Maria Kazakova and Georgy Reviya (GEO), Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik (USA) and Elizaveta Shanaeva and Devid Naryzhnyy (RUS) at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)
Avonley Nguyen/Vadym Kolesnik (USA) edged out Maria Kazakova/Georgy Reviya (GEO) in what was an exciting battle in the Ice Dance event at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn (EST) and, actually, throughout the whole season.
In Tallinn, Elizaveta Shanaeva/Devid Naryzhnyy (RUS) were in the mix as well and won the Rhythm Dance in Estonia just 0.05 points ahead of Kazakova/Reviya.
Nguyen/Kolesnik came third in that segment and trailed the leaders by 1.76 points. “It (the small difference in points) definitely motivates me, because it hurts to be in third place right now. But we'll do our best. We'll attack this free dance,” Kolesnik said following the Rhythm Dance.
Kazakova/Revyia and Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy were ready to fight as well and the Free Dance turned out as another close battle at high level where the tiniest error could make the difference.
Kazakova/Reviya skated first out of the top three and delivered a powerful performance to “In the End” by Tommee Profitt, that was full of innovative moves. The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Champions scored 106.21 points and totaled 176.19 points. Next up were Shanaeva/Naryzhnyy, who also gave a strong performance to “River” by Bishop Briggs. The dancers from Moscow lost the Free Dance narrowly with 105.14 points and slipped behind the Georgians at 175.17 points overall. Then Nguyen/Kolesnik took the ice as the last couple and produced a beautiful, smooth dance to Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, highlighted by the lifts and intricate footwork. The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final silver medalists won the Free Dance with a personal best score of 108.91 points and captured the title at 177.18 points, edging the Georgians by just 0.99 points. Kazakova/Reviya made history by becoming the first Georgian Ice Dancers to earn an ISU Championships medal.
“I've dreamed about this moment for so long and to know that our work finally paid off, it just feels great. We're so happy, we're elated, we're just overjoyed,” Avonley said. “Honestly, it's the biggest moment of my life happening right now,” Vadym agreed.
“We did everything that depends on us. The most important thing is that people enjoyed how we skated. We gave it our all, the audience was very supportive, a big thank you to the spectators who came to watch,” Georgi shared. “All our achievements are cool. We put a lot of energy into that, soul, our hearts. We won't stop, we'll move forward, we want to break through at the senior level,” he continued.
Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik (USA) at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020©International Skating Union (ISU)