No miracle for Aymoz, sacred Malinin
The step was too high for Kevin Aymoz in this Grand Prix final in Grenoble. In Polesud, the Grenoblois could not do better than last place due to technical inaccuracies during his performance during the free program. Starting with too many points behind after the failed short program, Polesud’s favorite did not validate three elements during his free program. “It was hard, but I enjoyed skating,” explains the Grenoblois, smiling big after his performance. In the competition, the American Ilia Malinin once again delivered a breathtaking performance on the Grenoble track with four quadruples including an Axel in his program. He even allowed himself a backflip at the end of the program. Above the rest, quite simply.
Results. 1. Malinin (USA) 292.12 points, 2. Kagiyama (JAP) 281.78 points, 3. Sato (JPN) 270.82 points… 6. Aymoz (FRA) 238.63 points.
Hard blow for Célina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux, only 5th
They had enormous hopes for this meeting on the Grenoble track, but they left with immense disappointment. The Villardiens Célina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux wanted to get on the podium in front of the Grenoble public to properly celebrate their last junior season, before moving on from next July. Arriving with a medalist label, the Villardiens missed their meeting. They made an error on the lift during the rhythm dance on Thursday and this Saturday, two new errors plagued their program, perfect at all other levels. Red eyes, clenched jaws, the fall is hard for the people of Isère, who have had a perfect season so far. Next goal? The junior world championships in Debrecen (Hungary) at the end of February. “It’s going to be very hard to accept what happened, but we have to go through this to do better. We will have our revenge at the world championships, work always pays off in the end,” believes Célina Fradji. They will have to feed on this disillusionment to continue to grow and reach a new level. Learning also happens there.
The results. 1. Tali/Lafornara (ITA) 169.98 points, 2. Wolfkostin/Tsarvevski (USA) 164.98 pts, 3. Grimm/Savitsky (UKR)… 5. Fradji/Fourneaux (FRA) 151.70 pts.
Telemaque/Coulon explode their record as a junior pair
“Record exploded”. Lucas Coulon was sweating joy and happiness after the couple’s free with his partner Romane Telemaque. The young French from Dammarie-les-Lys beat their record in the freestyle by 5 points (95.04 points) and by six out of the competition total. The young skaters, pushed all the way by the Polesud audience who cheered louder and louder as the performance progressed, had fun and their joy was very contagious. Aged 18 for him and 14 for her, the duo wants to continue their progress in this category. “It gives us a lot of confidence for the future.” They finished the competition in 4th place with 146.38 points. For a first in the Grand Prix final, it gives a real boost.
The results. 1. Zhang/Chuang (CHN) 176.09 pts, 2. Flores/Wang (USA), 155.82 pts 3. Desrochers/Thrasher (CAN), 4. Telemaque/Coulon (FRA) 146.38 pts.
Brissaud and Lopareva, last but promising
In ice dancing, Geoffrey Brissaud and Evgeniia Lopareva finished in last place in the free program and in the all-around after the free. The Bordelais, who train in Montreal, were not aiming for a medal for this first Grand Prix final. “It’s a rehearsal before the next deadlines,” they explained.
The results. 1. Chock/Bates (USA) 219.83 pts, 2. Guignard/Fabbri (ITA), 206.11 pts, 3. Fear/Gibson (GBR) 205.18 pts, … 6. Lopareva/Brissaud (FRA) 195 .51 pts.
Morocco
