On November 20-22, at the Khodynskoye Pole in the Megasport Palace, figure skaters will compete as part of the Grand Prix series stage. It has been held in Russia since 1996. This season there will not be a large number of foreigners at the Cape, but almost all the strongest Russians will compete. It’s all about the pandemic, of course.
Shortly before the start of the stage, Sport24 collected 10 of the brightest and most iconic rentals in the history of the Russian Grand Prix. We watch, nostalgic and enjoy.
1998 year. Tatiana Navka / Roman Kostomarov – free dance
The 1998/99 season was the first for the pair Tatyana Navka / Roman Kostomarov. Before that, the partner skated with Nikolai Morozov, and the partner – with Ekaterina Davydovskaya. At this tournament, the couple presented their free dance to the music of Ravel “Bolero”. Already at the beginning of the first joint season, the couple showed complex supports, synchronization in choreographic elements, and thanks to the shooting from above, the ice coverage shown by the skaters is clearly visible.
As a result, the athletes won bronze medals – they were bypassed by the more experienced dance duets Anzhelika Krylova / Oleg Ovsyannikov and Irina Lobacheva / Ilya Averbukh.
In 1998, the Cup of Russia was first held in Moscow – the first two tournaments were held in St. Petersburg.
An interesting fact: a year before this performance, Tatyana Navka, then still skating for Belarus, together with Nikolai Morozov, also took the bronze of this tournament.
year 2001. Elena Berezhnaya / Anton Sikharulidze – free program
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze showed an absolutely charming program to music from Charlie Chaplin. The enchanting first movement, full of spirals, spins and boats, is replaced by a familiar, fun theme. In the second part, there are many synchronous choreographic tracks, which Elena and Anton play very organically. The skaters delight the audience with their supports, bordering on acrobatic stunts.
The incredible exit from the todes looks especially interesting, where Anton makes the last revolution on one leg, leaving Elena in the position of the element. There are a lot of moods in these five minutes and elements are specially selected for each.
At this tournament, Berezhnaya / Sikharulidze won gold medals and this was the couple’s third victory at the Russian stage of the Grand Prix.
year 2001. Irina Slutskaya – free program
Irina Slutskaya’s Tosca by Puccini is still considered one of the best interpretations of this composition. The performance in St. Petersburg at the Grand Prix stage was not ideal – Irina made several mistakes in the jumps in the first part of the program. But, as commentators note, this does not affect the perception of the program in any way.
A tragic beginning and a powerful ending – the perfect formation. And at the very end, Irina does what is still considered amazing – rotation in the prone and biellmann, first on the left foot, and then on the right. The public reaction after the performance leaves no doubt that they were impressed by the program.
This was the sixth consecutive (and last) victory of Irina Slutskaya at the Cup of Russia.
2007 year. Johnny Weir – short program
American Johnny Weir in Russia skates a program to the music from Alexei Rybnikov’s rock opera “Juno and Avos”. This performance could not fail to be included in the selection of the best.
The skater has repeatedly proved his love for Russia with words and actions, an example is this program. The track of steps turned out to be very emotional in this rental. By the way, in the background you can see the already familiar colored seats of “Megasport”. The arena was opened in December 2016.
After performing in the free program, Johnny Weir won the Moscow stage of the Grand Prix.
year 2009. Evgeni Plushenko – an indicative number
from 1999 to 2005, Evgeny Plushenko became the champion of the Grand Prix stage in Russia. He returned in 2009. With a victory. After the days of competition at demonstration performances, Evgeny skates a number to Igor Kornelyuk’s song “The City That Doesn’t exist” (which became famous again in figure skating thanks to the short program of Evgeny Semenenko).
The number turned out to be moderately lyrical and with all the choreographic “tricks” of Eugene.
year 2012. Tessa Vertiu / Scott Moir – Free Dance
The free program of the 2012/13 season of Tessa and Scott was so loved by the audience and specialists that it had a separate name – “Carmen in Black”. This program can be called the avant-garde in ice dancing and one of the most interesting performances by Carmen. The rental was not as ideal as in the second half of the season at the main starts, but the premiere of the dance was spectacular. We see a lot of rhythms, different pieces from the opera, and they are all very originally played.
That year, Vertiu and Scott won the Rostelecom Cup. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov took second place, Victoria Sinitsina and Ruslan Zhiganshin took bronze.
year 2012. Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov – short program
In 2008, Tatyana Volosozhar, together with Stanislav Morozov, represented the Ukrainian national team at the Grand Prix stage and took bronze medals. Four years later, Tatyana, already with Maxim Trankov, under the flag of Russia, win the Russian stage of the Grand Prix.
They made a number of mistakes in the free program, but skated the short program flawlessly. It turned out to be playful, incendiary – such that it can lift the hall. In my opinion, this is the perfect program for introducing a couple.
2016. Yulia Lipnitskaya – short program
Yulia Lipnitskaya in 2016 is already a popular favorite, she is greeted with loud applause by all the audience. The short program, directed by Stéphane Lambiel, has been verified and selected in the best possible way for Julia. A lot of choreography is focused on the beautiful and placed hands of the athlete, and the final spins are already as a distinctive feature of any performance of an Olympic champion.
This was the last full-fledged performance of Yulia Lipnitskaya on the competitive ice – from the middle of the free program, the girl starred for health reasons, and later ended her sports career.
2018. Alina Zagitova – short program
Alina Zagitova in Moscow at the Grand Prix stage in 2018 set a world record, receiving 80.78 points for the short program. This performance can be attributed to the list of the best not only for the points and the purest performance.
Emotionally, this is a very strong rental, because during the short program it was 9 days since the mother of coach Alina, Eteri Petrovna Tutberidze, passed away. Therefore, Alina dedicated her speech to Eteri Georgievna, which she herself said in an interview with Channel One.
As a result, Zagitova won the gold medal at that tournament.
2018. Yuzuru Hanyu – short program
In 2004, at the Cup of Russia in Moscow, Johnny Weir skated the free program “Otonal”. Fourteen years later, Yuzuru Hanyu presented this music again at the Russian stage. This program no longer looks like a tribute to Johnny’s rentals, it suits Hanyu so much. Difficult entries and exits from jumps, a path of steps, the anticipation of which every time breaks down a storm of applause.
Yuzuru Hanyu set a world record that day, receiving 110.53 points, and after performing in a free program he won the Moscow stage of the Grand Prix. Legend!
Download Sport24 app for Android
Subscribe to the Figurka youtube channel and watch the most interesting videos about figure skating
– .
