The national figure skating championship has started in the Moscow region. The main attraction is a 13 year old rising star from St. Petersburg Artur Gachinsky, who is among best young Russian skaters.

According to the International Skating Union, skaters under 16 are not allowed to take part in such a competition. But they made an exception for Artur. Now he seems to be one of the most distinguished figures on the ice.

His coach Alexey Mishin tips him as the next Evgeny Pluschenko as Artur can do stunts which Pluschenko did when he was 13. “Now our main objective is to help him to adapt to new conditions and competitions. Victories will come later, as he continues to compete against elder competitors. His future belongs in the ring,” Mr Mishin said.

Artur is looking forward to his next performance on Saturday.

After the short program, the leading three are: Andrey Lutai, Andrey Gryazev and Sergei Dobrin. In the Women’s singles there where no big surprises: Elena Sokolova is among the leaders after the short program, she is sharing second spot with Arina Martynova. Alexandra Ievleva leads the way.