Boikova and Kozlovskii did it "their way" to top the leaderboard in the Pairs Short Program © International Skating Union
Young Russian Pair Aleksandra Boikova/ Dmitri Kozlovskii reigned supreme in the Pairs Short Program at Skate Canada in Kelowna on Friday. Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro thrilled the home fans to take second while Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov of Russia are currently ranked third.
Boikova/Kozlovskii delivered a smooth and elegant performance to “My Way” that included a side by side triple Salchow, throw triple flip, triple twist and a level-four lift. The 2019 European bronze medalists earned 76.45 points.
“Today doesn’t matter, because tomorrow is the main day and our scores are not important,” Kozlovskii said. “For each athlete, the goal is to give a clean performance and to bring across the idea of the programs. Figure skating is not just sport, but also an art and all athletes want to develop to combine the technical aspect and the second mark that consists of different components,” he added.
Moore-Towers and Marinaro are in sparkling form heading into Saturday © International Skating Union
Skating to “Love on the Brain”, Moore-Towers/Marinaro completed a triple twist, a triple toeloop and throw triple loop out of a difficult entry to score 75.50 points.
“As for every athlete, our main objective is to compete how we train and today for the most part we’re pretty pleased with the outcome. There are a few things that we lost a few points on we’re looking to gain at NHK (Trophy), but overall we’re happy and looking forward to tomorrow,” Moore-Towers told the post-event press conference.
Russia's Tarasova and Morozov completed some spectacular elements on their way to third © International Skating Union
Tarasova/Morozov’s routine to the iconic “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel was highlighted by a triple twist and huge throw triple loop. However, Morozov doubled the toeloop and the world silver medalists ended with 73.57 points.
“In general, the short program was not bad, but we made one big mistake, therefore we are not so happy. But we’ll keep going and working hard and come back with a new mindset tomorrow,” Morozov commented.
Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim (USA) finished fourth on 71.28 points followed by the new duo of Liubov Ilyushechkina/Charlie Bilodeau (CAN) on 68.62 points.
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Standings Pairs
Overall, 60 skaters/couples representing 14 ISU members are competing at Skate Canada International from October 25 - 27. The top 6 qualifiers of the Grand Prix series in each discipline will proceed to the Final in Torino (ITA), from December 5 - 8, 2019. Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series are available on isu.org.
Where to watch and follow the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2019?
Viewers will be able to watch the Series either via their national broadcaster / channel and for countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel as of season 2019/20. You will find the full list in the Where to watch news here.
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ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2019/20
Skate America - Las Vegas (USA) – October 18 – 20
Skate Canada International – Kelowna (CAN) – October 25 – 27
Internationaux de France – Grenoble (FRA) – Novembre 1 – 3
SHISEIDO cup of China – Chongqing (CHN) – November 8 – 10
Rostelecom Cup – Moscow (RUS) – November 15 – 17
NHK Trophy – Sapporo (JPN) – November 22 – 24
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (Senior & Junior) – Torino (ITA) – December 5 – 8
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known as the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six international senior invitational events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The skaters are seeded and invited to the six Grand Prix of Figure Skating events based on the results of the previous ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Competitors collect points in their ISU 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.
