Passion and tenderness: Russian skaters tell love story on ice to claim career maiden Grand Prix win (PHOTOS)
Russian skaters Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov have danced to the first Grand Prix gold of their career after delivering a marvelous emotion-laced performance at the Cup of China.
The passionate love story told in their free dance hypnotized spectators as well as the strict judges, who placed Sinitsina and Katsalapov ahead of their main rivals Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA in the final protocol.
Skating to the ‘Song My Mother Taught Me’ by Antonin Dvorak, the Russian duo staged a true spectacle on the ice taking up the roles of the loving couple.
Despite several errors which didn’t go unnoticed by the judging panel the Russians managed to retain the lead taken after their stunning rhythm dance to celebrate their first ever Grand Prix victory.
Sinitsina and Katsalapov scored 209.90 points edging out American counterparts Chock and Bates by a tiny 1.35 points.
And that's how the 🥇 was won !https://t.co/VyLdbaHEox#GPFigure#FigureSkatingpic.twitter.com/62knBP7l24
— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) November 9, 2019
“Our skating in the free program was a bit heavy. It was not bad, but a little bit heavy. Not all elements were as clean as we had expected, we got deducted for one of our lifts,” Katsalapov said after the competition.
“On the whole we are satisfied with our performance: how we fought for every element. We were fully prepared for the competition. So I think we will analyze our mistakes and will try to avoid them at future events.”
