ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2008 Day Four
The 2008 European Figure Skating Championships continued
Friday in Zagreb, Croatia, with the Ladies Short Program and
the Free Dance.
Ladies, Short Program
The Ladies’ event kicked off with the Short Program.
All 40 Ladies competed in the Short Program, and the top 24
advanced to the final Free Skating. Carolina Kostner of Italy
captured the lead ahead of Finland’s Kiira Korpi and
Laura Lepistö.
Performing to “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors,
Kostner nailed a huge triple flip-triple toe combination,
but then doubled her Lutz. She went on to complete a double
Axel and a level-four flying sit spin as well as difficult
footwork, that was graded a level three. The defending European
Champion received 59.31 points (31.56 element score/27.75
program component score). “I had a great skate, but
I made some small mistakes. You have to concentrate. I hope
to do better tomorrow”, Kostner commented. “We
were looking at different pieces of music with my choreographer
and the first time we listened to it, it stayed in our hand,
because it was strange (different). At the end I had three
choices and I said, I’ll go to bed and I’ll choose
the one that will be in my head when I wake up, and it was
this one”, she answered when asked about her choice
of music.
Korpi gave a solid short program to a Tango named “Triunfal”
that included a triple Lutz-double toeloop combination, a
triple loop and a double Axel. She got a level four for the
flying sit spin and a level three for the combination spin
and the footwork, but the spiral sequence was graded only
a level one. The reigning European bronze medallist scored
58.60 points (32.14/26.46).
Lepistö produced a triple loop, double Axel and high
quality spins and spirals in her lyrical routine to “Theme
from 1900” by Ennio Morricone, but instead of her planned
triple toe-triple toe combination she did only a triple-double.
The 19-year-old earned 56.96 points (32.24/24.72).
Ice Dancing, Free Dance
The Ice Dancing event concluded with an exciting
Free Dance. Russia’s Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin of
overtook defending champions Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder
of France to win their first European crown. Jana Khokhlova/Sergei
Novitski (RUS) earned the bronze medal. All three medallists
achieved a new seasonal best in the Free Dance.
Overnight leaders Delobel/Schoenfelder skated first of the
top contenders and delivered a very smooth performance of
their “Piano Lesson” program, telling the love
story of a deaf woman and a hearing man. The French completed
a one armed rotational lift, serpentine lift with changes
of position and intricate footwork, earning a level four for
the circular steps and a level three for the midline footwork.
The couple collected 101.95 points (51.69 element score/50.26
program component score) and accumulated 205.92 points. It
was not enough to hold off Domnina/Shabalin, who stood in
second place following the Compulsory and Original Dances.
Last year’s silver medallists produced a dramatic, classical
“Waltz Masquerade” that was highlighted by well
synchronized twizzles, a side by side midline step sequence,
a curve-rotational and a dance spin. Domnina/Shabalin were
awarded a level four for all eight elements and picked up
104.99 points (53.78/51.21). They racked up a total score
of 207.14 points to claim the title on Shabalin’s 26th
birthday. “I don’t have any words right now. And
no emotions either, as I left them all on the ice. I am just
happy that we survived this competition. I want to congratulate
Maxim to his birthday today and I thank him for his courage
and strength”, Domnina told the post-event press conference.
“It was a very difficult competition. We knew this from
the beginning, because of my surgery (meniscus/left knee)
one month ago”, Shabalin explained. “It was a
risky decision to come and to compete, but it was the right
decision. I decided to come here on the 9th of January when
I went out on the ice and knew that I’d be able to do
some run throughs and can prepare (for Europeans). The doctors,
however, warned me and said I’d should swim for two
weeks and ride a bicycle and watch Europeans on TV. It was
the hardest competition of my career.”
Khokhlova/Novitski put out an exciting performance of their
dynamic program “Night on Bald Mountain” with
him in the role of a demon and her in the role of a witch.
They impressed the crowd with their spectacular lifts and
their precise footwork. Each move was right on the beat. The
Muscovites earned a standing ovation from the crowd and 99.96
points (51.46/48.20) from the judges. Overall they secured
the bronze with 197.06 points.
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