The Rostelecom marathon continues with photos taken at the pairs draw, establishing the order for the short program segment of the event, and, later on, during practice. You’ll notice familiar faces – and we’re, of course, hinting, among others, at Aliona Savchenko & Bruno Massot, and Valentina Marchei & Ondrej Hotarek – but you’ll also see pairs debuting in the Grand Prix circuit; and a famous pair skater turned into coach in between his own Grand Prix assignments. Want to know who we’re talking about? See below – and enjoy the overall competition in Moscow.

Aliona Savchenko and husband Liam Cross waiting for the pairs draw to begin – Aliona got married in August this year

According to the draw, Russia’s Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert were the last to take the ice for their short program – hence the smiles

Canada’s Camille Ruest and Andrew Wolfe drew number 4, ending the first group of skaters in the pairs SP

Newly crowned gold medalists in Skate America, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau drew number 3 for their SP

Ondrej Hotarek drew number 6 for him and Valentina Marchei – according to the draw, they were pair 2 to take the ice in group 2.

There’s a moment in a draw when everyone smiles: particularly when someone – a skater or a pair – chooses number 1. In this case, Lithuania’s Goda Butkute and Nikita Ermolaev were scheduled to open the (pairs) ball; see their reaction.

Less than two hours later, the pairs took the ice for their practice – here you have Goda and Nikita…

For Russia’s Alisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin, Rostelecom Cup is the first Grand Prix event of their career

Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert during practice – they are a very well-matched pair and their elegance is obvious even in this snapshot

…and now to the big guns in Moscow: Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot enter competition as favorites to win gold

Forza! Team Italy, with Valentina and Ondrej ready to embrace the experience of this year’s edition of Rostelecom Cup
FURTHER READING
2016 Rostelecom Cup: the draw for the ladies and men’s SP. A photo story.