Andrey SimonenkoSport correspondentAll materialsThe first stage of the Russian Grand Prix in figure skating ended in the Moscow Sports Palace «Megasport» on Sunday. Its main event was the victorious return to the competitive ice of the champion of the team tournament of the 2022 Olympics Kamila Valieva. «As if for the first time the quad was jumping» no information, including the final verdict, in the case of Valieva's positive doping test, because of which the awards ceremony for the winners of the Beijing Olympic team tournament has not yet taken place. Naturally, the journalists were going to raise this topic during the opening stage of the Russian Grand Prix, but the skater, who slightly joked a reporter about the RUSADA investigation, said that she would not answer these questions.
Figure skating. Russian Grand Prix. Women. Free programBut for a conversation with Valieva, it was enough without the most scandalous one. The figure skater entered the competition for the first time after the Beijing Olympics, except for the spring demonstration team Cup of the First Channel. She came out matured — both in terms of appearance and in terms of the content of skating. One dramatic free program is worth something. Valieva and the coaching staff of Eteri Tutberidze dedicated her to the events at the 2022 Games — and at the test skates, due to surging experiences, the athlete burst into tears almost before it started. However, at first there was a short program in which Valieva did not perform the axel in three and a half turns , according to last season, a typical element for her. At the end of September, the skater admitted that she had injuries that prevented her from falling yet. Because of this, she returns the complex elements gradually, and the matter has not yet reached the triple axel. But even without the «trixel» with a clean skate, Valieva received a score of 80 points, which allowed her to significantly outperform her main rival in this tournament, her groupmate Sofya Akatieva, who entered this element, but made a mistake in the short program.
