Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (CAN) lead the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix in Chongqing, China © ISU
Top favorites Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps won the Pairs Short Program as the first competition day at the ISU Grand Prix Cup of China concluded Friday in Chongqing (CHN). The Cup of China is the fourth of six events of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series that features the best Figure Skaters of the World. They compete and collect points hoping to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN) on December 7-10.
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps (CAN) lead the pack
Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps of Canada won the Pairs Short Program ahead of Italians Rebecca Ghilardi/Filippo Ambrosini and the new Chinese team Cheng Peng/Lei Wang.
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps opened their performance to “Oxygene” from “Cirque du Soleil” with a triple twist and side by side triple toes. The picked up a level four for their twist, lift, death spiral and side by side spin and the only glitch came when Stellato-Dudek put her hand down on the throw triple loop. The 2023 Skate Canada Champions scored 70.39 points.
“We knew, coming in here, this is going to be the harder one of the two events,” Stellato-Dudek said. “We've had no day off in three weeks, but four days in between Skate Canada and here.
“The only day off was when we were flying to an event. This competition was going to be a test of our mental and physical toughness. We think that we succeeded in showing how strong we are at this event given the circumstances.”
Skating to “The Ecstasy of Gold“, Ghilardi/Ambrosini produced a triple twist, throw triple Lutz and a level-four death spiral, lift, step sequence and side by side spin. The ISU European silver medalists achieved a new season’s best with 66.33 points.
Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini (ITA) in the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix in Chongqing, China © ISU
“We are very happy about our performance. We skated after such a big (great) pair and there was a lot of tension. We just went through our program and we were together from the beginning to the end,” Ghilardi said.
Peng/Wang competed in only their second international competition as a team and delivered a solid performance to “The Storm Driven Sea” that included a triple toe, a throw triple loop and a somewhat shaky triple twist. They earned 62.91 points.
Cheng Peng and Lei Wang of China in the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix in Chongqing, China © ISU
“This is our first Grand Prix after teaming up eight months ago. We are satisfied with most of our program and hopefully tomorrow we can skate as well,” Wang said.
“We have been teammates for a long time and we knew each other. So I knew he was in a good condition and, when I decided I wanted to continue, I asked him,” Peng explained, when asked how she found her new partner.
Skate America Champions Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel (GER) came fourth on 60.76 points and Siyang Zhang/Yongchao Yang (CHN) are currently ranked fifth (58.71 points).
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN). Skaters collect points towards to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN).
ISU Grand Prix Standings
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series can be found here.
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed with English commentary on the official ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out Where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
20 - 22 Oct, 2023 Skate America, Allen (Texas, USA)
27 – 29 Oct, 2023 Skate Canada International, Vancouver (CAN)
03 - 05 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
10 - 12 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN)
17 - 19 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
24 - 26 Nov, 2023 NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN)
07 - 10 Dec, 2023 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Beijing (CHN)
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