We’ll start with a warning: this story features more than 200 photos of the 24 individual skaters, pairs and ice dance teams that qualified for this edition of the (senior) Grand Prix Final – so make sure there’s plenty of time ahead of you to watch them all, to be amazed by them all.
Home for the Olympic figure skating events in 2006, home for the World Figure Skating Championships in 2010, Palavela Arena proved to be, once again, a marvelous host for skating – and the Olympic rings displayed above the rink, a wonderful incentive for all the athletes gathered in Torino for the Final.
And if you need a recap of what happened ahead of the Grand Prix Final, there you have it:
Act One: 2019 Skate America
Act Two: 2019 Skate Canada
Act Three: 2019 Internationaux de France
Act Four: 2019 Cup of China
Act Five: 2019 Rostelecom Cup
Act Six: 2019 NHK Trophy
In Torino, the special energy of those rings, encapsulating the Olympic dreams, was clearly felt in some of the performances.
Take Yuzuru Hanyu, for example – he knew Palavela by heart, the heart of a kid watching Johnny Weir skate to “Otoñal” at 2006 Olympics, the heart of a kid living the immense joy of seeing Evgeni Plushenko win his long-chased Olympic gold, to music specially arranged for him by the violinist Edvin Marton.
Plus: Palavela was home to Shizuka Arakawa’s gold – the first Olympic gold ever in the history of Japanese figure skating – and that surely left a trace in each and every young Japanese skater at the time.
And so this was a personal, meaningful journey for Yuzuru in Torino – he skated his tributes to Johnny Weir and Evgeni Plushenko at the exact place where everything started, closing a circle that opened 13 years ago at the Olympics.
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The obvious star of this edition of the Grand Prix Final was definitely Nathan Chen, whose dominance extended in Torino: apart from being a two-time World champion, Nathan is now a three-time (consecutive) Grand Prix Final champion, and his technical brilliance, his performing qualities made him the talk of the town. Plus: his yellow shirt, with a neon “E” (standing for Elton, Elton John) on the right sleeve.
But the happiest man in Torino was surely Kévin Aymoz, who didn’t even dare to dream of a medal ahead of the Final – and, yet, he found himself sitting at the table with Yuzuru and Nathan after the short and, once again, after the free.
He deservedly won his place among the very best – and his bronze medal in Torino will surely give him an additional pair of wings (he had one already) for the rest of the season.
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On the other hand, this was Wenjing Sui and Cong Han’s first Grand Prix Final gold in their 10th senior season (you read that right) – and the missing title put additional pressure on the Olympic silver medalists, two-time World Champions, five-time Four Continents champions and winners of dozens of medals in the senior circuit.
And now they’d done it, won the Grand Prix Final too, they can put that aside and focus on the rest of their goals.
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As everyone expected from the way the Grand Prix events unfolded – six gold medals out of the six possible for the girls in Tutberidze’s team in their journey to the Final –, the podium in Torino was going to be a family affair in between Alena Kostornaia, Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova, the wunderkinds taking the skating world by storm.
For a moment, the Olympic and World champion en-titre, Alina Zagitova, seemed to interfere – she was second after the ladies’ SP – but the victory belonged to the three juniors-turned-into-seniors this season, Alena (16), Anna (15) and Alexandra (15), in a display of both talent and technical prowess in Torino; but still children at heart: Alexandra even brought her dog, Tina, on the ice at the end, and all three of them giggled and ate some of the tempting chocolate in the sweet-bouquets of Torino, while on the podium.
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In the ice dancing event, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won their second Grand Prix Final gold (due to different health issues along the way they only took part in four Finals) and added layers of meaning in their revolutionary free dance to spoken words.
And there were seconds of silence at the end of their dance – as we watched the dance itself flying through Gabriella’s arms – and there were cheers and standing ovation after, and all, so well-deserved.
And the audience in Palavela was delighted with the snake-dance as well: Madison Chock and Evan Bates outdid themselves in Torino, and made each second of their dance, each moment, a little masterpiece. And you don’t have to trust us – there are plenty of sparkling photos to prove it.
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That being said, indulge yourselves with the action in Torino, exactly as it happened, with the raw emotions, reactions of the moment.
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little stories by Florentina Tone/photos by Alberto Ponti, Torino
ONE WITH THE GUITAR OF JOE BONAMASSA
Junior Grand Prix Final champions last season, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov attack their first senior Grand Prix Final with a lot of courage and a sense of “we have nothing to lose” – and they can definitely be pleased with that debut. Their side-by-side spins were a bit approximate here and there, but all the rest looked just great.
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A flying triple twist from Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin – and fantastic elements altogether in their short program in Torino. And they are ready for this, or what? The speed, the energy, matching the speed and energy of the music. Enthusiastic skate, really.
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It must be the air – the Olympic air in Palavela rink – that brings the best out of these pair skaters. We’re so impressed with Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii’s presence – no doubt about it, their skating is big, and so are their elements, and so are our emotions. And the music works so well with the qualities of their skating.
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Cheng Peng and Yang Jin are skating to “Alegria” – and, boy, we are happy to see them skate. Some butterflies, some insecurities here and there, on the side-by-side jumps, on the throw, but this program has become theirs.
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Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro lacked their usual confidence, their usual smoothness – too much enthusiasm, emotions? They seemed rather nervous while skating their short program in Torino – the pressure of their first Grand Prix Final surely got to them. They can do better than this – they know it, we know it.
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Wenjing Sui and Cong Han, as if they were the guitar of Joe Bonamassa. Hand on the throw Flip or not – and that throw has been nervy in the warm-up as well –, the program has been a joy to watch, and they are incredible performers.
Because what Wenjing and Cong have, in addition to great elements, is their incredible desire to perform, to amaze, to emote. You just can’t get enough of them – year by year, they “wear” their music like a second layer of skin.
And that’s why we at Inside Skating – and so many others out there – love them so.
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PALAVELA, FILLED WITH EMOTIONS
Distraction, what distraction? If not for anything else, the music-problem made Kévin Aymoz more focused, more determined. And that was the best he ever skated – those three jumping passes were gorgeous, and his performance-skills are to die for.
And there was a lot of screaming in the Kiss and Cry seeing the scores.
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Boyang Jin’s gorgeous quad Lutz can also be his worst enemy sometimes – and it was just the case in his short program in Torino – but then he rallied back to land a quad Toe-triple Toe and a flying triple Axel, and did the best he could do under the Lutz-circumstances. Plus: he performed, he put himself out there in this Olympic arena.
The performer in Boyang – that’s the big win here.
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Every time he’s on the ice, Dmitri Aliev wants to fly – but flying has its dangers; and Dmitri seemed to fight here and there with the landings, and the overall program. He kept it going – but the program didn’t seem round, didn’t seem complete.
Remember though, this is Dmitri’s first Grand Prix Final – and the pressure definitely played with his mind a bit.
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Nathan Chen, on the other hand, literally flied to the wings of “La Bohème”. And though the program seemed a bit rushed in places – he tends to do that when he’s nervous – that was a stunning skate from Nathan in Torino, one which had everything: beautiful jumps, beautiful presence.
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Alexander Samarin would never give up on a jump, that’s the kind of skater he is – and so he fights for the Lutz, he fights for the combo, and tries to make the best out of his “Blues for Klook” short program in Torino.
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All the feels watching Yuzuru Hanyu skate to “Otoñal” in Palavela Olympic Arena.
And that must have been an emotional moment for Yuzuru – with all the memories imprinted in the arena, in the music – and for us has been the same.
And that program was a thing of beauty up until the quad Toe – and it remained a thing of beauty after.
We’ll stay here for a while: the quad Salchow was absolutely sensational, the Axel was such a highlight – and, with or without the combination, that was the most meaningful program of the night.
It felt like that.
And the air was filled with emotions. His. Ours.
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“I’M GONNA LEARN HOW TO FLY… HIGH!”
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin opened the ball in Torino with their sparkling skate to music from “Moulin Rouge”. Luckily, this time no problems with the dress or the hair – only a flowing, teasing skate, to the enthusiasm of the crowd.
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This right here is one of our favorite rhythm dances this season – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier skating to music from “Mack and Mabel”. Highly entertaining, highly addictive – so much character and spark. And the music, so well chosen – it stays with you days after the skate.
Piper and Paul, welcome back to the Grand Prix Final – you belong to the best.
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Is it hot in here or what? Oh, wait, Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the ice for their sensational rhythm dance, sizzling, detailed, intricate. And they’re almost flying on the ice of Torino – and we’re flying with them.
And the amount of details this dance has asks for a straight 10.
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Beautiful long lines – and so much speed: Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov found the perfect vehicle in this “Singin’ In the Rain” rhythm dance. Almost too much enthusiasm in parts, especially from him.
Looking at TES, it’s going to be very tight at the top – and we love that about this event.
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Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron: we’re addicted to their “Fame” rhythm dance, colours and all. And even though that wasn’t a flawless performance – and we’re not used to seeing mistakes from Gabriella and Guillaume lately – the dance was fantastic in terms of commitment to music, to the theme.
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“We have a new look, and we can’t wait for you all to see it tonight. Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe had many loves, but none as great as with Yankees Baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio”, they wrote on instagram on the day of the Rhythm Dance in Torino, promoting the new “face” of their dance.
And we love a Marilyn in sparkling red, and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were brilliant as Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio on the ice of Palavela. Powerful skate, fiery skate.
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Top 3 ice dance teams after the rhythm dance
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FEATHERS IN THE AIR
As if she were floating, as if she were flying, as if she were drawing arabesques on the ice of Torino. Exquisite skate from Alena Kostornaia – and she definitely owns that triple Axel.
“Wow”, says a banner in the audience. “Wow”, we say this as well – and we’ve been saying it the whole season.
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Alexandra Trusova came here to fight, including a recently acquired jump (the triple Axel) in her short program in Torino and keeping up with the hectic rhythm of her music (from “Peer Gynt”). And though the Axel was down this time, there were these incredible commitment and poise in Alexandra’s skate – she’s so focused and we love that about her.
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The mood this program has: so dark, so catching, so engaging. And Anna Shcherbakova is a marvelous story teller. She’s so into the program, and we’re so into her presence, into her performance. Definitely her best short program this season. And some pure beautiful skating.
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This “Breakfast in Baghdad” short program is a choreographic masterpiece, we said it before and we’ll continue to say it. And the insane rhythm of it won’t allow you to lose any second of interpretation – and Rika Kihira does just that, she doesn’t lose any time after falling on the combo.
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The triple Lutz-triple Toe was a bit tight, but all the rest was just fantastic. And we think this is the best short program Bradie Tennell ever had – and she portrayed the music to the fingertips. What a show the ladies have thrown in Torino.
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Who said Alina Zagitova would give up her throne, her crown so easily? She was breathtakingly beautiful in her “Me Voy” short program in Torino, giving emotions, receiving emotions. Finally a program that put her performance skills under the spotlight.
She felt the music, the program – and we felt her emotions.
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Subjective recap of the Ladies SP: Alena was impeccable, Alina put her heart into that skate, Anna became “the girl with the plums”, Bradie has found her true self, Alexandra showed commitment to the fingertips, while Rika travelled on the streets of Baghdad. We loved all six of them in Torino.
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Anna, Alexandra, Alena dominated the Grand Prix circuit this season.
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THE JOURNEY
“I know it’s hard to breathe sometimes”. True words, this Grand Prix Final might not have been as Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro had envisioned it, but they flied, they carried each other, in spite of the dress mishap, in spite of Michael’s terrible fall.
“Really good points”, they say when looking at the scores – and they will definitely learn from this experience, be readier next time. Because surely Kirsten and Michael are here to stay, and they belong to the best.
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Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov invite us all to “The Great Ball at Satan’s” in the debut of their free skate and we’re already sold. And this “Master and Margarita” long program is one of our favorite pairs programs this season – they tell the story so well.
And the change of perspective has been quite fast: last season we only paid little attention to them as juniors, and now we’d been impatiently waiting for this program, the rhythm, the music, the energy, their boldness. They got tired in the second part – but, at the end of the day, they’d find out they did enough for a GPF medal.
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We noticed some beautiful changes here and there – plus: they interact more with one another – and, finally, Cheng Peng and Yang Jin did justice to their “Cloud Atlas” long program.
And the program is the embodiment of a journey – and we loved to witness Cheng and Yang’s skating journey so far. Eyes amazed while watching them skate, eyes amazed at their joy as well – in Torino, they skated the best version of their program so far.
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That unexpected fall at the start, when she pushed on the edge a bit too much? It didn’t matter. Gorgeous opening elements from Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin in Torino.
But then the fall on the throw Flip did matter, and cut their wings a bit. Overall, some very good stuff from this team, and we’re impressed with them, we are.
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Her eyes at the start, as if she couldn’t wait to step out there and skate.
And Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii did just that – came out to compete – but the enthusiasm of their first Grand Prix Final, the expectations they put on themselves made them lose their confidence little by little.
A really nervy free skate from them in Torino, and a lesson learnt for future events. Because their journey surely doesn’t stop here – they’re just at the beginning of it, and we know what they’re actually capable of.
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They only have eyes for each other. And we only have eyes for them.
And that was not a perfect skate from Wenjing Sui and Cong Han in Torino, he made unusual mistakes, but in our eyes it was – that much we love their qualities, their partnership, their boldness, unison.
It was “Rain, In Your Black Eyes”– and the finish was absolutely thrilling. And this free skate, maybe the best vehicle they ever had.
Arms crossed in the Kiss and Cry, Wenjing knows what they did here – but, mostly, she knows they can do better. They win their first Grand Prix Final title ever, but they will surely want to improve that free skate until Worlds.
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And we got to give it to these two: the best free skate of the day came from Cheng Peng and Yang Jin – and we are thrilled for them, we are. And who would have thought? Junior World champions and Junior GPF champions last season, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov won the bronze in Torino. Hats off to The Master and Margarita.
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NATHAN ON THE ICE-FLOOR
A way too cautious Boyang Jin took the path of silence in his free skate in Torino – and the start was definitely a bit nervy. But then he abandoned himself to the music, he sold that step sequence beautifully – and, in the end, he found his heart.
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After starting with a stunning quad Lutz, Dmitri Aliev disintegrated, and that was so unfortunate, so sad to see. Mind can be such a powerful ally, and such a powerful enemy as well. But then he fought and fought – and he’ll take this with him as a lesson.
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We love the music Alexander Samarin has for his free skate – it goes so well with the kind of (powerful) skater that he is. But we felt that was an approximate skate from Alexander, rather made of pieces, and not a flowing program – though his energy kept it alive.
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A sparkling shirt, a lighthouse-shirt for Kévin Aymoz – and that skate was the very definition of beauty, a skate that was lighter than air. And he embraced us all in the end – and we responded the embrace. And there you have Kévin medalling at the Grand Prix Final – maybe the biggest surprise of the entire event.
And that was mind-blowing for him as well – have you seen his reaction, Silvia Fontana’s reaction in the Kiss and Cry? One for the ages, definitely – and he will surely want to repeat that in Graz, at the European Championships. Because the gold is up from grabs this season and Kevin is such a powerful contender.
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This music – “Art on Ice”, “Magic Stradivarius” by Edvin Marton – gives you goose bumps by itself, there’s so much history imprinted on it. But then you have Yuzuru Hanyu skating to it, and making some histories of his own.
And hearts are popping from everyone’s chests. And Pooh-s are flying at the end.
The warrior-Yuzuru did it again. He left us speechless.
Remember: he tried the five-quad version of the program, landed a very best quad Lutz and a quad Loop on competitive ice – and those two feats were definitely powerful reasons to feel proud of himself on the day he turned 25. He said it himself in the press conference – those were reasons of joy.
The rest was a bit of a fight, with the energy running out towards the end – and we knew it, he knew it too: he left some very important points on the table.
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Rocket man Nathan Chen takes the ice in his yellow shirt – and for the next 4 minutes or so we are up in the sky with his spatial free skate in Torino.
And watching him skate, you know: he’s from another world. He has embarked on the quad-challenge a couple of years ago and took it to another level – he made the big jumps his biggest allies. Plus: he’s a performer – the ending part of his skate is just mind-blowing.
But as sparkling and explosive he is on the ice, that humble and modest he’s in the Kiss and Cry, acknowledging his victory with a little smile on his face. Does he know what he just did?
Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for your three-time Grand Prix Final Champion.
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Men’s press conference was a joy – and Yuzuru Hanyu came across as the happiest person at the table. The quad Lutz, breaking the wall, surpassing that barrier, felt like such a happy moment to him. We also loved Yuzuru’s answer to the question about the triple Axel, why he missed it in the free skate. He was tired, first of all – that was a skate with five quads, quad Lutz included. And, secondly, he was a bit confused as well – since he tried the quad Axel the preceding days in Torino.
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EMBRACING THE CHALLENGES, THAT’S WHAT THEY DO
This dance, this dance is magic, is like a bubble of emotions. They’re in it, we’re in it. Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier, Joni Mitchell, thank you for letting us enter your world.
A beautiful dance, with so much flow and effortlessness, and just the right balance of love, and joy, and sadness. Life as it is. Life, as mirrored on their costumes.
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Spring rain over Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, over us, at the beginning of their free dance in Torino. Seamless transition, rain and all, into “Cry Me a River” – and you can’t go wrong with Justin Timberlake. And the dance has grown a lot since their last Grand Prix event.
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Now that’s a goose bumps giving program from Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov in Torino – and, above everything else, we loved the softness, the smoothness of the middle part to Dvořák. What a joy.
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This snake dance, made of dozens of highlights, is a highlight of the season itself.
And Ice Academy of Montreal might have brought the best in them, but Madison Chock and Evan Bates were golden-material already. Golden like her snake dress.
Thoroughly impressed with what they showed in Torino. And the photos tell the story of the program so well.
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This dance may be “gone within a single step”, but will not be forgotten.
It left a trace, they left a trace.
And we don’t have to find them: Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron are right here, in front of our eyes, with their intriguing, courageous choices when it comes to music (remember their “Stillness-Oddudua-Happiness Does Not Wait” free dance, with that startling sound of the piano at the start?), to words even (Forest Blakk this season has been quite unexpected), almost to the point when someone asks: “What is this?!”
And the truth is they keep revolutionizing the way we look at ice dancing, making uncomfortable choices – to them as well, because it’s not easy to skate to words; to people in the audience as well, with some finding the words distracting.
But this is who they are. Always challenging themselves, challenging us.
Remember that line in an interview we did a while ago?
“We don’t want it to be easy, because it’s not exciting, for anyone”.
It was not a PR-line.
It is them, it is how they feel. They would not abandon a thought, an idea, only because it might put them into difficult surroundings.
They would take, they would embrace it.
And that’s just the case with their “Find Me” free dance this season.
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Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue: edge quality, sheer power, explosion of energy. This free dance is a tour de force, and they skated it to the fullest. And the story embraces them so well. The way they dance, you feel it through your skin.
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The winning ice dance teams in Torino have (at least) one point in common: they all train at Ice Academy of Montreal
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Gabriella Papadakis posing with the French flag at the end of the medal ceremony in Torino
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THAT GOOD, THAT SPECIAL
Oh, the way the music builds, allowing Bradie Tennell to perform, to show who she is on the ice of Torino. That was a terrific skate, like a dream, like a haze, in her first ever Grand Prix Final.
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You have to start somewhere with your quad Salchow, and Rika Kihira decided to attempt it in Torino. Not quite round this time, but she continued with a flying triple Axel, and then another – she is made of steel. And this free skate made of eight different pieces is both intriguing and engaging. An embroidery – just like her dress.
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A raw display of power and athleticism from the 15-year-old Alexandra Trusova, attempting five quads in her free skate in Torino, landing three – with so much ease, so much commitment. She is really a phenomenon.
And, in case you didn’t notice, she just landed the first quad Flip ever in ladies’ skating.
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You got to love Anna Shcherbakova, the butterfly turned into a firebird. She gave it all in her free skate in Torino, she also attempted the quad Flip (plus the two quad Lutz jumps, now a trademark for her) and this program is so ingeniously constructed and so skillfully portrayed. And she knows how to put herself in the story and show it to the tiniest nuance.
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For Alena Kostornaia, the triple Axel has become a second nature already. As a matter of fact, take all her jumps and put them in a text-book – take Alena as a whole and put her in the manual. She is that good, that special. She can jump, but, boy, oh, boy, she can perform.
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You can sense Alina Zagitova is nervous, her two jumping passes at the start of her free skate say so. No wonder: she’s in direct competition with Alena, Anna, Alexandra, her younger training mates (and she is young as well, only 17). That was a fight, one that she didn’t want to lose.
…and we didn’t know it back then – but now we do: this was Alina’s last competitive skate this season.
On December 13th, she publicly stated she’d be taking a break from competitions. She’ll continue to train, but she will not take the ice of the Russian Nationals, thus giving up on the chance to go to Europeans and Worlds as well.
The Grand Prix Final in Torino proved to be the last time this season we’ve seen Alina as a stunning Cleopatra.
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The podium of the ladies event in Torino
The medalists – with a cute addition: Alexandra Trusova’s dog, Tina
[all photos by Alberto Ponti, Torino]