The key facts
- Chikmaryova and Yanchenkov won the Golden of the Urals stage with 214.84 points; silver and bronze were separated by 0.11 points
- For Yanchenkov, the victory was a home one: he was born in Yekaterinburg and began his career there
- A week earlier, the duo took silver in St. Petersburg, losing to Mishina and Galliamov by 1.25 points
Victory in Yekaterinburg
Ekaterina Chikmaryova and Matvey Yanchenkov won gold at the fourth stage of the Russian Grand Prix, the Golden of the Urals, in pairs skating. The duo from Perm Krai received 214.84 points for two programs, confidently outpacing their rivals. Silver went to Ekaterina Geinish and Andrey Rud (181.41), bronze to Sofia Diana Kasins and Alexander Bregey (181.30): second and third place were separated by just 0.11 points. This was reported by Life.ru.
Lead after the short program and a hometown performance
The duo took the lead as early as November 7, winning the short program with 79.94 points. According to the Figure Skating Federation of Russia, students of coach Pavel Slyusarenko cleanly executed the triple salchow, and most elements of the short program received level four difficulty. For the 22-year-old Yanchenkov, the tournament was a return to his home ice: he was born in Yekaterinburg and began his sports career here, and his parents, relatives and friends supported him from the stands of the UGMK Arena. After the short program, the athlete admitted that skating in front of his loved ones was especially pleasant.
From silver in St. Petersburg to gold
The victory was a notable step forward compared to the previous Russian stage: On October 25 in St. Petersburg, Chikmaryova and Yanchenkov took silver, winning the short program, but after the free skate they lost to Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov — 211.53 against 212.78 points, a difference of 1.25 points. In Yekaterinburg, their lead over the silver medalists exceeded 33 points. Meanwhile, Mishina and Galliamov themselves competed at an international tournament just before the Ural stage: they won gold at the ISU Grand Prix stage in Shenzhen, China, with 209.84 points, ahead of the Georgian duo of Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava (198.27) and the Japanese pair Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (181.50).
The pair's results this season
The 19-year-old Chikmaryova, together with Yanchenkov, twice became a bronze medalist at the Russian Championships — in 2024 and 2026. In September of this year, the skaters took silver at a Challenger Series event in Tokyo, and in October bronze at a similar competition in Batumi.
