Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitri Kozlovskii (FSR) came out on top in the Pairs Short Program battle at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm (SWE) on Wednesday. Two-time and reigning ISU World Champions Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China are sitting in second less than three points behind while Anastasia Mishina/ Aleksandr Galliamov (FSR) placed third.
Boikova/Kozlovskii put out an excellent performance to a waltz from the “Howl’s Moving Castle” soundtrack, hitting a side by side triple Salchow, triple twist and throw triple flip. The 2020 European Champions collected a level four for the twist, lift, death spiral, footwork and spin to score 80.16 points.
The reigning European Champions are well positioned to win their first World title ©International Skating Union (ISU)
“We feel great, it was the first day of the comeback of the big figure skating event into this world after the quarantine. We are so thrilled we are a part of this history. It’s a reincarnation and a rebirth of our favorite sport,” Kozlovskii shared. “We are glad we were finally able to show the work that we have been doing the whole year,” Boikova added.
Skating to “Blues for Klook”, Sui/Han produced a throw triple flip, triple twist and earned a level four for four elements. However, Sui under-rotated the side by side triple toe and stepped out of the landing. The 2018 Olympic silver medalists netted 77.62 points.
Wenjing Sui and Cong Han occupy second place with a score of 77.62 ©International Skating Union (ISU)
“I think we did well, we missed some things and we enjoyed the competition. As for the audience - we still see the teammates and some athletes who came to watch. We just enjoyed it like before”, Sui commented. “I think this year’s hard training gave a good foundation and it’s the first official international competition for us this season. Though we only trained for a short time we did manage to perform well”, Han added.
Mishina/Galliamov’s performance to “Esmeralda” featured a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and side by side triple Salchow. The 2019 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalists earned 75.79 points.
Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov complete the top three heading into the Free Program ©International Skating Union (ISU)
“We are thrilled being in such a big competition, we will get ready for tomorrow and we are happy with the skate, we will try to set ourselves for tomorrow and go in with a clear head”, Galliamov commented.
Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov lie just outside the medals in fourth ©International Skating Union (ISU)
Two-time World silver medalists Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (FSR) are currently ranked fourth after Tarasova landed forward on the triple toe and almost fell (71.46 points). Cheng Peng/Yang Jin (CHN) came fifth on 71.32 points, with Peng also struggling with the triple toe. Ashley Cain-Gribble/ Timothy LeDuc (USA) round off the top six (64.94 points).
For more information, full entry lists and results please see the ISU website and the official event website. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating.
