At the European Championship figure skating in Moscow, men will perform free programs.
Javier Fernandez became the six-time European champion! There are also two Russians on the podium - Dmitry Aliev and Mikhail Kolyada.
Javier Fernandez with a gold medal at the European Championship. By the way, this is already the 12th continental championship for the skater - and the sixth victory! Photo: Yana Belotserkovskaya
Dmitry Aliev:When I walked under the table, Javier Fernandez had already competed at the European Championships. And even then he was an example for me. It is a great honor for me to stand on a pedestal next to a figure skater who has already entered the history of figure skating.
Javier Fernandez: It's only a few weeks before the Olympics. Immediately after the European Championships, I return to Tornto and start training.
Javier Fernandez became the six-time European champion. Bravo, Xavi! Photo: Natalia Shadrina
Outcomes:
1. Javier Fernandez (SPAIN) - 295.55
2.Dmitry Aliev (RUSSIA) - 274.06
3. Mikhail Kolyada (RUSSIA) - 258.90
23:50 Dmtriy Aliyev takes second place. On the sum of the two programs, he has 274.06
23:49 What a fine fellow our Dmitry Aliev! Bravo! Two cleanly executed jumps in four turns. Not a single breakdown! Not a single failure! We held our breath and are waiting for the assessments. But Dima did everything he could today.
23:45 They say that you can endlessly look at fire and water. We don’t know. But we are sure of one thing - you can really watch Javier Fernandez endlessly ... It's just incredible. Javier was almost nailed with toys and gifts that literally poured on his head. Of course, he is in the lead - 295.55 in total. Fantasy!
23:40 The stands welcome the legendary Javier Fernandez. See how many Spanish fans are in the stadium!
23:30 The audience is very supportive of Denis, he deserved it, even if he made a few mistakes. But we saw a separate performance in the coaching position - Stephane Lambiel literally danced the entire program with Denis, so he worries about his student! It is a pity that Lambiel has already finished his career - that's who I would like to see at the championship in Moscow. Denis came in third place.
23:25 On ice Denis Vasilievs from Latvia,three-time champion of his country. He has a quadruple toe loop in his application, but the athlete did not jump, Denis fell.
23:21 Poor Yorick!The jumps of the Belgian did not work out. He fell from a triple toe loop in a cascade, then instead of a triple lutz he performed only a single one. As a result, Yorick is only seventh in terms of the sum of two programs.
23:15. On the ice the Belgian Yorick Hendrix,three-time champion of his country, brother of Luna Hendrix, whom we saw yesterday. By the way, when Luna spoke, Yorick rooted for her very ardently on the podium. And he reacted very emotionally to her fall. Nor did Yorick claim a single four-turn jump.
23:12 On Ice - Italian Matteo Rizzo.He does not perform four-turn jumps at all. Matteo coped well with the program, but, of course, it is very unusual to see the strongest skater without quadruple jumps in the group. As a result, Matteo is only sixth in terms of the sum of two programs.
23:05 Unfortunately, Misha fell from the quadruple lutz at the very beginning of the program. Following, instead of a quadruple salchow, it turned out only a triple one. Another quadruple jump - a sheepskin coat - also ended in a fall. Everything else was done well, the judges added the triple axel cascade - triple toe loop, and triple lutz, and the remaining cascades. But, alas, not a single jump in four turns ... His result is 258.90. Now he is ranked first.
Mikhail Kolyada. Photo: Natalia Shadrina
23:01 Bronze medalist of the last European Championship (2017), reigning champion Russian Mikhail Kolyada on ice!
22:55 Well, now everything will be decided. The last group of athletes went to warm up. Among them are two Russians: Mikhail Kolyada(he is fourth after the short program) and Dmitry Aliev(he is second after the short one). Also, a Latvian skater is warming up on the ice Denis Vasilievscoached by the famous skater Stéphane Lambiel... He is ranked third after the short program. The hall explodes when presented Javier Fernandez... This skater became the first European champion in the history of Spain. Javier leads after the short program.
22:44 On Ice - Alexander Samarin,19-year-old Russian figure skater. Sasha started with a quadruple lutz, but landed, touching the ice with his hand. There should have been a cascade, but Samarin did not make the second jump. Then he cleanly performed a triple lutz and a quadruple sheepskin coat.
And in general today Sasha was successful in jumping! But, alas, Sasha was left without one cascade. 229.81 - its sum.
Alexander Samarin. Photo: Natalia Shadrina
22:37 And the main Israeli hope has already appeared on the ice - the skater Alexey Bychenko.And he started very powerfully - he made two amazing cascades, the judges gave him the best they could. He managed to make two beautiful quadruple jumps. But in the middle, alas, Alexei did not quite succeed in several jumps at once, with a mistake he made a triple axel, and the second jump in the cascade turned out to be only a single one. But he was able to pull himself together and completed the program very emotionally. Alexey is pleased with his performance - still, today we have not seen such clean quadruple jumps! On the sum of the two programs, Bychenko scored 238.44 and took the intermediate first place!
22:34 The audience greeted Maurice very warmly, there are clearly many of his fans here. But ... alas, today at Maurice Kvitelashvili practically nothing happened. It's hard to look at his coach Eteri Tutberidzewho followed him to the edge. It's a pity, because this skater really has a very expressive program. However, now his score is not at all competitive - 210.47, he is only fourth.
22:29 Maurice Kvitelashvili is preparing to go out on the ice.
22:28 In total, Mayorov has 225.86. Now he is the first!
22:25 To the soundtrack from James Bond "From Russia with love" Maiorov.
Instead of a triple salchow, only a double one turned out. And Mayorov did not succeed in quadruple jumps (he did not tighten the salchow in the cascade, instead of another quadruple salchow he jumped a triple flip).
22:20 On Ice - Swedish Figure Skater Alexander Mayorov.He was born in the Soviet Union and emigrated with his parents to Sweden when he was 1 year old. His father, Alexander Viktorovich Mayorov, was the first coach Alexey Yagudin... He is now also engaged in coaching activities... Mayorov's choreographer is his mother. He also has a younger brother, Nikolai, who also goes in for figure skating.
22:18 Michal Brzezina came out on top with a total of 225.20.
22:11 On Ice - Michal Brzezina, popular Czech skater. He started to the song Human by Jame Hartman, the audience sang along. By the way, only two seasons can be performed to music with words, earlier in figure skating it was forbidden. Michal coped with the cascade - quadruple salchow - double sheepskin coat, and finally we saw a purely executed quarter jump! However, after that Michal fell from the triple lutz.
22:08 Souvenir shops. You can buy key rings, mugs, sweatshirts and much more with the symbols of the championship. It is empty near the booths only during the performance of the strongest warm-ups.
21:52 And the participants of the third warm-up have already appeared on the ice, among which there are several very interesting athleteswho are ready to fight for the most high places... The audience very warmly greeted the Russian at the warm-up Alexandra Samarina - his performance in the final of this group. The Georgian figure skater from the group was also greeted with ovation Eteri Tutberidze - Morisa Kvitelashvili,who used to represent Russia.
21:45 Now the pouring of ice has begun in front of the third group of participants. Summing up preliminary results: while the Frenchman is in the first place Shafik Bessege - he has a total of 211.17 points, in second place Phillip Harris from Great Britain - in two programs he scored 208.22 points, followed by another Frenchman Romain Ponsard with a total of 200.72 points.
21:37 We get out of the rooms under the stands! Leaders are changing very quickly on the ice. I just skated my free skate Irakli Maisuradze from Georgia.But he is only the fourth so far.
Irakli Maisuradze from Georgia. Photo: Natalia Shadrina
21:27 By the way, from the work area judging panel it is also very clear how the operators work. Filming is carried out with different pointsone of which is right here.
Area of \u200b\u200bwork of judges. Here filming is carried out on a camera mounted on a crane. The kiss and cry zone is also clearly visible. Photo: Yana Belotserkovskaya
21:25 Going out on the ice for judges.
20:51 The second group of participants took to the ice. While rolling Philip Harrisfrom the UK, we will tell you a little about how judges work.
The refereeing team is quite large, it always consists of representatives different countries... Each type is evaluated by a different panel of judges. The judges sit along the side, each with a monitor to watch the replays. They can zoom in on any item that raises questions. Also, a technical controller and a technical team are sitting at the side.
They have a separate wing, where only they have access. We took a look there and saw how they work.
Judges at work. Photo: Yana Belotserkovskaya
Of course, they have their own way out on the ice. In their wing there are separate lounges, places for food, changing rooms. Also, in the referee area, in the under-stands rooms, referees work, who sit at the screens and watch controversial moments.
And now a little about how the marks are given in figure skating.
For each element performed by the skater, the score is calculated using this algorithm. The technician determines the name and level (basic, 1, 2, 3, or 4). The table determines the base cost of the element in points ( SOV - Scale of Value). The judges determine the level of performance ( GOE - Grade of Execution) from −3 to +3, the highest and lowest GOE are discarded, the remaining seven according to the table are converted to a bonus / penalty to points, averaged and rounded to two digits. The score for an item may give a negative number, in which case the item is worth zero points.
The scores for all elements are added up - points are obtained for the elements (Total Element Score).
19:55 The dance duets have just finished their performance. We are sincerely happy for our dancers - Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. Tomorrow the European champion will be determined in this type of program.
And right now on the ice "Megasport" continue to fight for this title of men. The first warm-up has already started on the ice. Estonian figure skater Daniel Albert Naurits opens this kind of program. And in the first group there is a skater from Finland Walter Virtanenwho is a doctor by training and works in a hospital!
Third warm-up:
13. Paul Fentz (Germany) 14. Michal Brzezina (Czech Republic) 15. Alexander Mayorov (Sweden) 16. Maurice Kvitelashvili (Georgia) 17. Alexey Bychenko (Israel) 18.Alexander Samarin (Russia)
Fourth warm-up
19.Mikhail Kolyada (Russia)20. Matteo Rizzo (Italy) 21. Yorick Hendrix (Belgium) 22. Denis Vasiliev (Latvia) 23. Javier Fernandez (Spain) 24.Dmitry Aliev (Russia)
Russian dance couple Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitry Soloviev came out on top in the short program at the European Figure Skating Championships in Czech Ostrava after the revision of the judges
Photo: Jaroslav Ozana / CTK / Global Look Press
After a short program for the dancing duets, the judges decided to revise the results of the leaders of the competition Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte. The score of the 2014 World and European Champions was lowered by one point, which is why they let the 2013 European Champions, Russians Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov, go ahead.
The general director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Kogan said that the technical team had the right to review the results of Cappellini and Lanotte's performance in the short dance. According to him, the score was lowered in accordance with the rules.
“One point was removed from the Italians for a prohibited element. The technical panel has revised its assessment in accordance with the rules. They have the right to do so. For the forbidden element, the Italians have been reduced one point, "R-Sport quotes Kogan.
After the revision of the assessments, Bobrova and Solovyov had 76.18 points left. Cappellini and Lanotte dropped to second place with 75.65 points. Third - world and European champions of two recent years Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron from France (75.48). Two more Russian duos Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin (68.17) and Victoria Sinitsyna / Nikita Katsalapov (64.67) occupy the sixth and eighth places, respectively.
On the eve of the European Championship, the first set of awards was played. In pair skating, the victory was won by the Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who had twice become bronze medalists of the continental championship.
In the free program, Tarasova and Morozov took second place, losing almost two points to Alena Savchenko and Bruno Masso, representing Germany (146.76 points against 148.59). At the same time, the day before in the short program, the Russians were seven points ahead of the Germans and showed the best result in terms of total (227.58 points against 222.35).
Savchenko has been performing with Massot since 2015. Previously, she, together with Robin Szolkovy, won five times at the world championships, four times became the European champion and won two bronze medals at the Olympic Games - in Vancouver-2010 and Sochi-2014. The Sholkovs are now coaching Tarasova and Morozov, while working in Moscow in the group of Nina Moser.
The third in the final classification were the French Vanessa James and Morgan Sipre (220.02). Three-time champions of Russia Ksenia Stolbova and Fyodor Klimov were left without medals due to the fall of their partner on the ejection into the flip. The Olympic champions in the team competition on the sum of the two programs took the fourth place. Another Russian pair Natalya Zabiyako / Alexander Enbert finished the tournament fifth.
Earlier at the European Championships, the short program was presented by the singles. In women, with 78.92 points, the current world and European champion, Russian Yevgenia Medvedeva, is in the lead. The second is another representative of Russia Anna Pogorilaya (74.39), who won bronze medals in the last two continental championships. The intermediate third place is taken by the five-time European champion Italian Carolina Costner (72.40), who returned to the ice after being disqualified. The third Russian woman - 16-year-old Maria Sotskova (72.17) - occupies the fourth position.
ON-LINE TRANSLATION
23:35. This concludes our broadcast from the European Figure Skating Championships. Recall that in a dramatic struggle she won a gold medal, ahead of the sum of two programs Evgeny Medvedev... Two Russians on the top steps of the pedestal - isn't that wonderful? The Italian has closed the top three Carolina Costner, which, by a controversial decision of the judges, overtook another representative of Russia Maria Sotskova. We wish you a great weekend and thank you for being with us all this time! Until next time!
23:30. “Without any respect. Is Zagitova the main hope of Russia now? " - operational report from Andrey Shitikhin.
Without any respect. Is Zagitova the main hope for Russia now?
And how else to call a skater who at the age of 15 beat two-time champion the world? And what should Medvedeva do now?
23:15 ... Trainer Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova Eteri Tuteberidze accepts numerous congratulations and stands with a whole bag of stuffed toys.
23:00 ... Pretty french Lauren Lecavalier took only 12th place and complained that she had to change the program, which she really liked. But temporary failure isn't a reason to be discouraged, is it?
22:45. Maria Sotskova admitted that she was unhappy with the final fourth place at the European Championship.
“Could you get ahead of Caroline? Nothing is impossible. But I did not set myself the goal of overtaking someone. The most important thing for me is to go out and skate cleanly, to prove to myself that I can. Is it a shame to be fourth? It's my fault. I have never been to the Olympics in my life and I sincerely hope that I will go there - I'm not sure of that yet. I don’t want to think and plan anything yet, I just want to prepare and regain a form that will allow me to feel confident ”.
22:30. showed a great and very emotional performance, but this was not enough to win the European Championship. 232 points for Evgenia against 238 for Alina. Zagitova becomes the European champion! Carolina Costner closes the top three. Maria Sotskova - fourth.
22:15. Alina Zagitova! Wow! This is a rental. Simply gorgeous. Alina has 238.24 points on the sum of two programs! It will be very difficult now Evgenia Medvedeva... We look!
22:10. Carolina Costner made a huge number of mistakes, but somehow she still stayed ahead of our Maria Sotskova. We have questions for the judges! And if at the Olympics there is something similar in relation to Russian women? Fans are outraged on social media.
22:00. Nicole Raichova from Slovakia will not be able to compete for the medal of the European Championship. The third intermediate place does not give any hope for a miracle. The main drama of the tournament is ahead! Costner, Zagitova and Medvedeva will take to the ice of the Megasport arena. The audience hid in anticipation.
21:55. Maria Sotskova could not do without mistakes, but still takes the first intermediate position. The young Russian woman has 200.81 points in total. To get on the podium, Maria will have to wait for serious blunders from her rivals.
21:45 ... Here it is - the final group of six skaters. First to start Anita Estlund from Sweden, and continue - Maria Sotskova, Nicole Raichova, Karolina Kostner, Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedevawho will perform in a new dress. Something will happen.
21:35. Now the fun begins, are you ready? Our girls are getting ready for the decisive skating at the European Championship.
21:30. After the performance of the three groups, the Belgian is the leader Lena Hendrix... Second place goes to Swiss Alexia Paganini, and a Frenchwoman closes the top three Mahe-Berenice Meite.
21:25. The squirrel - the mascot of the competition - has a fluffy tail so large that you have to hold it when cornering.
21:15 ... A short survey of fans showed that Evgenia Medvedeva significantly more fans than Alina Zagitova... Here is one point of view.
21:05. The current leaders can take a breath without leaving the locker room, but watching the performances of their opponents in the mixed zone.
20:55 ... The third group will include Loreen Lekavelier, Lena Hendrix, Alexia Paganini, Elishka Brzhezinova, Emmy Peltonen and Mahe-Berenice Meite. These skaters took places from 7th to 12th in the short program.
20:45 ... This is how they prepare for the performance and... The phone and oranges are the keys to success.
20:35 ... Of the first two warm-ups, only a German woman enjoyed the interest of journalists. Schott... The rest of the time the mixed zone is empty. But in a little over an hour there will be no crowds here.
20:30 ... After the performance of two groups, a German woman took the lead Nicole Schott. In second place Yvette Toth from Hungary, the three strongest closes Viveka Lindfors from Finland. But we all understand that the main forces of women's figure skating are ahead of us.
20:20 ... And this is how the athletes of the second starting group were represented at the European Championships in Moscow.
20:10. Twitter olympic Committee Russia wishes good luck to Russian women tonight. The climax is approaching!
20:00 ... Ex-Russian woman Anna Yanovskayapaired with Adam Lukacs for Hungary, discusses the results of his performance with his partner and coach. The Hungarian couple ranked 14th.
19:45. In the second group, the Moscow audience will perform Nicole Schott, Anne-Line Giersem, Lea Yoanna Dastih, Yvette Toth, Viveka Lindfors and Anna Khnychenkova. These skaters finished 13th to 18th in the short program.
19:35 ... As a result of the performance of the first group, two Italians are in the lead - Micole Christini and Jada Russo.
19:30. We invite our readers to express their opinion on this matter.
19:20 ... Cool photo gallery of the short program in women's single skating at the European Championships in Moscow from the photo correspondent of the "Championship" Alexandra Safonova... Enjoy!
19:10 ... “The Queen is delighted. Zagitova is cooler than Medvedeva, and this is real "- an overview of the short program from Andrey Shitikhin.
The queen is delighted. Zagitova is cooler than Medvedeva, and this is real
Medvedeva returned after injury, but lost to Zagitova in the short program.
19:00. Let us remind you of the alignment in the leading group after the short program. These skaters will round off tonight.
1. (Russia) - 80.27 (personal best).
2. (Russia) - 78.57.
3. Carolina Costner (Italy) - 78.30 (personal best).
4. (Russia) - 68.70.
18:45. The final in women's singles skating has started! The first to go out on the ice was an Italian Micol Christini, ranked 19th in the short program . According to the rules, the 24 best skaters will take part in the free program after the first part of the performances, which will be divided into four subgroups of six people each. Together with the Italian in the first group will perform Pernille Sørensen, Jada Russo, Sylvia Gugetz, Elzbeta Kropa and Dasha Grm... These are the skaters who took places from 19th to 24th according to the results of the short program.
18:30 ... You can even buy a hammer and sickle flag in the souvenir shop. Rumor has it that at the Olympics in Pyeongchang, it can be very relevant.
18:20 ... The press conference of the winners of the European Championship in ice dancing has begun at the Megasport arena. Let's remind that two Russian pairs got into the top three - Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitry Solovyov and Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin.
18:10 ... There is practically no one at the ticket offices - all tickets were bought in advance. At the "red" ticket office, located closer to the metro, the queue is not much longer.
18:00. In the official championship program interview Medvedeva and Zagitova placed on one spread. Just 30 minutes before the start of the women's singles finals! We wait!
17:45 ... The Russian couple, although they did not take a place on the podium of the European Championship, really liked the audience with their bright images.
17:35 ... The most popular place during breaks is, of course, the buffet. There are dozens of similar kiosks throughout the entire sports complex.
17:25. Bronze medalist of the European Championship Ivan Bukinpaired with Alexandra Stepanova, examines the judges' marks in anticipation of the awards ceremony.
17:15. Silver medalist of the European Championship Dmitry Solovyov, paired with Ekaterina Bobrova, shared his impressions of the performance with the correspondent of "Championship" Mikhail Chesalin.
“On the whole, we are satisfied with the rental. There was only a blot on the second support, which turned out to be not very clean. Maybe we performed less emotionally than at the Russian Championship, but still at a good level. We already know what to work on next, and we have time to tweak and add something. We will pay even more attention to rumba, because we do not want to miss out on those precious points, the absence of which can lead to unpleasant consequences... After the short program, we were angry with ourselves. But we were encouraged by the fact that there is competition in Russia. It doesn’t allow us to relax. We know that guys are stepping on our heels, getting stronger. This also helps us to move forward. "
17:00 ... The free ice dancing competition at the European Championships in Moscow has ended. The victory was predictably won by the French duo Gabriela Papadakis / Guillaume Sizeron for a clear advantage. And the top three were supplemented by two Russian pairs - Ekaterina Bobrova / Dmitry Solovyov and Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin... Another pair of ours Tiffany Zagorski / Jonathan Gurreiro took sixth place.
17:00. There are already quite a lot of spectators in the stands. A full house is quite possible today. Although it should be noted that the multi-colored seats "Megasport" great masking voids.
16:50 ... The souvenir shop has a wide selection of everything that will help spectators remember the European Championship with pleasure: from magnets to large cups.
16:40 ... While we are waiting for the main battle of the evening in women's single skating, the fate of medals in ice dancing is being decided at the moment. Russian couple Tiffany Zagorski / Jonathan Gurreiro has already completed her free skate and is now in third place. In the worst case they will be sixth, which is little progress, as after the short program, the pair was only eighth.
16:30. Information stands, installed at almost every entrance to the stands, tell the audience about the results and the program of the competition.
16:15 ... Official poster of the European Championship. Moscow sights change in the background, but the figure skater's profile remains. Many entertain themselves by trying to guess who it belongs to and agree that there is something Italian about it.
16:00. Hello dear figure skating fans. The European Figure Skating Championships 2018 is coming to an end, and for a dessert crazy in its splendor, we get a free program for women. And this means - the battle between Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova. A deafening event in the world of figure skating, to miss which is to commit a small crime. "Championship" starts online broadcast from "Megasport", stay with us and find out everything!
58 - Inner news page
8:52 21.01.2018
The European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow brought the Russian national team nine medals - two gold, four silver and three bronze.
As part of russian team at the European Championship 2018 were:
Alina Zagitova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Maria Sotskova (women's single skating),
Dmitry Aliev, Mikhail Kolyada, Alexander Samarin (male),
Natalia Zabiyako - Alexander Enbert, Ksenia Stolbova - Fedor Klimov, Evgenia Tarasova - Vladimir Morozov (pair skating),
Ekaterina Bobrova - Dmitry Soloviev, Tiffany Zagorski - Jonathan Gureiro, Alexandra Stepanova - Ivan Bukin (ice dancing).
The culmination of the tournament was the denouement of the women's competition, in which the winner of the Grand Prix Final and the champion of Russia Alina Zagitova won and inflicted the first defeat in two years and three months, two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, leaving her with silver.
The European Championship ended on Saturday evening. In pair skating, the entire podium turned out to be Russian - Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov won gold, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov won silver, Natalia Zabiyako and Alexander Enbert won bronze. In men's single skating, Dmitry Aliev won silver, Mikhail Kolyada won bronze. In ice dancing, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov won silver, Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin won bronze.
The "iron" ones survive
Medvedeva and Zagitova held an official training session on the spare ice of the Megasport arena on Friday evening. The usual formal training - but with the exception of two nuances. Firstly, it was the second training session that day, and the rest of the strongest skaters at the European Championships decided to skip it. The first, the morning one, was quite enough for them - the day between the short and free programs is not in vain called a "day of rest".
Secondly, and this is the most striking thing, the training of Medvedeva and Zagitova did not carry any hint of any relaxation. Half an hour, 40 minutes passed, and the skaters, under the guidance of a strict, attentive and at the same time knowing when to joke, trainer Eteri Tutberidze, all churned out and stamped their cascades of cosmic complexity. Others would have been taken away long ago - and Medvedev and Zagitova were giving out their "3-3-3".
In this episode - the whole explanation of the phenomenon of figure skaters Tutberidze. At the Khrustalny skating rink, where the group works, only the "iron" ones survive. But on the other hand, they succeed.
Rescue components Costner
Before the release of the strongest group, the performances in the women's free program were like some kind of warm-up or, although it sounds just as offensive, the dancing of a cheerleading group. It's a shame, but, alas, fair. There is an abyss between the top four at the European Championship and the rest.
Maria Sotskova, who took fourth place after the short program, was the first of the contenders for medals on the ice. The Russian woman retained the theoretical chances of competing for a medal, despite the ten-point lag behind the Italian Carolina Costner. To do this, she had to perform an arbitrary skate with the maximum degree of purity and hope for the "gifts" of an experienced rival.
Sotskova coped with her task until the fourth minute of the program. In fact, she was tired already on the third, but endured. And yet she fell on a triple lutz. 132.11 points for the free program meant that Costner had to really screw up in order to lose to Maria.
The Italian started skating with a fall on a triple lutz. Then mistakes on other jumps - "butterflies", landings with blots were drawn in a "jamb" ... However, Costner, as usual, helped out the components, which the judges, despite the failure in technically hire, "poured" from the heart. The reserve after the short program was enough for Carolina to bypass Sotskova. The Russian woman, like a year ago at the European Championships in Ostrava, remained fourth.
Interchange
Finally, the moment of the main intrigue of the entire European Championship came - which of the two Russian contenders for the Pyeongchang gold will be stronger at a rehearsal in Moscow? Alina Zagitova was the first to enter the ice, ahead of Evgenia Medvedev by 1.7 points.
For the entire European Championship, including training, she did not make a single mistake. Free skating was no exception - Zagitova, from the first to the last movement of the skate, performed it in full accordance with how it was intended. The judges rated the performance of the Russian champion as a record 157.97 points for her. And this meant that the two-time world champion had no room for error. Moreover, she had to get an estimate on the verge of her own world record of 160 points.
Medvedeva's very first jump - a flip - turned out to be imperfect. And for her to win, she had to get judicial "pluses" on each element. The next jump, Lutz, as the technical protocol later showed, was performed with a technical error (an unclear edge on the take-off). On this, in fact, the struggle was over. The rest of the program Medvedev carried out without errors, but outwardly difficult. According to the skater, she is not worried about an injured leg, but the forced break in terms of functional training could not pass without a trace. The arbitrators gave her 154.29 - 3.68 points less than Zagitova.
Thus, Zagitova became the European champion in her first adult season in her career. Her winning streak continues, but Medvedeva suffered her first defeat since November 2015, when she finished second at the Moscow Grand Prix stage. She, like then, has silver.
Bobrova and Solovyov came out with sporting malice
Earlier on Saturday, the French duo Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Sizeron took a landslide victory in ice dancing, breaking two world records - in the free program (121.87) and in total (203.16).
Bobrova and Soloviev managed to make a comeback from fourth place to second, having achieved 112.7 points in an arbitrary dance, although they made a small mistake when leaving support. As a result, they received 187.13 points from the judges. Stepanova and Bukin also scored pure free and the best marks in the season, but lost about two points to their compatriots (184.86).
“We are encouraged by the fact that there is competition within the national team,” Solovyov noted. “We know that the guys are stepping on our heels, this does not allow us to relax, it moves forward. in this condition".
Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte had an unsuccessful free program and took fourth place (180.65), another Russian pair Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro settled in sixth position (168.45).
Tarasova and Morozov - heroes of Thursday
The first awards of the championship were played out on Thursday, the entire podium in pair skating was taken by russian athletes... Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov became two-time European champions, having issued the second title in a row.
"The heroes of the day are Tarasova and Morozov and their comeback from fifth place," said the two-time olympic champion Maxim Trankov. "They showed very confident skating and decent scores."
The champions after the short program were fifth, more than five points ahead of the interim leaders, the French Vanessa James and Morgan Sipre, but according to the results of both programs, Tarasova and Morozov scored 221.6 points and won gold.
The closing ceremony of the European Figure Skating Championship took place in Moscow. The fans will remember him for the unconditional leadership of Russia. There were ups and downs, but the result of 9 prize medals out of 12 possible once again confirmed the continental leadership of Russian athletes on the ice arena.
The European Figure Skating Championships, held in Moscow, presented the fans exactly what they expected from it: brilliant performances, intense struggle and, of course, a whole bunch of prize medals. January 21 passed demonstration performances and the closing ceremony. We recall the brightest events of the last continental tournament, which became a real pre-Olympic revelation for fans of Russian figure skating.
The girls demonstrated their free program at the championship on January 20. This battle closed the competition part and made a beautiful final for the European Championship. The first places, as expected, went to Russian athletes. Many figure skating fans were looking forward to the confrontation between the leaders - Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova. The surprise was that the 15-year-old debutante beat the two-time world champion.
With a total number of points for the short and free program of 238.24 points, she took gold Alina Zagitova... Favorite of the public - Evgenia Medvedeva lagged behind her competitor by only 6 points and with a score of 232.86 points for the first time in the last 2 years she received a silver medal. Bronze went to the Italian athlete - Carolina Costner, whose result was 204.25 points.
It should be noted that the outcome of the battle between Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova cannot be considered final. Still, Medvedeva did not easily get her first competition after an injury during the Grand Prix championship. The girl returned to the ice, but did not have time to fully recover. Meanwhile, Zagitova almost broke Medvedeva's world record in the free program. But everything will be decided olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Results of the European Figure Skating Championships 2018 in the men's category
The results of the men's competition at the European Championships were announced on January 19. And here the Russian fans were in for a complete disappointment in the favorite. Mikhail Kolyada became the winner of the Russian championship, but he was not ready for more large-scale competitions, and his performance was a failure as a leader.
The Spaniard is the winner in the men's category Javier Fernandez with a result of 295.55 points. Gold at the European Championships was the sixth in the skater's career. Dmitry Aliev took responsibility for including Russia in the top three and showed a decent result. With a score of 274.06 points, he took second place. As for Mikhail Kolyada, after failing in the free program, he received a bronze medal with a score of 258.90 points.
Results of the European Figure Skating Championships 2018 among sports couples
The very first competition at the European Championship was completed by sports couples and the results were already known on January 19. In this category, Russian figure skaters are celebrating a complete victory. Three couples representing Russia took the entire podium.
The leader in the opposition of sports couples became Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov... With a total score of 221.60 points, the pair took gold medals. At the same time, according to the results of the short program, Tarasova and Morozov took only fifth place, but defeated all competitors during the free program.
In addition to them, two other pairs from Russia were also among the champions. Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, gold medalists of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, received silver medals. Bronze went to Natalya Zabiyako and Alexander Enbert, whose result was 210.18 points.
Results of the European Figure Skating Championships 2018 in ice dancing
The competition in the category "Dancing on ice" ended on January 20. And here Russian athletes did not leave their homeland without medals. And although they did not manage to achieve absolute superiority, the results still delighted the fans.
Gold in the competition was won by the leaders among dance couples, representatives of France Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Sizeron... In addition to winning with a total of 203.16 points, the French also hold the record for the short program. The second place went to the Russian couple Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Soloviev, favorites of the Russian championship. Moreover, after the free program, they managed to move from fourth place to second. Bronze also went to Russian athletes, a pair of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin.
In total, the European Figure Skating Championship brought Russia 9 prize medals, 2 of which were gold. Thus, Russian athletes have once again proved their leadership in this sport. The previously triumphant final with nine medals had already happened in 1998 and 1999. Undoubtedly, the leaders of the European Championship will go to the Olympics in Pyeongchang to return with a victory again.