The third stage of the season, held in Beijing, brought the Russian team two golds and two bronzes. Mikhail Kolyada beat Jin Boyan and Javier Fernandez, showing a particularly good short program - he was the first among all Russians to score more than a hundred points for it.

Alina Zagitova won her first Grand Prix stage at the age of 15. She was accompanied on the podium by Elena Radionova, who managed to take third place without falling. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov also won bronze, although they could have aimed for at least silver.

“Kolyada is fighting for a place in the sun”

— From stage to stage, Russian men show good results. Were you surprised by Kolyada’s performance or did you know that he was capable of much if he performed all the elements cleanly, at least in the short program?

— I really count on Misha. I like his skating. I hope that Kolyada will only mature in the future and become a serious rival for Javier Fernandez and Yuzuru Hanyu. We are used to seeing these people at the top, but I hope that our singles men will now regularly compete for prizes. But Kolyada’s victory was not a revelation for me. He is progressing: for example, this year he learned the quadruple Lutz. It may not always work out, but Mikhail’s willingness to take risks is encouraging. A man fights for his place in the sun.

“At the same time, the Chinese Jin Boyan and the Spaniard Javier Fernandez themselves made a large number of mistakes and thus cleared the way for Kolyada to victory.

- Thank God he was so lucky. But he himself skated perfectly. If the opponents had skated the same way, the situation would have been different, but it is important that Kolyada withstood this pressure and coped with the task. He fell the least and won.

Also on topic

Kolyada’s golden ambitions, Zagitova’s victory and a world record in dancing: the Grand Prix stage of figure skating was held in China

The third stage of the Figure Skating Grand Prix series has ended in China. The Russians won in two disciplines. Mikhail Kolyada took first...

— What impression did Fernandez make on you? He complained of stomach pain, but went on the ice.

“I really like him as a “rider.” The Spaniard sometimes pulls off the most difficult jumps. An ordinary skater wouldn’t even fight for them, but he doesn’t give up. But this time Javier was unlucky. Maybe he really was poisoned. Anything can happen. It is important to understand that Fernandez is always moving forward. I am sure that at the European Championships and the Olympic Games we will see decent skating from him.

— Alexander Zhulin believes that in the team tournament at the Olympic Games everything will be decided by the duel between Kolyada and Patrick Chan. Do you agree that the Russian is now unconditionally ahead of the Canadian?

— I can’t agree with Alexander. If Chan jumps all five of his quads, Kolyada will have a hard time. But if Patrick makes mistakes, Misha may have a chance. Of course I'm rooting for him. For Russia.

“Zagitova cannot be compared with Lipnitskaya”

— Does Alina Zagitova confirm her status as second in the world after Evgenia Medvedeva? She fell on the cascade in the short program, but after that she still did it.

- Who doesn’t have breakdowns? We are all people, not robots. The girl has just reached the highest level of world figure skating. Of course, the names of her rivals may weigh heavily on her, because she has never met opponents of this level before. But I hope that Alina has a good, bright future.

— Didn’t too much responsibility fall on Zagitova’s shoulders at that age? Many even call her the second Yulia Lipnitskaya.

- Still, it’s hard to compare them, because Lipnitskaya had a more difficult time. She immediately went to the Olympic Games. Zagitova has time to gradually get used to it. Still, it’s difficult at 15 years old to go on the ice with such rivals. Figure skating sharks can eat you with just one look. But Alina is fighting. She has a good sense of pose, is very choreographic and flexible. And Zagitova’s jumping is simply brilliant.

— Elena Radionova managed to return to her previous level, but at the same time she could still have performed better. Is she guaranteed a place in the national team or will she face a battle with Maria Sotskova?

— Today, Russia has a very strong bench in women’s singles skating. I am glad about this, because in Soviet times it was in this aspect that we always lagged behind. And now - ahead of the rest. No matter who goes, Russians will definitely be among the prizes. As for Radionova, she is beautiful and skates well. Sotskova is also a good girl. They are all wonderful. The main thing is not to disrupt the jumps. There are no complaints about the girls at all. Dancing and single skating for men raise more questions.

— Some foreign athletes showed themselves clearly. Who do you think looks the strongest? Caroline Costner, Gabriel Daleman, Wakaba Higuchi, Caitlin Osmond?

— I really like Japanese women. They ride well and at high speed. In jumping, they are in no way inferior to American and Canadian women. Another question is that the Russians have chosen a very smart policy - they do all their jumps in the second half of the program and thereby earn additional points.

“It’s hard for Bobrova and Solovyov to count on medals”

— Chinese couple Sui Wenjing and Han Cong scored the most serious points this season. Is it really possible to bypass them?

- There are no invincibles. The main thing is to prepare for the fight. I think our coaches will draw conclusions based on the results of the stage in China and do something. But, of course, the Chinese are handsome.

— Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov became third, slightly behind the Americans. Do they have a chance to compete for medals at the Olympic Games?

“They definitely won’t be able to get around them.” For this to happen, a miracle must happen, for example, everyone must lie down, as in the case of Kolyada. Even winning bronze will be difficult. With the way our guys ride today, I don’t see any options.

— Tiffany Zagorski and Jonathan Gureiro came fourth, albeit not with the highest scores. It is clear that in Russia two couples have almost been determined who will go to the Olympic Games. Who would you prefer in the debate for the third ticket to the European Championships?

- Why are we talking about this as a fact that happened? In Russia nothing has been determined yet. The national championship has not yet taken place. The fight will be intense. In figure skating, we don’t like to discuss such moments in advance and think about anything in advance. This is a bad omen.

BEIJING, November 2 - R-Sport, Anatoly Samokhvalov. the 2017/18 season will continue with the third stage in China, the winner of the Junior Grand Prix Final of last season and the world champion among juniors, Russian, will make her debut in the series, the task of reaching the Final will be solved by the six-time champions of Russia in ice dancing and.

Zagitova's debut

Zagitova's first start at a status adult competition is one of the most intriguing events of the Olympic season. At the September Challenger Lombardia Trophy, Zagitova beat Japanese Wakaba Higuchi by less than a point, with whom she will fight again in Beijing. Then the Russian woman, for whom this tournament was her debut at the adult international level, scored 218.46 points and asked not to overestimate her victory.

“While I still don’t realize that I’m already competing at the adult level, I entered these competitions as if it were a normal start, just like last season,” the athlete said. Then she added: “I’ve done very little so far.”

Higuchi will try to get to the “home” Grand Prix Final in Beijing, since at her first stage in Moscow she, having scored 10 points less than at the beginning of the season in Italy (207.17 versus 217.63), became third and has a chance to perform in Nagoya on December 7-10.

Elena Radionova's chances for the decisive start are illusory, since she was unable to perform a loop in the capital's Megasport due to an unfortunate accident, and also made an under-rotation on the sheepskin coat in the cascade and an unclear edge on the flip, taking fourth place. “It seems to me that Lena overcame a lot of things. She looked decent here (in Moscow),” the words of coach Radionova inspire optimism.

Axel is ready

The “typical example” of a skater experiencing a decline after success begins his Grand Prix season in China. These are the words her coach used to describe the 2015 world champion. “I hope that she will appear before us in the form of a Phoenix bird once again,” Mishin said about Tuktamysheva at the beginning of the season and assured that “she has almost completed a triple Axel.”

The three and a half rotation axel, which Tuktamysheva is capable of, but which she lost a long time ago, is considered almost a panacea for the failures of this skater. “Tuktamysheva can win and get into the team if she has 3.5,” noted Honored Coach of Russia Tatyana Tarasova, referring to the athlete’s inclusion in the Russian Olympic team for the Pyeongchang Games.

For some time now, Tuktamysheva only had an axel of two and a half turns. But during training on Thursday, Elizaveta performed three and a half turns and scored a clean exit, and the athlete’s coach Mishin confirmed that the student will include this jump in the competitive part of the Cup of China. "Did you see Axel?" - he asked the correspondent of the R-Sport agency.

If there are blemishes from their rivals, the Japanese may take the podium - Marin Honda, who lost gold at the 2017 Junior World Championships to Zagitova, and Mai Mihara, as well as Canadian Gabrielle Daleman.

Kolyada gets high again?

The favorite of the men's tournament is the two-time world champion Spaniard, who started the season with a victory at the “Autumn Classic” in Canada, and primarily over his main rival, the Japanese. True, at that tournament, the Olympic champion Sochi was dismantled without performing either a quadruple Lutz or a quadruple loop, and Xavi himself failed a quadruple Salchow.

Fernandez's main competitor in China will be the owner of the ice, Jin Boyang, who won the Finlandia Trophy, having made enough mistakes on quadruple jumps. Interestingly, the Chinese were not the first in any of the programs. In the short, he lost to the Russian, who failed his quadruple lutz, and in the free, to the American Vincent Zhou, who performed four quads in the free, including a lutz and a flip.

Both world junior champion Zhou and Kolyada are capable of fighting, if not with Fernandez, then with Jin Boyan for sure. For the Russian figure skater, the start in Beijing will be the second after the Moscow stage, where he won bronze with a lot of mistakes and... a good mood. “Everything happened well. I’m happy. I managed to “ignite” it, and in principle I’m happy with it. I got high. Seriously, I got high normally,” said Kolyada after failures on the quadruple Lutz and Salchow and a fall on the triple Lutz.

"For several competitions in a row we have seen the same thing. It’s time for the athlete to understand what is stopping him. The main thing is that you don’t lie to yourself. But you need to honestly answer the question: what are you happy about? The fact that the two main elements of the program you taught and didn’t learn? Because your opponents are already a lap ahead of you? " Tarasova asked Kolyada in an interview with R-Sport.

If circumstances go well for him, the American Max Aaron can also climb onto the Cup of China podium. Another Russian figure skater Alexander Petrov will perform at the tournament.

Bobrova/Soloviev are rushing to the finals

In the dancer competition, two-time world champions Frenchmen Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron will compete at the Grand Prix. The main contenders for the podium are also Russians Ekaterina Bobrova and , who already won silver at the Moscow stage in the current cycle of the series, and Americans Madison Chalk and Evan Bates.

The Russian pair Tiffany Zagorski/Jonathan Gureiro, who moved from coach Alexander Zhulin to the group of Svetlana Alekseeva and Elena Kustarova in the off-season, will also appear before the Chinese public.

Russia is not represented in the sports pairs tournament this time, and the favorites of the tournament are the current world champions of China, Sui Wenjing/Han Cong, who will compete with compatriots Yu Xiaoyu/Zhang Hao. Third place will most likely be played out in the fight between Italian pairs - between Nicole Della Monica / Matteo Guarise and Valentina Marchei / Ondrej Hotarek. At the stage in Moscow, Markei and Hotarek finished fourth.

Audi Cup of China 2017

Completed

The broadcast has ended 04.11.2017 V 15:47 .

Expert:

Mikhail Kolyada (Russia) was able to win the first victory of his career on the international stage, thanks to the reserve after the short program. Boyang Jin (China) came second with a large number of blots and errors; third place unexpectedly went to Max Aaron (USA). Alexander Petrov finished in eleventh place.

Mikhail Kolyada (Russia) fell from a quadruple lutz, butterfly on a quadruple salchow, a triple axel cascade - triple toe loop, gnawed a quadruple toe loop, but then a butterfly on a triple axel, triple lutz - triple salchow in a cascade, triple loop - triple lutz in a cascade. The gap after the short program was more than enough to maintain the leading position, but the sediment remained.

Boyang Jin (China) made almost all the jumps today, but with blots, stepouts and one fall. I would like to say that everything is bad, but this is only the beginning of a long and exhausting fight for a medal in the Olympic Games.

Javier Fernandez (Spain) failed miserably in his free program today. Of all the planned quadruples, Javier completed only one quadruple Salchow, and that was very difficult. Fourth result in the free program and in terms of total points.

Meanwhile, Max Aaron, thanks to the good performance of his free program, becomes the winner of the Grand Prix stage.

Keiji Tanako (Japan) fell on the step sequence, made a lot of mistakes on the jumping elements and could only score 247.17. Fourth place in terms of total points.

Max Aaron (USA) fought - fought and won with quadruple jumps in the free program. First intermediate place with total points - 259.69.

The performance of Alexander Petrov (Russia) can be characterized by one phrase - he fell four times. Fifth place in the sum of two programs - 186.02.

The second group of participants is on the ice.

Vincent Zhou (USA) almost completed his free program. Quadruple Lutz - triple toe loop in a cascade, quadruple flip with blots on the way out, fall on a quadruple Salchow, quadruple Lutz, triple Axel, quadruple Salchow - double Axel in a cascade, triple Lutz - triple flip at the end of the program.

Grant Hoshtein performed much better in Moscow than in Beijing. The scores speak for themselves, 135.89 for the free program, and in terms of total points 216.44 and this is only second place at the moment.

Alexander Mayorov (Sweden) failed in his free program. Having performed a pure triple axel cascade - double toe loop and “caught a lot of butterflies” instead of jumps.

Kevin Reynolds (Canada) opens the men's free program. Butterfly instead of a quadruple loop, quadruple toe loop, quadruple Salchow cascade - triple toe loop, triple Axel, triple flip - triple toe loop - triple loop (underrot) in a cascade, triple Salchow, triple Lutz cascade - triple loop.

The first group of participants is on the ice.

Mikhail Kolyada (Russia) did everything that depended on him in the short program, deservedly becoming the leader of the competition. Will the skater be able to repeat his success in the free program? If we take into account that during the official training in the morning the athlete easily and naturally performed the quadruple Lutz - triple toe loop cascade, then there is a chance to maintain the lead. We'll find out soon.
Good afternoon, figure skating fans. Anastasia Roshchina works for you.

The third stage of the Figure Skating Grand Prix series will be held in Beijing from November 3-5. Russian athletes will perform in three types of programs, with the exception of pair skating.

At the previous second stage of the Skate Canada Grand Prix, the Russians won 2 medals - silver (Maria Sotskova) and bronze (Alexander Samarin).

The composition of the Russian team “Cup of China”

Men: Mikhail Kolyada, Alexander Petrov

Women: Alina Zagitova, Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva.

Dancing: Ekaterina Bobrova - Dmitry Solovyov, Tiffany Zagorsky - Jonathan Gureiro.

On Tuesday, the Russian team flew to Beijing.

Men's single skating

Mikhail KOLYADA. 22 years old. Coach Valentina Chebotareva. He trains at the Figure Skating Academy in St. Petersburg. Champion of Russia 2017, bronze medalist of the European Championship 2017.

Mikhail Kolyada began the Olympic season with a tournament in Bratislava, where he skated poorly in the short program, but pulled himself together in the free program, which ultimately brought him victory at the competition. In Bratislava, for the first time at competitions, the skater performed the difficult quadruple lutz jump, which he tried last season.

At the next start in the Finnish Espoo “Finland Trophy” the skater was 4th. At the Rostelecom Cup Grand Prix, he became a bronze medalist for the first time in his career. The Chinese Grand Prix will be the second stage of the series for Mikhail. Let us remind you that during the season skaters can participate in no more than two stages of the Grand Prix.

This season's programs for Mikhail were choreographed by the group's choreographer Olga Klyushnichenko and Stéphane Lambiel. Short - Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tango. Free - compositions by Elvis Presley - Steamroller Blues by Elvis Presley, Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley, Rip It Up by Elvis Presley. For the first time, the skater showed new programs at junior test skates (out of competition) in Novogorsk in order to receive comments in advance specialists.

Alexander PETROV. 18 years. Coach Alexey Mishin. He trains at the Yubileiny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg. Bronze medalist of the Russian Championship 2016, winner and prize-winner of the national junior championships.

Last season, Alexander combined performances at the adult and junior levels. At the Junior World Championships in Taipei, the athlete stopped one step away from the podium and took 4th place. This season, Alexander took part in two international competitions. At the tournament in Lombardy he took 7th place, at the Finland Trophy he was 9th.

This season’s programs for the athlete were choreographed by Tatyana Prokofieva, with assistance from famous dancers Yuri Smekalov and Ramil Mehdiev. Short program to the music of Khachaturian “Sabre Dance”, free - a composition of their songs by Frank Sinatra: Chicago by Frank Sinatra, I'm Gonna Live Till I Die by Frank Sinatra.

Women's singles skating

Alina ZAGITOVA. 15 years. Coaches Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov. He trains in Moscow, Sambo-70, Khrustalny skating rink. World champion among juniors, winner of the junior Grand Prix final, champion of Russia among juniors.

After a successful last season in juniors, the skater moved to adult skating and started at the masters level. At the beginning of the season, Alina won the Lombardy Trophy tournament. Performance at the Grand Prix in China will be her debut at the stages of the adult series.

The athlete’s programs were choreographed by the group’s choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz. Alina performed a free program to Minkus’ music for the ballet “Don Quixote” last season. Short – “Black Swan” – on the soundtrack from the film.

Elena RADIONOVA. 18 years. Coach Elena Buyanova. He trains in Moscow, at CSKA. Bronze medalist of the 2015 World Championship, two-time silver medalist of the European Championship (2015, 2016), champion of Russia (2015), two-time winner of the Junior World Championship.

The athlete began preparing for the season under the guidance of a new coach, Elena Buyanova. At the tournament in Bratislava she became a bronze medalist. At the Grand Prix in Moscow she took 4th place. The Chinese Grand Prix will be Lena's second this season.

The skater's programs were choreographed by Canadian choreographer Shi-Lynn Bourne. The short one was left over from last season - Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. Free - Historia de un amor 2.

Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA. 20 years. Coach Alexey Mishin. He trains at the Yubileigy Sports Complex in St. Petersburg. World champion 2015, European champion 2015, bronze medalist of the European championship 2013.

The athlete began this season by performing at the international tournament “Lombardy Trophy”, where she took 6th place. At the tournament in Finland she became a bronze medalist.

The athlete’s programs were choreographed by the group’s choreographer Tatyana Prokofieva and Adam Solya. Short - Pisando Flores by Ara Malikian. Free -- Erinnerung performed by Efim Jourist Quartett.

Dancing on Ice

Ekaterina BOBROVA – Dmitry SOLOVIEV. Ekaterina is 27 years old, Dmitry is 29 years old. Coach Alexander Zhulin. They train in Moscow, at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex. Bronze medalists of the 2013 World Championship, European champions of 2013, silver and bronze medalists of the European Championships, multiple champions of Russia.

The skaters began the season with performances at the Russian Cup stage in Syzran, which they won. We won at the international start in Bratislava. At the Moscow Grand Prix “Rostelecom Cup” they took second place. The Beijing stage will be the couple's second this season.

Short dance - rumba and samba - Rhumba: Latin Lover by Joao Bosco, Samba: Dance by DJ Maksy, Samba: Quand je vois tes yeux by Dany Brilliant. Free - Oblivion performed by Two Cellos
Beethoven's Five Secrets by The Piano Guys. A new free dance for the athletes was choreographed by famous choreographer Radu Poklitaru.

Tiffany ZAGORSKI - Jonathan GURREIRO. Tiffany is 23 years old, John is 28 years old. Trainers Svetlana Alekseeva, Elena Kustarova, Olga Ryabinina. They train in Moscow, secondary school No. 2. They took 5th place at the Russian Championships for three years in a row, and showed the same result last season at their debut Grand Prix stage in Moscow.

Tiffany and Jonathan became a couple three years ago. Before this, the athletes performed with different partners, and Tiffany skated for France, although she was born in London. In 2015, the athlete received a Russian passport, which allowed her to represent Russia at all major international tournaments. All this time, Zagorski - Gureiro trained under the guidance of Alexander Zhulin, but at the end of last season they decided to work with new coaches. At their first international Ice Star tournament of the season in Minsk, Tiffany and John won silver.

Short dance - samba and rumba -- Samba: Hip Hip Chin Chin performed by Club des Belugas, Rhumba: Volveras performed by Gloria Estefan, Samba: Batucada Brasiliera performed by Samba Brazilian Batucada Band. The free program is set to the music of compositions by the group “Muse” - Exogenesis Symphony Part III by Muse, Exogenesis Symphony Part II by Muse, Ruled by Secrecy by Muse.

Vladimir Zaivy

The third stage of the Figure Skating Grand Prix series has ended in China. The Russians won in two disciplines. Mikhail Kolyada took first place in men's skating, showing one of the best short programs in history and gaining 100 points, and single skater Alina Zagitova won her first tournament at this level. Bronze medals were won by Elena Radionova and dancers Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Solovyov.

• Mikhail Kolyada (center) during the award ceremony. Second place went to China's Boyang Jin and third place to Max Aaron from the USA.
• Reuters
• Damir Sagolj

Men

Russian men's singles skating finally gives reason to be proud. Mikhail Kolyada won the Grand Prix stage in China, achieving his first victory at competitions of this level. But what is admired here is not the fact that the athlete rose to first place. This is precisely not so significant, because among his elite rivals he only had the host of the competition, Jin Boyang. It is more important to consider how the Russian skater achieved his victory and what prospects it can provide.

At the first stage in Moscow, Kolyada came third with 271.06 points. Numerous falls in both programs did not prevent us from receiving such serious grades. The 22-year-old skater only has one thing left to do: perform all his jumps cleanly, and then we can already talk about real competition with Nathan Chen and Javier Fernandez (Yuzuru Hanyu still remains in his own league). Already at the next competitions in Beijing, Kolyada experimentally confirmed this hypothesis.

Kolyada's short program became the main event of the first day of competition. He performed the long-suffering quadruple lutz, scored even more points for a cascade of two sheepskin coats, and saved a triple axel for dessert in the second half of the skate. The Russian performed all the other elements as well as he can, and as a result, a score of 103.13 points appeared next to his name - this is the fourth result in the history of figure skating. Only Hanyu, Fernandez and Shoma Uno scored more. Kolyada became the first Russian who managed to cross the 100-point mark. Even Evgeni Plushenko failed to do this.

It is clear that you can only get a small medal for a short program, and even then not at all competitions, but still this is a very pleasant message that inspires optimism. In his free program, Kolyada took a step back: he couldn’t perform a quadruple Lutz again, the Salchow and Axel were shortened by two revolutions, and the cascade of two sheepskin coats ended up being pushed to the back shelf. But again Kolyada’s potential was visible and was reflected in a solid 176.25 points. The total score of 279.38 points did not allow him to break his personal record, but showed that Kolyada continues to follow the right path, and at the same time brought him victory at the Grand Prix stage and almost guaranteed him access to the final competition.

Kolyada’s performance this season creates a surprising paradox: he has a better chance of becoming an Olympic champion than finishing second or third in Pyeongchang. A team tournament can provide him with a medal of the highest dignity. According to all preliminary scenarios, it turns out that Russia will fight for first place with Canada and will prevail. And Kolyada can count on silver and bronze if she performs successfully in individual competitions. To do this, you need to skillfully perform both skates, which the athlete is not yet ready for. In the team tournament there are no such strict conditions, and Kolyada just needs to get the better of Patrick Chan. Now no one can doubt the fact that the Russian is stronger than the three-time world champion.

Women

The intrigue in the women's competition began to swirl following the results of the short program. It was won by the current World Championship bronze medalist Gabrielle Daleman from Canada, and three girls were just one and a half points behind - Wakaba Higuchi, Elena Radionova and Alina Zagitova. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was not far behind. The dispute between them was to flare up with renewed vigor on the second day.

For Zagitova, this was the best option to perform successfully at her first Grand Prix. It is no secret that she is strong precisely because of her extremely complex free program, in which she periodically scores even more points than Evgenia Medvedeva. On the second attempt, the 15-year-old skater managed to perform her signature triple lutz-triple loop cascade and crush all her rivals with one. Only a single lutz raised questions, where the judges noticed an under-rotation. Zagitova failed to break personal records, but this is not so important: her capabilities have long been known to everyone. Eteri Tutberidze's ward scored 213.88 points and set a high benchmark for the remaining three skaters.

Elena Radionova is gradually returning to her previous level - her claims to third place in the Russian team are becoming louder. She skated her free program without serious complaints, and only one cascade went into the minus relative to the nominal value. In terms of the basic cost of the elements, Radionova lost only one and a half points to Zagitova, but she cannot yet count on such serious bonuses as her young competitor. Nevertheless, Elena Buyanova’s student scored 136.34 points for the second performance and 206.82 points in total. Until recently, such grades seemed like a pipe dream to her, but now they can open the door to the national team.

The hope of all Japan, Wakaba Higuchi, turned out to be even more successful and overtook Radionova by six points. The 16-year-old again performed at the very respectable level she showed at the pre-season tournaments - she may well be first in line for a serious competition medal. Higuchi's only problem is that she has reached her limit, and new horizons will only open up if she starts shuffling the cascades.

Daleman had the last word at the stage in China. The Canadian failed to perform at the level of Zagitova or at least Radionova: she failed her jumps twice and did not impress the judges with her artistry. She fell back to sixth place, winning by just 0.15 points over Tuktamysheva, who risked a triple Axel but didn't gain much from it. Zagitova won her first Grand Prix, and now the athlete can count on a duel with Medvedeva in the December final.

Couples

For a long time, Chinese couples did not show what they had learned over the summer. Finally, an exhibition of their achievements took place in Beijing. The fact that something grandiose was planned became clear even during the short program. The current world champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong left all the best from last year and were the first to break the 80 point mark this season.

The Chinese demonstrated their rich technical arsenal on the second day. They performed even better than at the world forum in Helsinki. If then there was a fall on the triple Salchow, now we managed to do without it. Sui and Han broke a personal best in the free skate (150.93) and confirmed that they are number one in the world at the moment (231.07). No one can fight them now. Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, who won the stage in Moscow, then scored seven points less.

Yu Xiaoyu and Zhang Hao could also pose a danger to the rest of the world. An experienced couple, in which the partner won silver at the Olympics in Turin, scored 205.54 points based on the results of two skates. This, for example, is more than what Ksenia Stolbova and Fyodor Klimov showed this season.

Dancing on Ice

Dancers Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron made a splash in their discipline. All last season they tried to catch Tessa Virta and Scott Moir, who updated world records. The French finally prepared a worthy answer for them: they were the first to score more than 200 points based on the sum of two assessments. While it seems to many that dancing has reached its peak and it is simply mathematically impossible to conquer new heights, Papadakis and Cizeron still squeeze out some hundredths of points, which ultimately allow them to rewrite records.