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Adam Siao Him Fa FRA GP France Day 2

A brilliant Free Skating performance from Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) saw him claim gold in his home Grand Prix  © ISU   

Adam Siao Him Fa made France proud by winning the first ISU Grand Prix gold medal for a French man in 13 years, and he did so on home ice at the Grand Prix de France on Saturday in Angers (FRA). Japan’s Sota Yamamoto slipped to second place to take silver ahead of teammate Kazuki Tomono

Adam Siao Him Fa FRA GP France Day 2 2

 Siao Him Fa (FRA) is the first Frenchman in 13 years to win an ISU Grand Prix title  © ISU 

Siao Him Fa started his quest for gold with a triple Lutz and followed up with a quad toe-double toe, quad Salchow and quad toe-Euler-triple Salchow. The Frenchman hit three more triples in his program to “Horizons”, “Minus Sixty One” and “Run Boy Run” to set a personal best of 180.98 points. Siao Him Fa racked up 268.98 points overall to win his first ISU Grand Prix medal. It was the first Grand Prix gold for a French man since Brian Joubert won the NHK Trophy in 2009.

Adam Siao Him Fa FRA GP France Day 2 3Siao Him Fa (FRA) topped the Free Skating with 180.98 points to take gold overall  © ISU 

“I am very proud of myself today,” the Frenchman stated. “I felt really calm and relaxed during the program. The audience helped me a lot, they were really supportive, and it was really motivating. I’m really happy to win my first Grand Prix. I can see with my team we did a good job and I think I have to continue in this way.I can see I have my place with the best skaters in the world.

Sota Yamamoto JPN GP France Day 2 Overnight leader Sota Yamamoto (JPN) earned a personal best in the Free Skating  © ISU 

 Skating to Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Yamamoto produced a quad toe-triple toe, another quad toe and five triples, but he fell on a quad Salchow and singled an Axel. The overnight leader earned 165.48 points, which was a new personal best, and ranked third in the Free Skating. He slipped from first to second with 257.90 points overall. 

Sota Yamamoto JPN GP France Day 2 2 Yamamoto (JPN) ended the Grand Prix de France with the silver medal after scoring 257.90 overall  © ISU 

Of course up until now I couldn’t have any good results even when I competed in events. In my condition I am happy to be second today. I know there is a lot of room for improvement and I can go higher. I’ll work from day to day,” Yamamoto noted. 

Tomono landed a quad toe-double toe and two more, somewhat shaky quads in his upbeat performance to “Die Fledermaus” (The Bat) to achieve a season’s best of 159.31 points for a total of 248.77 points. The 2022 ISU Four Continents silver medalist finished fourth in the Free Skating and dropped from second to third overall. 

Kazuki Tomono JPN GP France Day 2

Another entertaining performance from Kazuki Tomono (JPN) saw him secure bronze in Angers  © ISU  

“There are some regrets to my performance. Since last season, whenever there is a medal at stake it is difficult for me going into the Free Skating. I need to go back to training and overcome this. The audience was so warm and supportive, I am really grateful for this,” said Tomono.

Sihyeong Lee KOR GP France Day 2

 Sihyeong Lee (KOR) took second place in the Free Skating to move up to fourth overall  © ISU 

Sihyeong Lee (KOR) delivered a strong Free Skating to move up from seventh to fourth place at 242.62 points. Nika Egadze (GEO) ended in fifth with 233.40 points, finishing ahead of Luc Economides (FRA) in sixth (229.64 points). 

The Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA) November 4-6 is the third of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.

More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples. 

The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

 

Selection Criteria

In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.

Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).

 

Grand Prix Standings

Men                  Women             Ice Dance         Pair Skating

Where to Watch

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.

Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #GPFigure.

ISU Grand Prix Schedule

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:

21 - 23 Oct, 2022          Skate America, Norwood (USA)

28 – 30 Oct, 2022         Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)

04 - 06 Nov, 2022         Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)

11 - 13 Nov, 2022         MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)

18 - 20 Nov, 2022         NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)

25 - 27 Nov, 2022         Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)

08 - 11 Dec, 2022         Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)

 

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.