Vegas high roller: Russian quad-jumping sensation Shcherbakova steals show at 2019 Skate America in Las Vegas
Russian quad-jumping prodigy Anna Shcherbakova made a brilliant comeback at the season-opening Grand Prix event in Las Vegas, rising from fourth place to win the women’s event at 2019 Skate America.
The 15-year-old skating sensation immaculately landed two quadruple Lutz jumps on her free program, one in combination with triple toe loop, to post the highest score of the day – 160.16 points – which proved beyond reach of any of her competitors.
READ MORE: ‘Absolutely terrible’: Russian skaters make shaky start at season-opener in Las Vegas
Shcherbakova, who fell on a sequence on steps in short program, delivered a near perfect performance on Saturday, becoming the first female skater in history to have thrown two quads at senior Grand Prix events.
Great comeback from Anna Shcherbakova 🇷🇺 as she jumped high to reach the top of the podium.#⃣ #GPFigure#FigureSkatingpic.twitter.com/k1lWDCoOgl
— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) October 20, 2019
Second-placed Bradie Tennel of USA, who had been eight points ahead of Shcherbakova before the free program, was also faultless, perfectly landing all jumps in her beautifully-composed routine.
However, she didn’t manage to hold the lead, losing more than 11 points to the Russian teenager after her bombshell quad performance.
One more representative of Russia, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, managed to leapfrog several positions up the standings, rising from fifth to the third place at Skate America.
