Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov of Russia skated to a strong lead in the Pairs Short Program. France’s Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres finished second followed by Aliona Savchenko/Bruno Massot of Germany.
Tarasova/Morozov’s performance to “Glam Electro Swing” was highlighted by a big triple twist, side by side triple toeloop, a throw triple loop and level-four elements. The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Champions posted a new personal best with 80.82 points. “From competition to competition this program is working better, the emotions are stronger and the marks are higher. We are moving forward. We’ve worked very hard before the European Championships and we had some good practice run-throughs. We hope to show what we’ve worked on tomorrow”, Morozov told the press.
Skating last out of the 18 couples, James/Cipres nailed a side by side triple Salchow, triple twist, throw triple flip in their routine to “Earned It” to score 74.18 points, a new personal best. “I don’t think anyone is happier than us right now. I didn’t expect any placement, but I expected us to do as well as we did in practice. I told Morgan that after this skate, we would be happy no matter what scores will come up. Last year, we were not prepared to be in a medal position, but we are much stronger and much more mature now”, James commented.
Performing to “That Man” by Caro Emerald, Savchenko/Massot produced a huge triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and throw double Axel, but Savchenko fell in the step sequence. The reigning European silver medalists picked up 73.76 points. “One week ago we started doing throw jumps. Coming back was hard but also easy at the same time, because I have a lot of experience and I know how to prepare. It is too bad we lost a lot of time, but we are strong athletes and we are always giving a 100 percent. I am really excited to be here”, Savchenko, who had suffered an ankle injury at Trophee Bompard, explained.
Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov (RUS), who had missed the first half of the season as she recovered from injury, are sitting in fourth after she fell on the throw triple flip, but remain in medal contention at 73.70 points. Natalia Zabiiako/Alexander Enbert (RUS) are not far behind in fifth place with 72.38 points and Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek (ITA) round up the top six at 66.53 points. 16 couples advanced to the Free Skating.
The ISU European Figure Skating Championships continue Thursday with the Short Dance and the Pairs Free Skating. For more information, full entry lists and results please see: www.isu.org and the official event website http://ostrava2017.eu/en/. #EuroFigure