Georgia’s 2020 European bronze medalist Morisi Kvitelashvili captured the Men’s Short Program as the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup kicked off Friday in Moscow. Petr Gumennik of Russia came second followed by teammate Mikhail Kolyada.
Morisi Kvitelashvili (GEO) finished top in Short Program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Rostelecom Cup © International Skating Union (ISU)
Skating to “Amsterdam” by Jacques Brel, Kvitelashvili hit a quadruple Salchow-triple toeloop, a triple Axel and quadruple toeloop. The 25-year-old earned a level four for two spins and a level three for the change sit spin and the step sequence for a score of 99.56 points.
“It has been a long preparation and I am pleased that I finally was able to compete and to present myself,” Kvitelashvili said. “I am happy it worked out. The story behind my program is that I am a seaman who is on shore after a long trip and has fun, and all this happens in Amsterdam.”
Russian teenager Petr Gumennik performs to 'Moonlight Sonata' in Moscow © International Skating Union (ISU)
Gumennik produced a quadruple Salchow, triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple loop combination as well as level-four spins and footwork in his routine to a modern arrangement of “Moonlight Sonata”. The ISU World Junior bronze medalist scored 96.26 points.
“I am pleased that I skated clean and got many points,” the 18-year-old said. “We originally planned to skate with two quads, Lutz and Salchow, but just before the warm-up on the floor my coach Veronika Daineko told me we’re not going to do that. I felt relief and less nervous, because it has already become easy for me to skate the program with one quad.”
Kolyada almost fell on his opening quad toeloop that was slightly underrotated, but recovered to nail a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toeloop and excellent spins and footwork in his upbeat program to “Let’s Get Loud” by The Baseballs. The 25-year-old two-time European bronze medalist picked up 93.34 points.
Mikhail Kolyada (RUS) recovered from a shaky start to finish in third place on Day 1 © International Skating Union (ISU)
“Everything worked out today except for the quad toe,” the 2018 World bronze medalist said. “I enjoyed the atmosphere here and we’ll continue to work.”
Makar Ignatov (RUS) is not far behind in fourth place on 91.82 points. He landed a rare quad loop. Russia’s 2020 ISU European Champion Dmitri Aliev underrotated his triple Axel to place fifth on 89.62 points. The 2020 ISU World Junior Champion Andrei Mozalev (RUS) impressed with a quad flip, but stepped out of an underrotated quad toe and had no combination to finish sixth (86.01 points).
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit: https://isu.org/GrandPrix. Follow the discussion on social media by using #FigureSkating #GPFigure.
Where to watch and follow the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2020?
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel.
Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
Stay connected with the ISU Social Media:
YouTube: Skating ISU
IG: @ISUFigureSkating
Facebook: @ISUFigureSkating
Twitter: @ISU_Figure
Follow the conversation with #GPFigure and #FigureSkating.
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2020
- 2020 Guaranteed Rate Skate America, Las Vegas (USA) – October 22-24
- Shiseido Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN) – November 6-8
- Rostelecom Cup, Moscow (RUS) – November 20-22
- NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN) – November 27-29
- ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Finalpostponed
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final that was to be held as an Olympic Test Event on December 10-13 has been postponed. The ISU, in consultation with all stakeholders and considering the pandemic developments, is evaluating the continuation of the 2020/21 season.
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series
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. Due to the current situation, the usual selection criteria do not apply. Please see the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating page for further information.