European figure skating: Valieva enchants, blue promoted

Kamila Valieva never ceases to amaze: the 15-year-old Russian, in the short of the European Championships in Tallinn, signs another company. With a spatial 90.45 she annihilates her own world record in the race segment (at the end of November, at the Rostelecom Cup in Sochi, she had pushed to 87.42) and gives magic. Triple axel, triple flip and triple lutz-triple toe loop combination with even a small smudge – jumps are poetry, the rest is art. The little girl has a maturity that few have, everything comes easy and natural, with that sprint skating and arriving at the same very precise jumps. Kamila travels on a cloud of her own: the others can only see her from very far away. And, of course, not only in the Old Continent.

Blue promoted

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Russia, however, after those in men and couples, is missing the most awaited hat-trick. “Fault” of 22-year-old Belgian Loena Hendrickx, who returns to the European Championships after four years and a fifth place at the last World Championships: very inspired with 76.25, she signs a second place of great value. After her, disappointed, the other Russians: Alexandra Trusova (75.13) and Anna Shcherbakova (69.05), less precise than usual. Saturday evening, in the free – Valieva aside – it will be a tough battle. In the context, in a very short ranking, also the two 19-year-olds blue in the race, both from Trentino, who overcome the obstacle of qualification. Marina Piredda is fourteenth (59.53), Lara Naki Gutmann twenty-third (52.94).

Free couples

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Tonight the first medals will be awarded, those of the artistic couples. Behind the three Russian tandems, there are the splendid Rebecca Ghilardi-Filippo Ambrosini of the short. The podium seems forbidden, not a good placement. Sara Conti-Niccolo Macii instead restart from the tenth place.