Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i International Figure Skating

There was a collective global cheer on Oct. 1 when the International Skating Union finally posted the Grand Prix assignments for 2020. As we go to print, the Series is about to get underway with Skate America in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, due to the lengthy delay each host nation experienced organizing its event, the first two competitions will have taken place by the time this issue lands in your mailbox. But we have the final three events covered with previews and line-ups for each one. There are only five Grand Prix competitions this season. Due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario in October and the government restrictions that were subsequently put in place, Skate Canada International was cancelled for the first time in history. As skaters can…

“I just missed it so much that when I was able to go back, it kind of reignited the fire I have for the sport.” Bradie Tennell was sailing through the 2019-2020 season, enjoying the process and looking ahead to a strong finale at the World Championships. Though that plan was ultimately shelved, Tennel had a lot to be proud of, given what she had achieved throughout the season. Prior to the start of last year’s campaign, Tennell opted to skip the pre-season Challenger Series competition, — Autumn Classic International — to focus on her two Grand Prix assignments. That decision paid off at her first event, Skate America, where she captured her first silver medal on the Grand Prix circuit. A fourth-place finish at her second assignment, Skate Canada…

Jason Brown will tell you he has never felt better about his skating than he did at the beginning of 2020, when he won back-to-back silver medals at the U.S. and Four Continents Championships. The American, who calls the northern suburbs of Chicago home, is entering his third season of training at the Toronto Cricket Club, and his decision to relocate there in 2018 continues to look better with each passing day. The gregarious 25-year-old from Highland Park, Illinois, speaks with a combination of enthusiasm and gratitude about everything that has come his way since coming under the wings of Tracy Wilson and Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket Club. “I felt like I was soaring last season, and I really had made these big strides,” Brown told IFS in…

A new biography on the life and career of Aljona Savchenko is slated for release as an e-book at the end of October 2020. Originally published in German in 2016 as “The Perfect Pair” — a recap of the career of Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy — the updated English version covers the complete history of her journey with Szolkowy and Bruno Massot. The 230-page book contains The 230-page book contains more than 200 color images along with interesting recaps of the careers of all three skaters from childhood, first-hand accounts of conversations and interviews from competitions spanning a decade, and insightful details from behind the scenes make this a book many will enjoy reading. Information on how to purchase and download the e-book will be posted on the IFS website.…

The chances of Alina Zagitova, the 2018 Olympic champion, returning to competition seem very slim at this point. On Sept. 9, she withdrew from the Russian test skates in order to focus on her new career as co-host of the reality television show “Ice Age,” produced by former World ice dance champion Ilia Averbukh. Zagitova also opted not to compete in the Cup of Russia series, which serves as the selection process for the national championships in December. I think 80 percent of Alina has decided to end her career,” said Alexander Zhulin. “It will be unrealistically difficult to fight the girls who do quads. And to be honest, why does she need all this? She has won everything.” The 18-year-old recently began her post-secondary education at Moscow’s Russian Presidential…

He won everything there was to win in his 19-year figure skating career. Now, at age 37, the Russian star has set the wheels in motion to fulfill his lifelong dream of developing a new generation of champions at his own school. Since hanging up his competitive skates in 2014, life has been a whirlwind for Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko. Throughout his career, he was always in high demand for shows and, following his departure from the competitive arena, developed a lucrative career on the show circuit. He subsequently began producing his own shows — classical exhibition galas and intricate theatre-like productions — that tour throughout Russia and Europe. Plushenko officially retired in 2017 and, after decades of competing and performing, the 37-year-old is now focused on a full-time coaching career…

The newly minted Canadian ladies champion was just days away from an opportunity to skate at the 2020 World Championships, and on home soil in Montréal, to boot. The excitement she felt about making her debut at the global event was palpable. But then, as she read a news story on her cellphone while riding a city bus in Vancouver, that feeling quickly turned to devastation. The World Championships had been postponed due to the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic — and just like that, Bausback’s season was over. “I was really sad,” said the 18-year-old Vancouver native. “It was pretty upsetting — I was crying on the bus. It was so disheartening because it was something I had worked so hard for in my career. I had always…

On Sept. 29 the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace (FFSG) announced that Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès had called an end to their competitive career. The six-time French pairs champions, who joined forces in 2010, worked their way up through the ranks in the eight seasons they competed. The 2018-2019 campaign brought them the success they had strived for, with five victories on the international circuit: 2018 Autumn Classic International, 2018 Skate Canada, 2018 Internationaux de France, the 2018 Grand Prix Final and the 2019 European Championships. They finished fifth at 2019 Worlds, their final competitive appearance. Ciprès is currently under investigation by SafeSport in the U.S. for allegedly sending explicit images to a minor. He returned to France in the fall of 2019. In July 2020, he was…

When all the ice rinks in Ontario, Canada, closed in March, Evgenia Medvedeva was in a quandary. With a show in Japan scheduled for the end of June, in which she had the starring role, she needed to be in shape. Concerned that international borders would close in response to the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, she made the decision to go to Japan in early April. But, when the rinks in Ontario slowly reopened in the early days of summer, Medvedeva found herself unable to return to Canada as the country’s borders were closed to all but essential travelers. She returned to Russia in early July and began training at the CSKA Club under the watchful eye of Elena Buianova and Tatiana Tarasova, with Brian Orser giving her…

The past seven months have been tough for Canadian pairs skater Lubov Ilyushechkina, who found herself adrift following the abrupt end to her pairs partnership with Charlie Bilodeau in April. Though it has taken time for her to come to terms with and recover emotionally from what transpired, Ilyushechkina is now putting the experience behind her and moving on. When Lubov Ilyushechkina left her native Russia and moved to Canada in June 2014 to partner with Dylan Moscovitch, she came with high hopes and great expectations. Though the pairs duo found moderate success on the world stages, they were never able to reach the top step of a podium at a major international in the four seasons they competed together. The partnership ended after a fourth-place finish at the 2018…

Grenoble Internationaux de France, the fourth event of the Grand Prix Series, will take place in Grenoble. This competition has a definite international flavor with skaters from 11 nations scheduled to compete. Japan’s Shoma Uno, who now trains in Switzerland with Stéphane Lambiel, is the frontrunner to take the title and make amends for his eighth-place finish at this event last season. Reigning French champion Kévin Aymoz will also be aiming for the podium after his disappointing outing at the 2020 European Championships. He is the top pick for silver in Grenoble. Any one of three men could capture the bronze: Latvia’s Deniss Vasiljevs, Matteo Rizzo and Daniel Grassl, both of Italy. Rika Kihira of Japan is also currently training with Lambiel. She will be unchallenged in her quest for…

SUSPENDED Canadian pairs coach Richard Gauthier has been suspended by Skate Canada after criminal charges were levied against him in Québec in early October. The allegations of inappropriate behavior that are the basis of the charges against him date back to 1983. Gauthier has coached many top Canadian pairs teams in his long career, including 2002 Olympic champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier. BABY MAKES THREE It has been an exciting year for former Czech champion Tomáš Verner. On Jan. 10, he proposed to his girlfriend, Tammy Sutan, in the Old Town Square in Prague, and six days later the couple learned they were expecting a child. Verner and Sutan married on March 14 with only their parents and two witnesses present. When they learned the sex of their child…