The key facts

  • Trusova skated her second practice session cleanly at the Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen
  • The short program layout included a double Axel, a triple loop, and a triple Lutz–triple toe loop combination
  • She got onto the stage in China as a substitute after winning the Denis Ten Memorial

A clean practice session ahead of the short program

2022 Olympic silver medalist Alexandra Ignatova (née Trusova) skated her second practice session at the Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen without errors, RIA Novosti reports, citing a correspondent on site. The figure skater performed the layout of her short program, which included a double Axel, a triple loop, and a triple Lutz–triple toe loop combination. The women's short programs at the third stage of the Grand Prix series in Shenzhen, China, will take place on November 6.

How Trusova got onto the stage in China

Trusova's path to the tournament in Shenzhen turned out to be a backup one: on October 10 she won the Challenger Series event, the Denis Ten Memorial, in Almaty, scoring 226.01 points in total across two programs. This result allowed her to take first place on the substitutes' list and receive an invitation to the Grand Prix stage in China. Earlier, choreographer and commentator Ilya Averbukh, according to Gazeta.Ru, named the condition under which Trusova could fight for gold at this stage.

Context of the preparation

Before traveling to China, the figure skater performed at the Russian national team's test skates on September 20 with her free program set to music by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein from the series Stranger Things. On that occasion she executed a quadruple Lutz, a triple loop, a triple Salchow, a triple Lutz–triple toe loop combination, a triple Lutz–triple Salchow–double Axel combination, as well as a solo double Axel. Thus, the clean practice session in Shenzhen shows that the short program has been brought to a consistent level of execution right before the competition day on November 6.