the free program in the second warm-up group became the national champions.

A year ago, Mishina and Gallyamov were already climbing from eighth to fourth, and after moving to Tamara Moskvina, they definitely only got better.

In the Russian Cup, for their performances to the music of the Queen group, they did not score less than 150 points and were the only couple who impressed the judges so much.

They only had to avoid the same strange mistakes as in the short program, when Gallyamov tore off the triple salchow he always got.

Still, the composition We Are The Champions, which sounded in the program, did not become prophetic for the couple, and it was the jumping elements that let it down.

At first, the most complicated cascade with two triple salchows and an oiler did not work out - the partner had a "butterfly" on the last jump.

Then Gallyamov landed badly on a triple sheepskin coat.

Two mistakes deprived the duo of their usual enthusiasm, and one of the supports fell from the skaters.

Mishina and Gallyamov's throws and twists were flawless, but they were not even enough to surpass last year's result.

Before the strongest quartet entered the ice, they were in the lead with 211.95 points.

Pavlyuchenko and Khodykin were the first from the final group.

In the past they could be criticized for not showing pair skating, but this time their work on it was visible.

Despite the big difference in physique, they began to look more organic this season.

The judges appreciated the skaters' performance and did not skimp on points for the components.

True, the skaters had some technical flaws - Khodykin did not twist the flip, and Pavlyuchenko touched the ice after landing from the ejection.

As a result, they scored 221.39 points for two programs.

The fourth after a short skate were Apollinaria Panfilova and Dmitry Rylov, which was already a success for a couple who do not have triple jumps.

To hold onto their position, they finally decided to perform salchow in three turns, but the partner did not succeed, after which she almost fell out of the blue and stumbled after the ejection.

The strong points of the rental included powerful support and, in general, a high-quality production, but even to get into the top four it was not enough.

Panfilova and Rylov could only be satisfied with the fact that they had overcome the 200-point line.

The next were the champions of the country in 2020, Alexandra Boykova and Dmitry Kozlovsky.

However, setting them to music from the James Bond films, which made a splash last season, was not happy for them.

Boykova immediately staggered on a triple salchow, and then could not confidently land after the release.

The judges also found an excuse to discreetly evaluate the last support and final spin, while giving good points for the components.

Tamara Moskvina's students took the intermediate first place, earning a lead of only 3.6 points.

It cannot be said that the last speakers, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, received a gift from their competitors, but nevertheless, their path to gold became much easier.

At their ninth national championship, the couple got the right to make small mistakes and took advantage of it when Tarasova helped herself on the salchow with her hand, and then Morozov incorrectly threw the partner, which led to her fall.

In the final of the rental, Tarasova made a mistake on the rotation, and after that their victory began to raise doubts a little, but the judges reassured the audience, who stood up to welcome the couple.

They scored 0.07 points more for the free program than Boykova and Kozlovsky, and became champions on the basis of two rentals.

For the first time since the times of Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, one pair managed to become prize-winners of the Russian Championship seven times in a row.