Skate Canada International 2018 - Ladies SP - Top 5 Highlights

Looking confident - Elizaveta Tuktamusheva of Russia

Grand Prix events are always good at shaking the ice and turning expectations upside down, and that's pretty much what happened during the ladies' short programme. Was the biggest news of the night Evgenia Medvedeva finishing on 7th place or Elizabeta Tuktamysheva finishing in 1st?

At 21, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva is already a Russian veteran, which is crazy. Maybe it's for that reason (belonging to the 'older' generation) that many people have written her off. So she thought she'd write herself back into the story by starting to jump 3Axels. Boy, was it worth it! She jumped it, she landed it, it was glorious. Score: 74.22.

Wakaba Higuchi's short routine has the potential of being one of the most interesting ones of the season. However, I feel there's a long way to go until that point. As so many skaters, she struggles with looking relaxed while there are still jumps to be done, and that resulted in her looking way too sombre while skating to a song that is literally about having fun. Score: 66.51.

Mako Yamashita's choreography for The Barber of Seville is amazing. Every single step and element was set to the singer's voice. The 3Flip was certainly in sync and at times, the spins were attuned to the pace of the music. I'm really impressed by this routine. Score: 66.30.

Was it nerves that messed up Starr Andrews' debut at Skate America last week? Like so many others we saw in Everett, she performed a lot better in Canada. With George Gershwin's Summertime, the American pulled off a really classy, flawless performance. Score: 64.77.

Mariah Bell's programme went by in the blink of an eye. She was fast, fluid and flawless. She's one of those skaters who transitions beautifully between her spin positions, making it look as if each new one is a natural evolution of the last. Score: 63.35.

So the story went for the leading ladies of Skate Canada 2018 - lots of exciting routines, lots of talented new skaters and the feeling that a new dawn is here, but it might just be led by some very familiar skaters. Let's see what happens in the final.

Quote of the competition:



Want to know what else happened at Skate Canada International 2018?

Men SP

Pairs SP

Rhythmic Dance

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