By Gina Capellazzi, Team FSO website administrator
Photos by Robin Ritoss
ANGERS—Reigning European Champion Adam Siao Him Fa, of France, won his second straight Grand Prix de France title in what was an exciting men’s event in Angers.
After the short program, only 0.51 separated Siao Him Fa, who was in second place behind 2023 World bronze medalist Ilia Malinin, of the United States.
In the free skate, Siao Him Fa executed four quadruple jumps and two triple Axels, along with triple lutz-Euler-triple salchow combination, to earn a personal best free skate score of 205.71 and a total score of 306.78, which was also a personal best score. The score was enough to win the event by just over 2 points.
“It (to win) feels great, I still cannot realize what happened,” Siao Him Fa told the media following the free skate. “The fact that the level this year at the Grand Prix in France was so high was motivating me. I really wanted to push myself over my limits and I really enjoyed to skate here tonight.”
Siao Him Fa will compete next week at Cup of China to try to secure his spot at the Grand Prix Final.
Malinin’s free skate also included four quadruple jumps, along with two triple Axels, one in sequence with a triple lutz. He earned a free skate score of 203.10 and dropped to second with total of 304.68 points.
“I am very happy with my skate today,” Malinin said. “My main goal was to try to have a solid base and to qualify for the Final. And I think that I have achieved that here.”
With Malinin’s win at Skate America and his second-place finish in France, Malinin has 28 points and will qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China.
After injury forced him to miss last season’s Grand Prix series, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama returned to the circuit, winning the bronze medal. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist’s free skate included a quadruple salchow and quadruple toe-Euler-triple salchow, but he popped his planned triple Axel. He did earn a season’s best score of 175.23, which was fourth in the free skate. However, the score was enough for him to win the bronze with a total score of 273.14.
“I feel I made some mistakes in my performance and I’m very frustrated,” Kagiyama said. “And looking at the scores and also my performance, I think I’ve still a lot to work on to compete with the top two. But those two skaters inspired me a lot to move on and to work for the future.”
Kagiyama’s second Grand Prix event is NHK Trophy, the final Grand Prix event before the Grand Prix Final in December.
2023 ISU European bronze medalist Lukas Britschgi, of Switzerland, had his best finish on the Grand Prix Series, finishing third in the free skate with a personal best free skate score of 176.49 and a total score of 263.43, also a personal best score. Britschgi will also compete at NHK Trophy.
Team USA’s Camden Pulkinen finished in fifth place with a total score of 230.84 points. France’s Luc Economides pulled up from ninth to sixth place with a score of 230.74.
Women
Just two weeks after winning her fourth Grand Prix silver medal (three Grand Prix event silver medals and a silver at the Grand Prix Final), Team USA’s Isabeau Levito won her first Grand Prix gold and punched her ticket to the Grand Prix Final.
In her free skate, the reigning U.S. Champion nailed a triple lutz-triple toe as well as four more clean triple jumps. However, Levito stepped out of a triple salchow in a combination and stumbled on her final spin. She earned a free skate score of 131.39, which was third in the free skate. Her five-point lead after the short program helped her remain in first place with a total score of 203.22 points. Levito is the first U.S. woman to win a Grand Prix event since 2016 when Ashley Wagner won gold at Skate America. (Note: 2022 U.S. Champion Mariah Bell won gold at Skate America in 2020, but due to COVID, the event was held with only U.S. skaters and skaters who train in the U.S.). Also at 16-years-old, Levito is the youngest U.S. woman to win a Grand Prix event since 2002 Olympic Champion Sarah Hughes won Skate Canada International in 2001.
“I’m very proud that I was able to improve from last season’s result on the Grand Prix circuit,” Levito said after the free skate. “It was my goal to win one of my Grand Prix at least, to secure that I make it to the final.”
Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone climbed up from fourth after the short program to claim the silver medal in her Grand Prix debut. In her free skate, Pinzarrone had seven clean triple jumps to post a new personal best free skate score of 133.06, which was second in the free skate. She had a total score of 198.80, which was also a personal best score.
“I didn’t expect it. It actually doesn’t feel real, but I’m standing here, so I’m super happy and I will also be happy to go back to training,” Pinzarrone said.
Pinzarrone will now compete at NHK Trophy.
Japan’s Rion Sumiyoshi sat in fifth place following the short program, but moved up to third place with the first-place free skate in the women’s event. In her free skate, Sumiyoshi landed her first clean quadruple toe loop in competition, along with five clean triple jumps. Her only mistakes in the program were doubling a salchow and an underrotation call on a triple lutz. Her free skate score was 136.04, which was a personal best free skate score, and a total score of 197.76, also a personal best score. The bronze marked Sumiyoshi’s third Grand Prix bronze medal. She won bronze at this event last season. Her second Grand Prix event is in two weeks at Grand Prix Espoo.
In third after the short program, World silver medalist Haein Lee of Korea dropped to fourth place with 190.96 points. Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi, who is returning to the Grand Prix Series after missing last season due to a stress fracture injury, finished the event in fifth place with a total score of 190.02. ISU European Champion Anastasiia Gubanova, of Georgia, who was in second after the short program dropped to sixth place with 187.77 points. All three women will compete at NHK Trophy later this month.
Pairs
In their first season on the Grand Prix, and only their second season competing together, Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada claimed their first Grand Prix title and have qualified for their first Grand Prix Final.
Heading into the free skate, Pereria and Michaud only had a 0.66 lead over European Champions and World bronze medalists Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy. They executed a throw triple loop and salchow in the free skate, but Michaud struggled with the side-by-side jumps, falling on a double Axel and stepping out of the triple salchow. They earned a free skate score of 128.70, which was a personal best free skate score and a total score of 194.67, also a personal best score to stay in first place and win the title. With a silver medal at Skate America and the gold medal in France, Pereira and Michaud have qualified for the Grand Prix Final.
“A year ago today was our first competition together, so it’s been a whirlwind,” Michaud said. “It’s something special when you have a goal, obviously we push for it every day, but to know that what we’ve been putting into it is paying off is a super rewarding feeling. To have this event, to have Skate America and to now qualify for the final is something that we’re super excited for.”
In the free skate, Conti and Macii executed side-by-side triple salchows and throw triple loop, but Conti stumbled on the double Axel in a combination with a triple toe and also on the throw triple salchow. They earned 124.15 points in the free skate for a total score of 189.46 to win the silver medal.
“We are not so happy with our free skating,” Conti said. “There were a lot of mistakes in the jumps and in the throw and we missed a few points in the lift and the spiral.
Conti and Macii will compete in two weeks at Grand Prix Espoo.
The French husband and wife team of Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev won the bronze medal, which was their second straight Grand Prix de France medal. In their free skate, they accomplished triple toe-double toe-single Axel combination, as well as a throw triple salchow. They earned a season’s best score of 113.84 and a total score of 172.88. They will also compete in Grand Prix Espoo.
“We are pretty happy with our performance today. Technically it was close to our best,” said Camille Kovalev. “We will work to improve the levels, the lifts and everything, but we are pretty happy.”
Team USA’s Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez earned their second fourth-place finish of the 2023 Grand Prix Series, while France’s Oceane Piegad and Denys Strekalin moved up from seventh-place to finish fifth. Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea withdrew before the free skate after Kam sustained an injury in a fall during the morning practice before the free skate. They were in fifth place after the short program.
Dance
It was a repeat of the 2022 Grand Prix de France podium in the dance event at the 2023 Grand Prix de France. 2023 World silver medalists Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy claimed their third Grand Prix title, with Canadians Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen and France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud of France taking the silver and bronze respectively.
Visit Ice-Dance.com for more on the dance event at Grand Prix de France.
