The 2019 Russian Championships take place in the Ice Palace in Saransk, Mordovia, Dec. 19-23.
Russia will field a full complement of skaters to the European Championships (three in each discipline), and three ladies, men, and pairs teams and two ice dance teams to the 2019 World Championships. Other skaters will vying for a place at the World Junior Championships.
Six ladies will be chasing the three berths on those teams: Alina Zagitova, Evgenia Medvedeva, Sofia Samodurova, Stanislava Konstantinova, Maria Sotskova and Polina Tsurskaya. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was hospitalized on Dec. 12 with pneumonia. Reports indicate she will not compete at nationals, which leaves it to the Russian federation to decide if she will be assigned to one or both teams. Victoria Vasilyeva has replaced Tuktamysheva.
Medvedeva will debut a new short program to ″Tosca″ choreographed by Misha Ge. “The change of Zhenya’s program does not mean that the past short was unsuccessful,″ said her coach Brian Orser. ″It’s just uncomfortable at this stage to act in that style, and we almost simultaneously after the French Grand Prix stage came to the conclusion that the program should be changed. But it’s quite possible that Zhenya will soon return to the style that was laid in the basis of the previous short one.″
Mikhail Kolyada was the frontrunner to earn a berth at both Championships. However, he was hospitalized with sinusitis a week before the event started. His coach said he intends to compete. On Dec. 15 he was still in the hospital but four days later arrived in Saransk and is on the roster for the men′s short. Other podium contenders include Dmitri Aliev, Alexander Samarin, and Andrei Lazukin.
Sergei Voronov has withdrawn due to a leg injury sustained in a practice session Tuesday evening. His spot will not be given to another skater due to the late withdrawal.
Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov and Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert are shoe-ins for places on the teams. Third place is up for grabs.
In ice dance, two spots will likely go to Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. Tiffani Zagorski and Johnathan Guerreiro will also be chasing a berth to these competitions, but with just two places at the World Championships, one team will be staying home.
At a press conference on Dec. 19, Alexander Gorshkov, president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (RFSF), said, ″the 2019 Russian Championships is the main qualifying competition to earn a place at the European and World Championships, and the Winter Universiade this season. The team will be determined by the results in Saransk. The results will then be reviewed by the All-Russian Coaching Council, which will make its proposals to the executive committee of the RFSF. The executive committee will approve the final composition of the main and reserve team members for the European Championships. The meeting of the RFSF executive committee will take place in Saransk on Dec. 23, immediately following the conclusion of the Championships.″
Russia will institute a new strategy for the national championships next season.
START ORDERS/RESULTS (English)
START ORDERS/RESULTS (Russian)
ENTRIES (Russian)
LIVE STREAMS:
CHANNEL ONE(VPN Required)
SPORTBOX.RU,MATCH, FS LIVE
MAMONT, JSPORTS (Japan only)
WORLD CLOCK
EVENT SCHEDULE (Russian)
Thu. Dec. 20
Men′s Short: 14:00-16:30
Pairs Short: 16:50-18:50
Rhythm Dance: 20:30-22:30
Fri. Dec. 21
Ladies Short:14:00-16:30
Men′s Free:16:50-19:50
Free Dance:20:10-22:15
Sat. Dec. 22
Pairs Free:15:30-17:45
Ladies Free:18:00-20:50
Sun. Dec. 23
Medal Ceremonies:13:00-13:45
Exhibition Gala:14:00-16:30
(All times local – Saransk)