Alena Kostornaia led the Russian “triple A team” to another podium sweep as competition wrapped up at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships in Graz (AUT) on Saturday. Anna Shcherbakova claimed the silver and the bronze went to Alexandra Trusova. All three competed in their first senior-level ISU Championships.
-1201925015.webp)
Ladies Podium at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
Kostornaia opened her program to “Twilight” and “Supermassive Black Hole” with a big triple Axel-double toeloop combination followed by another triple Axel and five more triples and exquisite spins and footwork. The only error came when she missed her last jump, a triple Lutz. Kostornaia ranked second in the Free Skating with 155.89 points, but held on to first place overall at 240.81 points. “I am just really happy that I am here at all and ended up on podium. When I came to this competition, I didn‘t think about my chances to win. I just wanted to deliver decent performances,” the 16-year-old said. “All I felt in the practices - the pain the humiliation, first and most of all it all was worth it.”
-1201919915.webp)
Alena KOSTORNAIA (RUS) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
Skating to “Six Gnossiennes” and “Firebird”, Shcherbakova hit a quad Lutz-triple toe and four clean triple jumps including a triple flip-Euler-triple Salchow combination. However, the Russian Champion fell on another quad Lutz attempt and underrotated the quad flip and a triple loop. She scored 159.81 points and won the Free Skating segment, but remained in second overall at 237.76 points. “I was surprised and upset, the beginning was so good, the first jumps were so good but then the emotions went down because I was not raising the program, so it was not what I was looking for,” the ISU Grand Prix Final silver medalist noted.
-1201921114.webp)
Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
Trusova went for three quads as well in her routine to “Game of Thrones” and landed quad toe-triple toe as well as five triples, but missed the quad Lutz and the second quad toe attempt. The ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalist earned 150.39 points and totaled 225.34 points. “I didn’t think about placements. I just wanted to perform my program well but it didn‘t happen. I want to train and to improve,” the 15-year-old told the press. “I am really pleased I got on the podium and that we at our young age are here at Europeans and will go to Worlds”, she added.
-1201921156.webp)
Alexandra TRUSOVA (RUS) at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
Alexia Paganini (SUI) came fourth with a solid performance except for one fall (192.88 points). Emmi Peltonen (FIN) placed fifth on 181.79 points followed by Ekaterina Ryabova (AZE) in sixth (181.49 points).
Event Schedule
The schedule of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020 is as follows:
Sunday, January 26: Exhibition Gala
Where to watch and follow the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2020?
Viewers will be able to watch either via their national broadcaster / channel and for countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the ISU Newsletter or Press Releases to receive the latest information and the “Where to Watch” news. You can also subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive notifications when live streams start or new videos are published.
Highlights, clips, interviews, behind the scenes:
YouTube: SkatingISU
Facebook: @ISU Figure Skating
Twitter: @ISU_Figure
Follow the conversation with #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating
For more information, full entry lists and results please see the ISU website and the official event website.
