The composition of the performance: what to expect from the skaters' test runs

It is the control rentals of the Russian national team in St. Petersburg that are considered the starting point of the new season in figure skating. On September 27 and 28, the Yubileyny ice will host all the leaders of the national team, including two participants of the upcoming Olympics. Except for those who have been let down by their health and circumstances. Read more about the participants and their uniforms before the start of the new season in the Izvestia article.

Trains

On Thursday morning, just two days before the start of the rentals themselves, the federation finally published the line-ups. And they surprised many, especially in the men's section. Only six men have been announced, although the past season has shown that men's single skating can be considered the main discipline of this sport in Russia at the moment. There is also positive news — two winners of the Beijing selection, Peter Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan, as well as Alina Gorbacheva, who traveled to China as a backup, will still participate in the rentals with Olympic programs. But what to expect from athletes in September in jumping is decidedly unclear. As a rule, they do not show the optimal shape, and the programs are still raw.

Who won't go out on the ice

Unfortunately, the dropout list is already quite long. Dmitry Aliyev has not yet received medical clearance, Makar Ignatov will miss the box office for health reasons for the first time in five years. Evgeny Semenenko, one of the leaders of the national team, will be absent due to a knee injury. We will not see the Natalia Khabibullina / Ilya Knyazhuk duet: the partner also has health problems. The pair Irina Khavronina / David Narizhny will also be limited to working in Novogorsk, where the national team will hold a training camp.

The most popular comment under the post on the federation's Telegram channel was the fans' demand to add male participants - Andrei Mozalev, Matvey Vetlugin, Roman Savosin and others. On the one hand, it is a very relevant requirement to know how the federation is able to change the rules of the game and the composition of participants along the way. On the other hand, it is hardly feasible. Usually, the rules of the game change not because of the fans, but in spite of them. Although it is unlikely that an extra warm—up would have brought big problems - Channel One has long been showing most of the competitions on the record, cutting episodes, and the live broadcast is on the website.

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Women

The main figure of the women's tournament will be Adelia Petrosyan. The current champion of Russia has successfully passed the Olympic selection. For fans, this is the first chance to see the contender for the Milan 2026 gold at home.

Among the participants are Alina Gorbacheva, the first reserve in the Olympic team, as well as Sofia Akatieva, who is recovering. She once seemed to be Petrosyan's main rival in the fight for a ticket to the Games, but now she deserves respect for continuing her career and fighting.

Add to this the always expressive Sofia Muravyova, who will make her debut with Alexey Mishin's new coaching staff, the stable Anna Frolova and the talented Ksenia Gushchina, and we will get the strongest women's team, whose programs it will be interesting to compare.

Men

The men's focus is on Peter Gumennik from St. Petersburg, the winner of the Olympic selection. For him, playing on home ice is a special moment, and the audience will surely support the leader of the national team. But the competition promises to be fierce — there are people who are ready to prove that they perform no worse than Peter. Mark Kondratyuk was always in good shape at the beginning of the season — now he's also at Tatiana Navka's new academy, albeit still at Svetlana Sokolovskaya's headquarters.

Vladislav Dikidzhi had a difficult off—season, which indirectly confirms that he was not taken to Beijing even as a substitute. Do not forget about the vice-champion of Russia Gleb Lutfullin and Daniil Samsonov, who may interfere in the fight for medals in the upcoming season.

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Couples

Pair skating will once again present the audience with a duel between the two main duets of the country — Anastasia Mishina / Alexander Gallyamov vs. Alexandra Boikova / Dmitry Kozlovsky. The Olympic champions confidently led the way last season, but their rivals still intend to prove that moving to Moscow was not a mistake. The Olympic season has not changed the status of the duets — none of them will go to Milan.

Special attention is focused on Ekaterina Chikmareva and Matvey Yanchenkov: they missed a whole year due to injury, but, according to coach Pavel Slyusarenko, they are skating full programs and are ready to return. It is equally interesting to look at potential leaders Osokina/Gritsaenko and Mukhortova./Evgeniev, as well as Shcherbinin's young couple/Petrov.

Dances

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin will still take to the ice of the Jubilee Stadium, and this will be one of the most anticipated performances for the public. Their return and continued career gives special weight to the tournament: it is important for fans to see the most experienced figure skaters in the country and understand in what form they are approaching the new season. Stepanova / Bukin tried to fight for neutral status, at least in the format of an appeal to the head of the IOC Kirsty Coventry. But, of course, measures of a different order were needed here. They would definitely have passed the selection.

But other duets should be closely monitored: Vasilisa Kaganovskaya/Maxim Nekrasov continues to strengthen his position and now represents St. Petersburg, as does Ekaterina Mironova./Evgeny Ustenko. Anna Shcherbakova/Egor Goncharov has already declared himself a promising duo, Milana Kuzmina/ Dmitry Studenikin and Sofya Shevchenko/ Andrey Yezhlov are also able to surprise. For many, this start will be a chance to gain a foothold in the main squad of the national team.

Test rentals are always more than just a training session with the public. The first intrigues of the season are born here, new favorites appear and old leaders are checked, as well as new programs are evaluated. This time, Petrosyan and Humennik will be the main stars, but in St. Petersburg it often happens that someone else unexpectedly comes to the fore.