Figure Skating – ISU European Championships 2018 – Ice Dance Victory Ceremony – Moscow, Russia – January 20, 2018 – Gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France (C), silver medallists Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia (L) and bronze medallists Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia attend the ceremony. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
January 20, 2018
MOSCOW (Reuters) – France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron set world records as they won their fourth consecutive European ice dance title on Saturday with an inspired performance that laid down a marker for a podium place at next month’s Olympics.
Dancing to Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” the twice world champions effortlessly swayed on the ice, executing the complex elements integrated in their choreography.
With 121.87 points in the free dance, a world record, they amassed a combined total of 203.16 points — one point above the world record they set at the Grand Prix Final last month.
“We are very satisfied with what we did,” Papadakis told reporters after the performance.
“It wasn’t an easy competition because it falls in the middle of our Olympic preparations. We wanted to prove to ourselves we were ready and see what we had to improve for the Games. We achieved that.”
After finishing fourth in the short dance, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia won silver with 187.13 points, while their compatriots Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin took the bronze with 184.86 points.
“Not everything was ideal in our free skate,” said Soloviev, who won bronze at last year’s European championships.
“We made errors on our lifts. But overall we are pleased with our performance. We know what we have to work on.”
(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Ken Ferris)
