The key facts

  • Trusova scored 221.27 points and finished second at the Grand Prix in China; Mone Chiba won (224.48).
  • Bestemyanova: Chiba was «simply set up», she is being hated, and this is traumatic for the athlete.
  • All Russian figure skaters at the Grand Prix stage in China won medals.

Trusova's silver and Bestemyanova's reaction

Olympic champion Natalia Bestemyanova commented on the results of the ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix stage in China, where Russian skater Alexandra Trusova finished second. According to her, as quoted by Sport24, in the judging situation it was the tournament winner who suffered: «Mone Chiba was simply set up. She is being hated right now. For an athlete who won, this is terrible, traumatic and psychologically hard. It would have been easier if Sasha had won and the Japanese skater had finished second».

Tournament results

Over the two programs combined, Trusova scored 221.27 points, landing a quadruple lutz in the free skate. Victory went to Japan's Mone Chiba with 224.48 points; third place was taken by Lee Hae-in of South Korea (210.79), and fourth by Anastasia Gubanova of Georgia (208.58). Gazeta ran a live broadcast of the competition. It was previously reported that all Russian figure skaters who competed at the Grand Prix in China won medals.

Context of the admission

The stage in China became one of the first tournaments where Russians compete following the decision of the International Skating Union: on June 30 the ISU published a press release on the admission of Russian athletes to tournaments under the organization's auspices from the 2026/27 season — in a neutral status, in individual and team events, with the decision covering figure skating, short track and speed skating.