ISU

The last spots for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final are on the line this week at the  Rostelecom Cup in Sochi (RUS), the sixth and final event of the ISU Grand Prix series 2021/22. ISU World Champions Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov (RUS) and Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov (RUS), along with ISU World silver medalist Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS), headline the event and hope to secure their tickets to Osaka (JPN) for the Final next month.

It's now or never for the world’s top Short Track Speed Skaters as the last ISU World Cup of the season takes place in Dordrecht, Netherlands from November 25-28. The final places at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games will be won and lost.

Viewers will be able to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series either via their national broadcaster / channel or via the Skating ISU YouTube Channel for countries where there is no broadcaster agreement in place.

Ning Zhongyan (CHN) is gearing up well for the Olympic Games on home ice in February. The 22-year-old Chinese middle-distance specialist won his career-second ISU World Cup Speed Skating gold in the Men’s 1500m in Stavanger on Sunday. Tatsuya Shinhama (JPN) won his second 500m race of the new World Cup season, but Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) held on to the lead in the ranking, finishing second and only 0.03s behind the Japanese World Sprint Champion.

After a bronze medal in Friday’s 1000m and a silver in Saturday’s 500m, Nao Kodaira (JPN) completed the medal set with gold in Sunday’s 500m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating in Stavanger, Norway. Coming second after three victories, Erin Jackson (USA) retained the lead in the 500m World Cup classification. Miho Takagi (JPN) strengthened her lead in the 1500m World Cup with a back-to-back win following her success in Poland last week.

After the wild party for Shaolin Sandor Liu’s 26th birthday on Saturday, with the Hungarian favourite winning the 500m, Sunday was a more subdued affair for the home crowd. Shaolin and his brother Shaoang Liu (HUN) suffered a series of crashes and penalties to leave the locals disappointed. 

Suzanne Schulting (NED) completed a remarkable grand slam of titles on Sunday at the ISU World Cup in Debrecen, adding the 1000m gold medal to the 1500m and 500m she had won on Saturday. 

2021 ISU World bronze medalists Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitri Kozlovskii of Russia secured their first Grand Prix victory this season Saturday at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble. Teammates Iuliia Artemeva/Mikhail Nazarychev took the silver, a step up from their bronze in Turin. Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) moved up from fourth to earn the bronze.

Nils van der Poel (SWE) received the Oscar Mathisen Award for the most impressive Speed Skating Performance of last season, just after he had showcased one of the most impressive performances of the current season in Stavanger today. The Swedish World Record Holder was in a league of his own in the only 10,000m race of this World Cup Season, leaving the rest of the field more than 17 seconds behind. Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) won the Men’s 500 metres and China took Team Sprint Gold.

Following her maiden World Cup win in Poland last week, Erin Jackson (USA) claimed her third Gold Medal in a row in the Women’s 500 metres during the second day of the World Cup in Stavanger. Nao Kodaira (JPN) finished second, with Kaja Ziomek (POL) – The 24-year-old Sprinter who would later win in the Women’s Team Sprint – finishing third.

The 2021 World silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan scored his second ISU Grand Prix victory of the season at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble. Shun Sato rose from fourth to second to make it one-two for the Japanese Men, while Jason Brown (USA) remained in third place to take the bronze.

Suzanne Schulting (NED) is a skater who it seems can do no wrong. At the 2020-21 World Championships, she elevated herself to another level up from her rivals, winning all three individual gold medals – the 1500m, 1000m and 500m.

“I think I deserve a cake,” said Shaolin Sandor Liu (HUN) as he came off the ice on Saturday at the ISU World Cup Short Track in Debrecen – and the local hero will certainly never forget his 26th birthday. 

Four-time World Champions Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron of France dominated the Internationaux de France and danced to their sixth gold medal at their home Grand Prix event ahead of Canada’s Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier.

2021 ISU World Champion Anna Shcherbakova of Russia skated off with her second ISU Grand Prix gold medal this season at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble Saturday.