Credit: ISU
Chen & ISU World Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han grab the headlines
Sui/Han (CHN) edge Boikova/Kozlovskii (RUS) in Pairs Short Program
Olympic silver medalists Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China edged Russia’s Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii in the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Torino (ITA) on Thursday. Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin also from Russia, are currently ranked third.
Sui/Han produced a triple toe, triple twist and level four footwork and a level four death spiral. However, Sui touched down with her hand on the throw triple flip and the reverse lasso lift was rated a level two. The two-time World Champions scored 77.50 points. “We were not really satisfied with our today’s performance. The skating and execution was a little tight, and we also made some small mistakes. We haven’t looked into the detailed score yet, but maybe we also lost some levels. As for tomorrow’s free skating, we just wanted to do our best,” Sui told the press.
Boikova/Kozlovskii put out a strong performance to an instrumental version of “My Way”, landing a side by side triple Salchow, throw triple flip, triple twist and four level-four elements. The Skate Canada Champions earned 76.65 points. “Today we were both a little bit nervous and I think we can show more emotion, and more confidence in our skating,” Boikova said. “It (the program) is one of the variations of the famous song by Frank Sinatra. It’s an interpretation of ourselves, our souls. In it we try to find ourselves, our right road, our way,” Kozlovskii added.
Pavliuchenko/Khodykin’s performance to “The Storm” by Havasi featured a side by side triple toeloop, throw triple loop and a difficult reverse lasso lift. The 2018 World Junior Champions scored 75.16 points. „There are always things to work on, but there’s still the free program to go and we didn’t skate badly today,” Pavliuchenko commented. “We’re happy, we got more or less everything. There are some technical levels we can work on, but we’re happy with the skate. It’s our third time here (at the Grand Prix Final - once Junior and twice Senior) so we are just focusing on the skate,” Khodykin noted.
2019 World Junior Champions Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov (RUS) turned in a solid skate to remain close to the podium in fourth place (71.48 points). Current ISU Grand Prix Final silver medalists Cheng Peng/Yang Jin (CHN) finished fifth (69.67 points) and Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro (CAN) came sixth (67.08 points).
Chen (USA) triumphs in Men’s Short Program in Torino
Two-time World Champion Nathan Chen (USA) triumphed in the Men’s Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Thursday, winning the segment with 13 points to spare. Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan came second, ahead of France’s Kevin Aymoz.
Performing to “La Boheme”, Chen nailed a quad Lutz, triple Axel and quad toe-triple toe combination. His spins and footwork merited a level four and the defending ISU Grand Prix Final Champion posted a new personal best of 110.38 points. “I’m very happy with the score. But there are a lot of things I can improve on. I’m happy with the Lutz but I was a little shaky on the Axel and a little shaky on the toe,” the two-time World Champion commented. “I’m not sure what the free program will be like. I’ve got two days to adjust and have to think. I’m not sure what the jump program will look like but I love the program and I’m looking forward to it,” he continued.
Hanyu opened his program to “Otonal” with a quadruple Salchow and a triple Axel, but then stumbled on the quadruple toeloop and had no combination. He recovered to produce difficult spins and steps that garnered a level four. The two-time World Champion scored 97.43 points. “This program was performed by Johnny Weir here and he got second place (in the Short Program) at the (2006) Olympic Games. I wanted a good performance as well. To be honest, I am a little disappointed. Also, the point gap between me and Nathan is a little big, so it will be hard to come back, but I just want to think about what to do in the free skate, take one step at a time and give a good performance,” Hanyu shared.
Aymoz had to overcome a false start when a wrong music was played for him. The French Champion did not let himself get distracted and put out a clean performance that was highlighted by a quadruple toeloop, triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and an expressive step sequence. The NHK Trophy silver medalist set a new personal best of 96.71 points. “The Grand Prix Final was not my goal for this season and so I was not stressed, I was just happy to be here and I just had fun,” Aymoz said. “I was so confident when I went out but then when the music did not play I felt so lonely standing there on the ice like I was the only one in the world. But when the music did start I forgot totally and it was just a pleasure to share. It’s the job of the skater to stay focused whatever and I thought that’s my moment,” he added.
Dmitri Aliev (RUS) turned in a solid performance to finish fourth at 88.78 points. Alexander Samarin (RUS) follows in fifth (81.32 points) and Boyang Jin (CHN) placed sixth on 80.67 points.