ISU

Russia’s reigning World Champions Anastasia Mishina/Aleksandr Galliamov shone in the Pairs Short Program at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Wednesday to take the lead ahead of teammates Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov and  Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitri Kozlovskii.

2020 World Junior Champion  Andrei Mozalev of Russia came to Tallinn as a last minute replacement and took the lead in the Men’s Short Program as the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 opened in Tallinn (EST).

Europe’s best figure skaters are getting ready for the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia (January 10-16), the last opportunity to test themselves at a major stage before the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing (CHN). Tallinn will host the ISU European Figure Skating Championships for the second time since 2010 and has hosted as well the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2015 and 2020. The ISU European Championships are back after the event had to be cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Twenty years after Steven Bradbury famously won Australia’s first Olympic Winter Games gold medal, an unassuming skater from New Brunswick, Canada is aiming to put Short Track back on the map in the land down under at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

The year 2022 kicked off with the exciting National Championships of Canada, the United States of America and the Republic of Korea. Canada, the USA and Korea named their Olympic and ISU Championships teams following Nationals.

Piotr Michalski (POL) and Bart Swings (BEL) ended the Netherlands’ unbeaten run at the European Championships on Sunday. After two days of non-stop home wins, Polish sprinter Michalski became the first non-Dutchman to take a gold medal in Heerenveen, winning the 500m to seal a career-first international title. Swings then followed suit winning the Mass Start for Belgium, after Kjeld Nuis (NED) had started the day winning his first European title in the 1500m.

The Dutch women won three more gold medals on Sunday to conclude the European Championships having taken all titles on offer in Heerenveen. Jutta Leerdam retained her 1000m title, Ireen Wüst, Antoinette de Jong and Irene Schouten seized the third consecutive Team Pursuit title for the Dutch, and Schouten rounded off the tournament defending her Mass Start title.

ISU European Speed Skating Championships 2022 Heerenveen (NED) - Day 2 Femke Kok (NED) and Antoinette de Jong (NED) won their first European titles in Heerenveen on Saturday. Kok took gold ahead of Angelina Golikova (RUS) and Daria Kachanova (RUS), who were relieved to skate at all after being quarantined this week due to positive Covid-19 tests in the Russian squad. De Jong concluded Saturday’s action with gold in the 1500m.

Patrick Roest (NED) won the European 5000m title on Saturday as Dutch speed skating legend Sven Kramer said farewell to an empty Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen, finishing sixth in his final 5000m race. Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) missed out on a 5000m ticket for the Olympic Games after teammate Hallgeir Engebråten was faster in Heerenveen, taking bronze behind Roest and Jorrit Bergsma (NED). Earlier on Saturday, the Dutch men claimed European Team Sprint gold.

Thomas Krol (NED) won his first international title in the 1000m, edging out arch-rival Kjeld Nuis (NED) by 0.09s at the European Championships on Friday. Kai Verbij completed the all-Dutch podium at 0.17s from the winner. Earlier on Friday, Sven Kramer, Marcel Bosker and Patrick Roest handed the Netherlands their third consecutive European Team Pursuit title.

Irene Schouten (NED) started the European Championships with yet another victory to maintain her unbeaten record in the 3000m this season. Finishing in three minutes and 56.62 seconds, the 29-year-old endurance specialist kept silver medalist Antoinette de Jong (NED) 3.17s behind. Earlier on Friday, Poland’s Andzelika Wójcik, Kaja Ziomek and Karolina Bosiek kicked off the tournament by winning gold in the Women’s Team Sprint.

Canada is aiming for a milestone at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. The North American Speed Skating powerhouse needs one more gold to claim its tenth Olympic Long Track title. At this season’s four World Cups, the Canadian team showed greater depth than the selection four years ago at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeonchang, when Ted-Jan Bloemen was the only Canadian medalist.

With the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing only a month away, the European Speed Skating elite settles down in Heerenveen for the ISU European Speed Skating Championships on 7-9 January. After last season’s combined European Sprint and Allround Championships, the tournament will be held in single distance format this year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the event will be held without spectators.

Spain has two world class Ice Dance couples in Olivia Smart/Adrian Diaz and Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin, but only one spot for the Olympic Winter Games in February and the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in March. Hurtado/Khaliavin finished 11th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2021 and would have needed to have placed 10th at least in order to give Spain the chance to earn a second spot at the Olympic qualifying competition last September.

The International Skating Union (ISU), together with its partner Art on Ice, will present the third edition of the ISU Skating Awards in 2023 by way of an exciting show featuring spectacular performances, exclusive musical entertainment, as well as a unique ceremony.