Highlights and Results: JGP Cup of Mordovia

Russians take most the medals at their home event, sweeping all the golds and two of the podiums.

From Japan, this week the Junior Grand Prix series moved to Russia. To be more specific, to the Republic of Mordovia, a federal subject of Russia southeast of Moscow. The Cup of Mordovia, held in the capital of Saransk, didn’t pack the stands the way last week’s event in Yokohama did, but they were a little fuller than usual for a JGP.

Unfortunately, those in the stands were the only ones who got to see the entire event without complications. A continually freezing stream made it much harder for those trying to watch around the world. Even the archived videos often had issues. One expected Russian domination and sweeps. Sure enough, they won nine of the twelve medals available, including all four golds, and sweep two of the four podiums.

Men 

Oddly enough, even though Russia could’ve had three men in this competition, they only had two. One of them, however, Alexander Samarin, completely dominated it. A JGP veteran still in junior largely because there’s so much competition in Russia, he skated with technique, technical ability, and maturity beyond most of the rest of the field. He was also one of only two men to land a clean triple axel jump in the competition. (The other, Georgian Irakli Maysuradze, made a few too many mistakes and had too little else to make up for them. He finished sixth.) He won the short by seven points even with a fall and no combination. With a close to clean free with a quadruple toe loop and two triple axels, he took his final winning margin up to nearly twenty-five points!

SARANSK, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Andrew Torgashev of the United States, Alexander Samarin of Russia and Matyas Belohradsky of Czech Republic pose during the Junior Men medal ceremony on day three of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on September 17, 2016 in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

The only man who could have potentially challenged him was American Andrew Torgashev. In his second JGP season, Torgashev also tried the quad toe, and a triple axel in both programs. Sadly, he stumbled out of his axel in the short and fell on it in the free, where he also stepped out of the quad hard. Those weren’t his only errors in either program, and most of his jumps weren’t too pretty. But the quad and all his triples were rotated, and combined with his good skating technique that was enough to get him silver. It was his first ever JGP medal.

The second Russian man, Petr Gummenik, was also in his second season and trying to win his first medal. He is another young energetic charmer not yet trying the triple axel. Unfortunately a combination and a spin gone wrong left him down in seventh after the short. He came back with a clean free full of personality, which nearly won him the bronze, but he remained point and a half behind Czech skater Matyas Belohradsky. Belohradsky had never finished higher than 9^th in three JGP events, but was second in the short program, mostly by skating clean. He wasn’t far off in the free either, although a doubled salchow nearly cost him the medal. Higher presentation scores than Gummenik helped; he too skated a youthful program that suited him.

Ladies

SARANSK, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Stanislava Konstantinova, Polina Tsurskaya and Elizaveta Nugumanova of Russia pose during the Junior Ladies medal ceremony on day three of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on September 17, 2016 in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

The ladies event started promisingly enough. Polina Tsurskaya, coming back from the ankle injury that took her out of the World Junior Championships, skated a brilliant short program. Having talked up the story of her short in interviews, she played a frustrated artist anything but frustratingly. Her triple lutz-triple toe combination was as lovely as ever, and the rest of the program was almost as good. Her 69.02 is a record score for a junior lady, and a number of fans thought she should’ve scored higher!

Also skating clean, showing superior technique, and landing her triple lutz-triple toe was JGP debutante Stanlislava Konstantinova. She came in second, five points ahead of Japanese two-time JGP-winner Yuna Shiraiwa. Shiraiwa skated an good energetic short and rotated her triple lutz-triple toe, but stumbled on the landing. Two points behind was international debutante Elizaveta Nugumova. She showed both her sharpness and her personality, but underrotated both her triple lutz-triple toe and trouble triple loop. Also landing the triple lutz-triple loop were fifth place Korean Hanul Kim and sixth-place Japanese skater Kokoro Iwamoto, but they both had also difficulties with their loop.

Tsurskaya and Konstantinova held on to gold and silver by virtue of their short program leads, but neither skated their best in the free. Tsurskaya doubled the lutz in her triple lutz-triple toe-double toe attempt, landed her triple lutz-triple toe but not very well, and singled an axel. Konstaninova didn’t even manage the triple lutz-triple, underrotating the lutz in her attempt, fell on her double axel, and was generally shaky on her jumps, though she did her programs choreography well.

SARANSK, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 17: Stanislava Konstantinova of Russia competes during the Junior Ladies Free Skating on day three of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on September 17, 2016 in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

It was in fact enough to raise debate about the judging when down below, Shiraiwa dropped, causing the Russian sweep. She had successfully landed her own triple lutz-triple toe this time and skated most of her program clean. Towards the end, though, her energy ran out, and she stepped out of a flip and fell on an underrotated loop. If not for the loop she would’ve medaled, but instead she dropped to fourth behind Nugumanova. Nugumanova won the free skate by skating the cleanest of the top four. Although even she underrotated a triple lutz, but she also did a rare triple loop-triple loop combination.

It should be noted that Konstaninova and Nugumanova both beat Shiraiwa technically, and really are a little better than her in terms of pure skating.  But it did not help the perception of the judging that Iwamoto only moved up to fifth with a triple lutz-triple and relatively clean program. She even had the highest technical score after Nugumanova. But her presentation scores kept her from passing anyone besides Kim. Kim also landed her triple lutz-triple toe again, but her free after that was riddled with errors.

Pairs

There were ten pairs in the competition, but none of them could touch the three Russians who swept the podium. This was true even when two of them strugged in the free, and the bronze medalists struggled throughout. The Russian federation hadn’t even wanted world bronze medalists Ekaterina Borisova & Dmitry Sopot to compete here after her bout with meningitis in the summer, but they really wanted to.

SARANSK, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii, Anastasia Mishina and Vladislav Mirzoev and Ekaterina Borisova and Dmitry Sopot of Russia pose during the Junior Junior Pairs medal ceremony on day three of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on September 17, 2016 in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

The Federation was right to be worried. They were third after the short, not far ahead of the rest of the field.  Their elements were rough throughout it, though the most damage was caused by her underrotating their side by side double axels. Their side by sides in the free skate went no better. There, he doubled their planned side by side triple toes, and their planned side by side combination ended with her singling and then going down on the first double axel. Their other elements there, however, were better, and even a little harder.  This helped them remain more than comfortably in the bronze medal position, and almost even won them silver.

Silver ultimately went to Aleksandra Boikova & Dmitrii Kozlovskii, a team of two former singles skaters together less than a year. Their short program had moments of awkwardness, but clean elements and a beautiful throw triple flip. In the free, however, none of their jumping passes were completely clean. Relying on their singles history, they went for ambitious side by side triple loops, which they rotated, but she fell on. They got through a side by side triple toe-double toe-double toe combination with only a stumble from him, but then she went down on their throw triple loop. Even their much easier throw salchow had her put her free foot down slightly on the landing. Third in the free skate, they held on by less than two points, largely because they still rotated everything.

Having a much better time of it were World Junior silver medalists Anastasia Mishina and Vladislav Mirzoev. He has recently been dealing with a minor knee injury, but that was not apparent in their short. They cleanly skated a playful program where they too landed a throw triple flip, albeit not smoothly. That they followed up with what was by far the cleanest free of the night. There they pulled off another throw flip, this time prettier, and side by side salchows, the latter each with an arm raised. Ironically it was on the element they watered down that Mirzoev went wrong. Because of his knee, they went only for a triple toe-double toe-double toe combination, even though they’ve practiced a triple toe-triple toe-double toe, but he still failed to rotate either of the double toes. Even so, their winning margin was over twenty points.

Ice Dance

SARANSK, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 17: (L-R) Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the United States, Alla Loboda and Pavel Drozd of Russia, Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko of Russia pose during the Junior Ice Dance medal ceremony on day three of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating on September 17, 2016 in Saransk, Russia. (Photo by Joosep Martinson – ISU/ISU via Getty Images)

Like in the pairs, the top three in ice dance went unchallenged by the rest of the field. Unlike in pairs, however, they weren’t all Russian. Instead the American-born son of two Russian Olympic champions and his partner challenged the top home team for the gold. Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko had won silver in France. For the second time in the series, they tailed the home team very close in both segments, but for the second time, they came up short in both. In their fourth season on the JGP, Alla Loboda & Pavel Drozd have gone up a level, skating with technique and expression worthy of the senior level. They were helped further by a technical advantage in the short, and a creatively choreographed and flawlessly done free.

Carreira & Ponomarenko still won their second silver of the series in style. They improved their technical tariff in both programs, and performed very well. Below them, Sofia Shevchenko & Igor Efremenko improved on their own fifth-place performance from France in some ways. Their short was similar, if a touch smoother. In their free, they had a rough moment with one of their lifts, but avoided the lower levels on their elements that had cost them the medal in St. Gervais. Although any chance of them losing it was gone after the third Russian team, Eva Kurs & Dmitri Mikhailov, suffered falls in both programs.

Next: 10 Reasons to Watch the World Cup of Hockey

Carreira & Ponomarenko were also the only skaters here skating their second event and in contention for the Junior Grand Prix Finale. Their two silvers don’t lock them, but they do make them highly likely to make it.