Andrei Mozalev (RUS) competes at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn (EST) ©International Skating Union
2020 World Junior Champion Andrei Mozalev of Russia came to Tallinn as a last minute replacement and took the lead in the Men’s Short Program as the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 opened in Tallinn (EST). Teammates Mark Kondratiuk and Evgeni Semenenko follow in second and third. All three men are separated by less than a point.
Skating to “Heart Cry” by Drehz, Mozalev produced a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow, triple Axel and level-four spins and footwork to score 99.76 points, improving his personal best by 15 points. The 2022 National bronze medalist was not even supposed to be at the event and came in as a late substitute when Mikhail Kolyada (RUS) withdrew citing injury.
“I learnt about my participation only on Sunday and we had to fly to Tallinn on Monday,” Mozalev shared. “I prepared myself as usual, calmly. I was the first substitute, so I had to keep myself in good shape. I was ready to go any time.”
Mark Kondratiuk (RUS) competes at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn (EST) ©International Skating Union
Kondratiuk’s performance to “The Magnificent Century” featured a quad toe, triple Axel, quad Salchow-triple toe as well as an expressive step sequence that was rated a level four. The 2022 Russian Champion posted a new personal best of 99.06 points.
“Today I was not too nervous. I was calm, I can even say confident. I trained well here and I woke up this morning with the thought, today I am confident,” the 18-year-old noted. “Today I just tried to go out like for any other competition not thinking about this being the European Championship. It is my career-best score (for the Short Program). It is good for today, but the most important thing is the free skating the day after tomorrow and I need to keep it up.”
Evgeni Semenenko (RUS) competes at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 in Tallinn (EST) ©International Skating Union
Semenenko landed a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow and triple Axel in his routine to “What It Is About Her” by Nadim Naaman. The 2021 Skate Canada bronze medalist got a new personal best as well with 99.04 points.
“The short program is done and I want to thank the audience who supported us during the short program. We will be setting ourselves up for the free skating,” Semenenko commented.
Reigning European bronze medalist Morisi Kvitelashvili (GEO) landed two quads, but underrotated his triple Axel to finish fourth at 92.76 points. Gran Premio d’Italia bronze medalist Daniel Grassl is not far behind in fifth after landing a quadruple Lutz-triple toeloop combination (91.75 points). Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT) rounds up the top six with another clean performance and 90.24 points.
Thirty-three Men competed in the Short Program and the top 24 advance to the Free Skating on Friday.
Event Schedule
The schedule of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022 is as follows:
Wednesday, January 12: Men and Pairs Short Program, Opening Ceremony
Thursday, January 13: Women’s Short Program, Pairs Free Skating
Friday, January 14: Rhythm Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Saturday, January 15: Free Dance, Women’s Free Skating
Sunday, January 16: Exhibition Gala
For more information, full entry lists and results please see the ISU event website and the official event website. Follow the discussion on social media using #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch and follow the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2022:
The ISU European Figure Skating Championships 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.
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