Figure Skating news - Alexander Samarin leads Russian medal sweep at Rostelecom Grand Prix
BySportsbeat
Published 16/11/2019 at 18:01 GMT
It was a Russian clean sweep as Alexander Samarin took Grand Prix victory at the Rostelecom Cup ahead of countrymen Dmitri Aliev and Makar Ignatov while Japan’s Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno could only finish fourth.
Russia's Alexander Samarin after performing at the men's free skating event at the 2019 Rostelecom Cup, the fifth event of the 2019/20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, at the Megasport Arena
Image credit: Getty Images
Samarin produced a spectacular free skate to win with a total of 264.45 points, having also posted the highest score in Friday's short programme.
The 21-year-old, who took the European championships silver medal in Minsk earlier this year, saw off compatriot Aliev by 4.57 points.
"Even though it wasn't my best performance, I'm overwhelmed with emotions," Samarin, who booked a place in next month's Grand Prix Final in Turin with victory, said.
"There were mistakes, big mistakes and we'll work on it.
"But I'm glad to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final. That is not a bad result for the first half of the season."
Aliev's strong free skate to Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" earned 169.24 points, enough to secure second place ahead of Makar Ignatov.
Japanese star Uno's difficult season continued as he ended 12.21 points behind Samarin overall.
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