Daniel Grassl of Italy wins gold in the Men's Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU
Daniel Grassl of Italy raced to the gold medal and a place in the history books, claiming the first ISU Grand Prix title in the Men’s event for his country, at the John Wilson Trophy. Latvia’s Deniss Vasiljevs earned the silver, his first ISU Grand Prix medal and the first for Latvia while Shun Sato of Japan rose from fourth to take the bronze.
Grassl, who stood in second place, following the Short Program, opened his performance to “Struggling Brain” and “Korea Town” with a quadruple Lutz, but then fell on his quad flip. The Italian Champion recovered to nail seven triple jumps including two Axels and showed off unusual positions in his spins.
The reigning ISU European silver medalist posted a season’s best with 177.50 points and accumulated 264.35 points overall to move up to first place.
Grassl’s strategy had paid off – he changed his planned program content right after the warm-up.
“After the six minutes (warm-up) I felt very bad, I’ve never felt so bad,” Grassl revealed. “It was a very important competition for me, but I tried not to think about it and the six minutes was not my best. I planned to do three quads in my program, but after the six minutes I said: ‘you go with two, because I don't feel good right now’.
“I tried to do my job and think jump by jump and to concentrate and believe in myself. When I got out on to the ice I thought, focus, you have to fight again.”
Grassl collected 15 points in Sheffield and, after coming fourth at Skate America, has 24 points overall. He will have to wait and see if that is enough to get him to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.
Vasiljevs delivered an exciting performance to “The New World Symphony” by Antonin Dvorak, reeling off two triple Axels and five triples, as well as level-four spins and footwork. He only slightly underrotated and two-footed his opening quadruple Salchow. The crowd was on their feet to celebrate the performance.
Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia takes silver in the Men's Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU
The 2022 ISU European bronze medalist achieved a season’s best of 171.55 points and totaled 254.56 points to pull up from third to second.
“I am here for the thrill of performance. I really enjoy figure skating, my vision of it. Performing like today, connecting with the people and getting such a warm reception is one of those things I really cherish about our sport. That is something that warms my heart and really motivates and inspires me to continue,” Vasiljevs said.
“I am very happy that today I have the first Latvian Grand Prix medal, but that's not focus I feel the most satisfied with. It's the feeling, the standing ovation, people cheering, the clapping. This energy is something way above, beyond what you get just by achieving something, it is something to live for, to strive for - that this continues.”
Vasiljevs earned 13 points in Sheffield, but had zero points from Skate Canada where he ranked 10th.
Sato took a hard fall on his quad Lutz, but then rallied to land a quad toe-double toe and another quad toe, as well as four clean triple jumps, in his routine set to “Red Violin” to score 166.35 points. Overall he netted 249.03 points.
Shun Sato of Japan claims bronze in the Men's Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU
“I didn't skate my short and free program without mistakes, but even the mistakes I made didn’t affect my performance and I went through until the end. So I'm quite happy about it,” Sato said.
“My next event is the Grand Prix in Finland. There will be good skaters like Ilia Malinin, and I will try to do my best to compete with those skaters.”
The Japanese Skater pocketed 11 points and will compete again in Espoo in two weeks.
Koshiro Shimada (JPN) came fourth on 247.17 points followed by teammate Tatsuya Tsuboi (226.13 points). Overnight leader Roman Sadovsky (CAN) dropped to sixth after making some errors (219.35 points).
Schedule of the event
The schedule is as follows:
Friday, November 11: Pairs & Men’s Short Program
Saturday, November 12: Women’s Short Program, Rhythm Dance, Pairs & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 13: Women’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Exhibition Gala
The MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield (GBR) November 10-13, 2022, is the fourth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Great Britain hosts an ISU Grand Prix (senior level) event for the first time.
More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the Series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
Selection Criteria
In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
Grand Prix Standings
Men Women Ice Dance Pair Skating
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
21 - 23 Oct, 2022 Skate America, Norwood (USA)
28 – 30 Oct, 2022 Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)
04 - 06 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
11 - 13 Nov, 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)
18 - 20 Nov, 2022 NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)
25 - 27 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
08 - 11 Dec, 2022 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
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