Crystal Skate

The winners of the day, Russia's Natalia Zabijako & Alexander Enbert The level of difficulty is not very high in the pairs competition in Helsinki, but like I said yesterday, this is a chance for some of the pairs we usually see around the podium to have a taste of being top contenders. It's going to be a great lesson for all of them, I'm sure. Laura Barquero/Aritz Maestu  start off with an improved performance since yesterday, despite a few mistakes still creeping in: the side-by-side combination is way out of sync and the Axel lasso lift is very shaky. That being said, all the other lifts are breathtaking - they make great use of her unbelievable flexibility. Score: 98.63  -> 149.54 . Miu Suzaki/Ryuichi Kihara  begin with a dodgy 3Twist lift, after which she double-foots the 3Flip and falls on the throw version of the same jump. So, today is not a day for the Flip. I really like the very last part of the choreography, when everything seems faster because...

Nicole della Monica & Matteo Guarise's death spiral Last year, right about this time, we were somewhere in China, waiting for the Cup of China to begin. This year, however, things have literally taken a different route. China has withdrawn from hosting any skating events due to a) venues being renovated for the 2022 Olympics and b) a desire to get their skaters to 'go out more' and experience international competition systems. So it is that this season's third Grand Prix is being held in the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Perhaps not by mere coincidence, the pairs short programme (which started the competition again), had a definite European air about it. The top five pairs were almost all European and belonging to what up until last season, we called 'the next generation.' Well, the next generation started their careers as the current generation today. Italy's Nicole della Monica/Matteo Guarise  achieved an amazing result by finishing firs...