In close quarters and resentment: what is remembered about the Russian Figure Skating Championship

The Russian Figure Skating Championships ended in St. Petersburg on December 21. As a result, it became clear that this competition is becoming an increasingly vibrant, distinctive brand with its own drama. If the winners in three out of four sports could be predicted with a high degree of probability, then a lot of sensations happened in the fight for medals and the top 5. Izvestia selected five main events that made this championship memorable.

The Olympians are not in the best shape

Both Adelia Petrosyan and Peter Gumennik, who were previously allowed by the IOC to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics, won the Russian Championship in their respective categories, but the victories were not clear-cut. At least Humennik never fell, although he made two "butterflies". Petrosyan fell in the free skate and made mistakes on two more elements, all at the ultra—C level. After the tournament, Petrosyan said that she would not want to let the fans and coaches down at the Olympics, but she did not think about her in St. Petersburg.

"It wasn't the Olympics that were in my head, but the Russian Championship,— said Adelia. — I had a task to roll back my programs. Before the Olympics, I would like to compete in some more competitions, because I don't have as many tournaments as athletes who compete internationally. But it will be up to the coaches and the federation to decide. I hope that this launch will take place somewhere closer to Moscow.

— I have to stay calm, because excitement could interfere with me. In training, when I make a jump, I think it's Milan," said Petr Humennik. — And at competitions, I imagine that this is a training session. I remain calm. From now on, I will be preparing for the Olympic Games. From what I know, I need to perform somewhere else in January so that I don't forget what it's like to go out on the ice under excitement.

Athletes are unhappy with the refereeing, and not only

Talking about refereeing is a common thing for figure skating, but this year there has been a "qualitative" transition. From the screams of the fans, they moved on to the reaction of the athletes. Moreover, they react not only to grades. Dancer Andrey Yezhlov criticized the overemotionality of the fans of the Pasechnik/Cirizano pair, calling them "redneck fans." Single player Alisa Dvoeglazova, who lost to Petrosyan, posted a video on social media criticizing the results with an obscene comment about the judging.

But Alexander Gallyamov became the champion in thrash current. After his silver medal, he stated that "he did not put up with this result." Later he wrote on social media: "Apparently, this is a hint that it's time to hang up the skates." And then, probably against the background of periodic sports failures and the loss of the status of the country's strongest "greenhouse", he completely snapped at a journalist from Izvestia, considering that calling him for a comment at 10 a.m. was "abnormal" and "mean."

Sensationalism in the fight for medals and places in the national team

The Russian Championship is becoming an increasingly vibrant, distinctive brand with its dramaturgy. If the winners in three out of four sports could be predicted with a high degree of probability, then a lot of sensations happened in the fight for medals and the top 5.

In doubles, no one expected to see Elizaveta Pasechnik and Dario Cirizano on the podium. It was impossible to imagine that Matvey Vetlugin would become the fourth in the men's singles. The breakthrough of 18-year-old Maria Zakharova to the bronze is quite historic — she just returned from injury and beat Eteri Tutberidze's group in fours, cleanly performing two of the most difficult jumps.

Our hobby: the main intrigues of the Russian Figure Skating Championship

The best athletes of the country will compete in St. Petersburg for the main awards of the year

New arenas are needed for the Russian Championship

The tradition of holding the Russian pre-Olympic championships in St. Petersburg is, of course, wonderful (some attribute this fact to the fact that this is the hometown of the federation's head Anton Sikharulidze), but about everyone was unhappy with the Jubilee. This arena is cramped and stuffy, with a capacity of only 7,000 people. There is a request for new cities. If, in order to host the Russian Championship, they must comply with certain special rules (for example, the obligatory presence of a reserve arena), then perhaps it would be easier to change the rules, focusing on the interests of the audience? And there are bigger arenas in St. Petersburg, the Ice Arena and the SKA Arena.

New contenders for leadership in the national team

There are active talks about the imminent admission of Russian figure skaters to the international arena after the Olympics. In this regard, it is important who is considered the first number of the national team. For example, the fact that Mishina has gold in pairs may be decisive./Gallyamov was taken away by Boikov/Kozlovsky (and, by the way, they were not denied a neutral status). Kaganovskaya Dancers/Nekrasov is already right behind Stepanova./Bukin, which is also a hint of the future first number of the national team. And of course, the strong men's guard of the Beijing Olympics model, Semenenko and Kondratyuk, remains in the clip.

Results of the Russian Championship

Men

1. Peter Gumennik — 304.95

2. Evgeny Semenenko — 296.80

3. Mark Kondratyuk — 281.08

Women

1. Adelia Petrosyan — 235.95

2. Alice Dvoeglazova — 227.40

3. Maria Zakharova — 217.73

Couples

1. Alexandra Boikova / Dmitry Kozlovsky — 224.29

2. Anastasia Mishina / Alexander Gallyamov — 223.63

3. Ekaterina Chikmareva / Matvey Yanchenkov — 215.95

Dances

1. Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin — 216.94

2. Vasilisa Kaganovskaya / Maxim Nekrasov — 211.44

3. Elizabeth Pasechnik / Dario Cirizano — 200.63