The stage of the ISU Grand Prix was broken: Trusova’s ambitions, Gallyamov’s smile, the battle of Dikidzhi and Semenenko

In pairs skating, gold in China was convincingly won by Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov. Aleksandra Trusova was the second, losing the judging decision to the Japanese Mone Chiba, although this caused controversy. And Vladislav Dikidzhi and Evgeny Semenenko lost the upper step to the Japanese Kao Miura. They could have won, but this time it didn’t work out.

"Hope-giving"

Oh, yes: such a smile performed by Alexander Gallyamov after an arbitrary program, we have not seen for a long time. The fourth gold of the Grand Prix stage in a career for Olympic medalists and world champions is like a start to the future. And there is no place for regrets, longing for the past and resentments that literally overflowed during the ban. But it has former principled rivals, eager for the victory of Alexander Boykov and Dmitry Kozlovsky (already received silver at the Grand Prix stage in France), and new, well-trained couples, in recent years have won a reputation among judges.

In China, they were Georgians Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava. Nastya and Sasha this season have already met with them at the Trialeti Trophy in Batumi, then the victory on home ice remained for the vice-champions of the Games-2026. (In China, Mishina and Galliamov scored 209.84 points on the sum of the two programs, Metelkin and Berulava - 198.27, the Japanese Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi - 181.50.)

Mishina and Galliamov called the performance at the stage “concentrated”, the competition did not allow any degree of relaxation. But even just the second international performance after a long break and the first at such a serious start (and with a continuation in the form of a potential final of the Grand Prix series) gave the titled athletes the opportunity to say that they are beginning to “enter the atmosphere” of big ice. As well as hope: soon they will “feel at their plate”, while jokingly calling themselves a new couple, “promising”.

Of course, that sounds like a challenge to yourself. This is correct, and Nastya and Sasha give the words an explanation: everything will have to be conquered again, like the skaters who have just come. It means not just being stronger again, but... In order not to repeat a fair, but already tired phrase about the same head, let’s say this: not to let not only the opponent, but also the judges, interfere with the plans. Ambitious and absolutely justified. By the way, what Galliamov said applies absolutely to all our skaters. It turns out that all of them are the newest in the class.

After the speech, Alexander asked the journalists: “Well, how was the speed today?” (Mishina and Galliamov have never been quick on the ice, comments on this topic, of course, not particularly pleasant, but do not want to hear the question again, formulate it yourself in a good form.) And immediately revealed the question: everyone loves speed, and “the other does not notice”, the couple tries to take their strengths, but also “weak also improve”.

And in a very short list, Galliamov even outlined the points of strength, explaining: people stopped noticing what "emotions, choreography, straightening, straight back is, what it is to roll the program not in a circle, but with a change of direction." Simply put, the work is underway, there is a lot of it, it is visible.

A new path of champions begins. And the fact that will now be recorded in the history of the return of our figure skating after a long ban is as follows: for the first time since November 2021, Russian skaters have climbed to the highest step of the ISU adult series pedestal.

Sasha hits the target

Silver medalist of the Olympic Games-2022 Alexander Trusova (Ignatova) lost to the Japanese Mone Chiba, winner of the last two world championships, who won the fourth place at the Olympic Games in Milan-2026. The second assessment of the Japanese judges is no secret, the components are high.

Sasha after the short program was in third place (72.37 points). The rotation failed, for which she did not receive a bonus, and ahead came Mone Chiba (76.08 points) and Anastasia Gubanova, speaking for Georgia (75.05 points). And everyone understood that an arbitrary program would decide. More precisely, it will clarify the relationship between Trusova and Thiba.

Alexandra made a quadruple lutz. And the whole program. The judges noted only an obscure edge on the triple flip and issued a minimum premium for the element - 0.45 points. Sasha won arbitrarily, but just a little. She won by a margin of 0.5 points - 148.90 against 148.40. And it, this advantage, did not outweigh the lag behind Mone Chiba, which did not have any ultra-si elements at all.

The short conclusion with all the admiration of Sasha is obvious. Trusova (if the international season continues, which in our time we have to clarify), there will be more than one rival. The same Chiba, for example, is not the first number in the national team of Japan, and her colleague on the national team Mao Shimada, just out of juniors, already performs a triple axel and a quadruple toelup. And to beat both (and these are only two rivals), you need even more complex content. The four toe loop has been restored. But will Alexandra, who has so far stressed that titles and medals are no longer so important to her, go to a new arms race? Can he? And most importantly, will he?

Sasha admitted in China that she was very worried again. The start was not easy, but “in the current circumstances” everything turned out very well (the figure skater does not talk about a knee injury, and, judging by indirect signs, there is still discomfort). And she wants to keep riding clean. If he gets to the Grand Prix Final, it will be “cool”, if not, he will “prepare for the Russian championship”. Alexandra herself reminded about the next in her career second place: “Now the haters will say that they did not let go of the Olympics.” But I don't care, honestly."".

We do. But that's the sport. It has its own laws. And your excitement. And your return algorithm. And, if the top figure skater returned, it is unlikely that her goal is only that in the history of figure skating, none of the solitary women after childbirth has not yet made ultra-si jumps. I didn't win a Grand Prix medal. You have to take it higher. As Eteri Tutberidze would say: “This is Sasha!” As Sasha herself says, “For me, as before, there are only the first places, the rest are not important.”.

The second stage of the Grand Prix series at Alexandra will be held in the United States (from 13 to 15 November). To qualify for the final of the series, Trusova needs to repeat the Chinese result or surpass it.

Big requests

Silver and bronze of the ISU Grand Prix stage. We who know them and what to expect from them, everything is small, we wanted gold and silver. But Japanese Kao Miura intervened. Vladislav Dikidzhi after the short program was fourth, Zhenya Semenenko - third. Excellent positions to attack. Not coped with himself in the arbitrary Japanese Shun Sato, as well as Mikhail Shaidorov, who is still struggling this season to look corresponding to the title of the current Olympic champion

Vladislav began the free program with a step-out on a quadruple lutz. But it is not for nothing that the skater accustomed us to stability: then everything went clean, three more quadruple elements, all non-jump elements were performed on the fourth level (183.58 points). After the program, Vlad himself and his coach Oleg Tataurov could not explain this incident and still spoiled the assessment. Dikiji even said he did it perfectly all day: 8 out of 8. But what are you gonna do? And he “wants not to make mistakes,” which means that the preparation for the second stage of the skater Grand Prix in Japan “maybe even harder, although much stronger...”

And Evgeny Semenenko fought with the jump: he saved the quadruple Salkhs. And he didn't like his scores for an arbitrary (181.90): when you have your own high benchmark and you know what you can do, a demotion is not included in the plans. But Zhenya himself, although he did not hide that he also experiences mixed emotions, still rejoiced for the pedestal of the ISU Grand Prix. And he believes that, although rentals in China were without serious mistakes, yet past competitions prove that you can skate well and cleanly in both short and free. “We will strive for even better results.”.

And Kao Miura. You can say that the Japanese have surpassed themselves. He gave the ice everything he could. And that is clearly worth remembering later as a reason for pride. Miura has already reached the Grand Prix final, before winning in China he won silver in France. What the skater showed at the stage in China (190.35 - in the free program, 293.25 - overall score, Vlad - 282.44, Eugene - 281.62), is worthy of the highest praise.

And it is not a pity (even with our thirst for medals, and most importantly - recognition of the highest level of Russian men's single skating), that such a spectacular Japanese outing on the ice fell in the company of our skaters. It was a clear demonstration of how the opponent’s high technical base beats with components and extras at a perfect skating. The one that everyone loves: push it. And the same thing that our single skaters have already shown in the season. So let’s assume that Dikidzhi and Semenenko relieved stress in China. Their demands will only grow.

Outline. Pair skating

Anastasia Mishina — Alexander Gallyamov (Russia): 209.84

Anastasia Metelkina – Luka Berulava (Georgia): 198.27

Yuna Nagaoka v Sumitada Moriguchi (Japan): 181.50

Karina Akopova vs Nikita Rahmanin (Armenia): 181.46

Chelsea Liu as Ryan Bidard (USA): 163.02

Valentina Plazas as Maximiliano Fernandez (USA): 158.19

Outline. Solo skating, women

Mone Chiba (Japan) - 224.48

Alexandra Ignatova (Russia) - 221.27

Lee Hein (Korea) - 210.79

Anastasia Gubanova (Georgia) - 208.58

Lara Naki Gutmann (Italy) - 202.69

Mako Yamashita (Japan) - 193.32

Outline. Solo skating, men

Kao Miura (Japan) - 293.25

Vladislav Dikidzhi (Russia) - 282.44

Evgeny Semenenko (Russia) - 281.62

Shun Sato (Japan) - 277.20

Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan) – 263.49

Vladimir Samoilov (Poland) - 252.39