Dikidzhi and Semenenko hold the top two spots after the short program at the Grand Prix in Shenzhen

Russian figure skaters Evgeny Semenenko (99.72 points) and Vladislav Dikidzhi (98.86) sit in the top two places after the short program at the ISU Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen. Dikidzhi admitted that he was nervous during his skate despite cleanly landing two quadruple jumps and a triple Axel.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 6 November 2026 at 21:062 min read

The key facts

Semenenko leads with 99.72 points, Dikidzhi is second with 98.86 — a gap of 0.86 points
Dikidzhi landed a quadruple Lutz–triple toe loop combination, a quadruple Salchow, and a triple Axel
The winner will be decided after the free program on November 8

Two Russians lead after the short program

At the ISU Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen, China, held from November 6 to 8, both Russian figure skaters competing in a neutral status lead the men's event after the short program. Evgeny Semenenko, a two-time Russian champion, cleanly landed a quadruple Rittberger, a quadruple Salchow–triple toe loop combination, and a triple Axel, scoring 99.72 points. Vladislav Dikidzhi, with two quadruple jumps and a triple Axel, earned 98.86 points — meaning the two compatriots are separated by just 0.86 points. This was reported by Life.ru.

Dikidzhi: 'my legs felt like they weren't mine'

Despite a clean skate, the 22-year-old Dikidzhi told Sport24 that he was nervous during his performance: 'It's just that my legs felt a bit like they weren't mine. In the end I got a little nervous. Physically I'm in good shape, everything is solid.' According to him, after a confident start he expected to fully overcome his nerves, but that did not happen. The elements he landed were a quadruple Lutz–triple toe loop combination, a quadruple Salchow, and a triple Axel.

Form heading into the event

Dikidzhi arrived at the Chinese stage in good shape: as Life.ru previously reported, at his second practice in Shenzhen he landed all the jump elements of his short program without errors. In October, the skater won the Denis Ten Memorial in Kazakhstan with a score of 312.79 points, and his 107.31 points for the short program at that event remained, as of early November, the best result of the season according to ISU statistics. The winner of the Shenzhen event will be decided after the free program.