Translated material
Turin "Masquerade"
Russian dancers took first place in the Grand Prix final
The final of the Grand Prix in figure skating, in which three Russian pairs also participated, ended in Turin, Italy. The only medal, also of the highest standard, was won by Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. The second domestic dance duo, Yana Khokhlova - Sergei Novitsky, as well as representatives of pair skating Yuko Kawaguchi - Alexander Smirnov, became fifth.The victory in the final of the championship series was of fundamental importance for Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin. This season, at the Grand Prix stage in China, Alexei Gorshkov's students lost to the Americans Tanit Belban and Benjamin Agosto, taking second place. And although two weeks later the Russians managed to redeem themselves for their failure by winning the “home” stage in Moscow, setting their personal record - over 205 points in the sum of three programs, this success could not be considered absolute, since the main rivals of Alexey’s students did not come to the Russian capital Gorshkova. In Turin, the strongest skaters took to the ice. According to the rules of the competition, only the top six pairs and singles based on the results of six stages have the right to participate in the Grand Prix final. The Russians were represented in only two events - pair skating and ice dancing. None of the domestic singles skaters made it to the final part of the championship series.
The beginning of this season for Domnina and Shabalin was complicated by numerous problems associated with injuries and illnesses of their partner. Nevertheless, compared to the last Grand Prix final, the first Russian couple surpassed their last year result. In St. Petersburg, Domnina and Shabalin were third, this time in Turin they rose to the highest step of the podium, scoring 165.57 points in the sum of two programs. Unlike the Grand Prix stages, where the dancers' competition program includes three numbers, there is no compulsory dance in the series finale.
After the original dance, the skaters from Odintsov near Moscow took third place, behind the American couple Belban - Agosto, as well as the French Isabelle Delobel - Olivier Schonfelder. The reason for this was the mistake of Oksana, who lost her balance while performing the step sequence. However, the couple performed their free dance flawlessly. “For the first time this season, all elements of our free program were rated by the judges at the maximum level of difficulty,” dancers’ coach Alexei Gorshkov told a Vremya Novostey correspondent. — Especially for the finals, we improved the free dance, complicated the step sequence, and made other adjustments. But this is a normal process. As the season progresses, programs are constantly being improved. What I am most pleased with is that after the competition, many coaches and judges came up to me and choreographer Sergei Petukhov and said that the free dance that Oksana and Max skated, choreographed to the music of Khachaturian’s “Masquerade,” was truly done in the best traditions of dances on ice This is not a show number, not acrobatic stunts, but a dance. And this is what has always been considered a distinctive feature of our species.”
The second Russian duo, Yana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitsky, finished their Turin performance in fifth position. They finished in the series finals with the same result last year. Nevertheless, this season, students of coaches Alexander Svinin and Irina Zhuk were among the winners at the Grand Prix stages: in Paris they were second, and in Sendai, Japan - third. But there is no time yet to push aside the other strongest pairs in the finals. Although the free dance of Khokhlova and Novitsky, set to the music of Mussorgsky and Grieg, created a real sensation. The audience was also shocked by the original costumes made for this program, because the partner plays the role of a witch, and the partner plays the role of a demon. True, according to the rules of the International Skating Union (ISU), a skater cannot compete in tight leggings. And therefore, before the last stage of the Grand Prix in Japan, Novitsky was hastily sewed a new, no less extravagant suit. The skaters and coaches themselves were philosophical about the final Turin situation, saying that they have enough patience and know how to wait.
The only Russian doubles duo, Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov, who barely made it to the Grand Prix finals, finished fifth. Tamara Moskvina's students made their debut in the finals of the championship series for the first time and, apparently, could not cope with their excitement. They made serious mistakes in both the short and free programs. It is noteworthy that in the short the partner performed a jump instead of three revolutions into four, which was not counted. This, coupled with the mistakes made, dropped the Russians to sixth place. There was a fall in the free program. And as a result, the debut in the finals of the championship series for the St. Petersburg athletes ended in last place, since the American couple Keanu McLaughlin - Rockne Brubaker withdrew after the short program.
The winners of the final in pair skating were Alena Savchenko and Robin Shelkov from Germany. The women's tournament was won by Korean Yu Na Kim, and the men's by Stephane Lambiel from Switzerland.