The confrontation between the Olympic champions in dancing and their new partners is the highlight of the program of the fourth stage of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating at Luzhniki.

The confrontation between Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov - dancers who won Olympic gold in the team and bronze in the individual tournament of the Sochi Games, but in the spring formed duets with Ruslan Zhiganshin and Victoria Sinitsyna - is of the highest interest at the figure skating competition of the fourth stage of the Grand Prix Cup of Russia 14-16 November at the Small Arena of the capital's Luzhniki. Russian skaters are competing for awards in all four events of the tournament program.

Members of the Russian Olympic team Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov
Photo: Dmitry Azarov, Kommersant / buy photo

The “divorce” of the country’s strongest dance couple, Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, who won gold in the team and bronze in individual competitions at the Sochi Olympics, but then remained fourth at the March World Championships in Japan, took place immediately after the end of last season. Nikolai Morozov, their former coach, left for the USA, and the skaters castled with partners in the duet of the 2012 world champions Victoria Sinitsyna and Ruslan Zhiganshin. The international debut of Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin, who are trained in Moscow by Elena Kustarova, took place a week ago at the third stage of the Grand Prix in China, where they finished fourth. Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapova are now being trained in the USA by Marina Zueva (she led the Olympic victories of Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in 2010 in Vancouver and Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White in 2014 Sochi), and at the fourth stage of the Grand Prix in Moscow their first joint performance will take place. We will also see in Moscow the promising 2013 world junior champions Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. Students of Irina Zhuk and Alexandra Svinina, by the way, have already won bronze at the first stage of the Grand Prix in the USA. However, the winners of the American stage, Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA), are still rightly considered the favorites of the Moscow stage, and in addition to the Russians, the British Penny Coomes and Niklas Buckland and the current world champions among juniors, Americans Caitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, will also compete for prizes.

In the women's tournament, after Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova withdrew last week after she tore ankle ligaments, there was only one contender for gold left - the winner of the Canadian Grand Prix stage, Anna Pogorilaya. A student of Anna Tsareva only needs to win any medal here to join Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in the series finals, which will be held in December in Barcelona and into which she was the first to make it. Two other Russian figure skaters, debutants Maria Artemyeva and Maria Stavitskaya, will also compete for awards in Moscow. However, they will have competition from Americans Mirai Nagasu and Angela Wang, as well as Japanese women Rika Hongo and Miyabi Oba.

Olympic champions in the team tournament and silver medalists of the Sochi Games in individual competitions of sports pairs Ksenia Stolbova-Fedor Klimov will make their debut here in the international season. Naturally, they are the main contenders for a home victory. Moreover, Nina Moser’s students recently brilliantly proved their readiness at the Russian Cup in Sochi. But Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov have already managed to become third at the Grand Prix stage in Canada. But for second place in Moscow, which will be their ticket to the finals, they will have to compete with the 2013 world junior champions, Americans Haven Denny and Brandon Fraser.

The obvious favorite of the men's tournament is two-time European champion and two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships, Spaniard Javier Fernandez. The remaining two medals are claimed by American Jason Brown, Czech Michal Brzezina and Japanese Takahiko Kozuka. Russia will be represented by the silver medalist of the 2014 European Championship Sergei Voronov, the bronze medalist of the 2011 World Championship Artur Gachinsky and debutant Maurice Kvitelashvili.

Valeria Mironova

Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov will meet on Moscow ice