Crystal Skate

One of the most exciting finals of these championships is the ladies'. Elena Radionova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva are both in excellent positions to take home the gold medal, so the winner will be entirely decided today. Anna Pogorilaya, who finished the short on third place, is unlikely to advance, but can she maintain her rank? We'll have to wait and see. First of all, I have more bad news. Kiira Korpi, fresh from her one year break, has fallen ill and, despite trying to overcome her illness, had to withdraw. I have never heard of Angelina Kuchvalska  before, but I'm glad she brought Latvia on the figure skating map by coming to Stockholm. Her mash-up of Tango of Roxanne  and the love theme from Romeo and Juliet  don't really have a lot in common, and I would have preferred to see her skate solely to the tango, but she interprets the two pieces well. I particularly like the way she uses her arms to express emotion. The only mistake is over-rotating the triple Lutz...

The second final of these European championships belongs to the boys. After the short skate, Javier Fernandez leads with over eight points ahead of Sergei Voronov. Michal Brezina managed to take the third place, but there are only two points separating him from Maxim Kovtun, who is on fourth. Let's see if the standings remain unchanged. Adian Pitkeev is at the start of his career Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Europe Adian Pitkeev  shouldn't be stressed tonight as he's not up for any medal, but the amount of talent that has recently emerged out of Russia has surely put pressure on him to prove himself. He shows us he's good enough to be here, but there's nothing unique about him yet, probably because he's only sixteen. Also his interpretation of a heavy song like Sarabande Suite  is not as profound as an experienced skater's would have been. The only real mistake is the stepping-out of the last jump. His score: 141.09 . Overall: 210.87 . ...

Yesterday in the short dance, Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron finished on first place, clearly on their way to winning their first ever European gold medal. The couple who currently holds the title, Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte, finished on third, visibly troubled by the results. However, the difference between the French and the Italians is less than two points, so anything can happen. On that note, we should also keep in mind that Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin, currently on second place, are looking for their first European victory too. We'll have to start with bad news, I'm afraid. Great Britain's Penny Coomes & Nicholas Buckland were forced to withdraw because Nicholas has fallen ill. We wish him a quick recovery. Lifts is something Guignard & Fabbri excel at Photograph: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Europe I have previously said that the words in Sara Hurtado/Adria Diaz 's free dance are distracting. Well, I must have go...

The second day of the 2015 European Figure Skating Championships is upon us. First off are the ladies with their short programme. Needless to say that the battle for the gold will be between Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Elena Radionova. It's going to be interesting to see what these two ambitious, incredibly talented skaters can do in Stockholm. Anna Pogorilaya's Adagio  is in a class of its own Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images Europe Haven't you missed Kiira Korpi ? This gracious lady used to be one of the best European skaters before she got injured and had to skip an entire season. You can tell figure skating fans missed her too because they cheer as loudly as they can as soon as she steps on the ice. She puts a hand down on the double Axel, but otherwise this is a very good comeback. Her score: 60.60 . Natalia Popova  always presents her music with a smile, no matter what the story is. That doesn't help with her presentation because she doesn't express...

The second event of the competition has arrived, and the pressure is not getting easier to bear as the outcome is hard to predict. Anna Cappellini & Luca Lanotte return on ice after withdrawing from the grand-prix series due to poor results. I am looking forward to seeing what changes they've made to their routine, and how will they fare against Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron, on whom many have already bet for taking the European title from the Italians. I wish them all good luck! Testa/Csolley's daring lift Photograph: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Europe Sara Hurtado/Adria Diaz  are determined to make their homeland proud in a season that pays tribute to its traditional music. I love the clapping incorporated into the choreography and the way she plays with her dress. Unfortunately, the twizzles are not in unison. Their score: 62.59 . Ksenia Monko/Kirill Khaliavin 's sombre costumes are less appealing than those of the Spaniards, while their rou...

Someone once said about Stockholm that here "everything works. Everything looks good." As it prepares to host its first European championship of figure skating since 1912, we can only hope that the saying can be applied to the skaters' performances as well. We start off with the men's short programme, where the favourite is Spain's Javier Fernandez, followed by Maxim Kovtun, Sergei Voronov and Michal Brezina. Let's see how it all goes down. Florent Amodio hasn't quite returned to his best form, but he's getting there Photo: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images Europe Alexander Majorov  gets the crowd on their feet despite the fall on the triple Loop. He chose a famous Pink Floyd song for the short, The Great Gig in the Sky . His score: 68.10 . Pavel Ignatenko  from Belarus chose to skate on a cover of Adele's Skyfall ; this version is more energetic than the original, but it lacks the sophistication associated with James Bond. He falls on the tr...