The audiences of the world have learnt to change flags rapidly nowadays. Thursday afternoon in Minsk, Belarus, the Russian flag mushroomed from every part of the stands for Maxim Kovtun’s skate, it reappeared again for Alexander Samarin’s, and stayed even longer for Mikhail Kolyada’s. Then it got replaced by the Spanish gold and red banner all over the stands, as Javier Fernandez skated. But in the end, the Russian flag prevailed during the men’s short program at the European Championships.
Kolyada took a strong lead for the gold, as he was the only one of the afternoon to crack the 100-point bar. Samarin is standing second before Saturday’s free program, some 8.51 points behind his Russian teammate. Fernandez is standing in third, a mere 0.14 point behind Samarin.
Results: Men’s short program
Kolyada didn’t let his numerous fans down. His program, set to Muse’s “I Belong to You,” was an instant hit and grabbed the audience’s applause right from the start. Kolyada landed all his elements (a quad toe, triple toe combination, a triple Lutz and a triple Axel) with ease. He has polished his skating and displayed fluid and smooth edges, pure lines, and yet his trademark presence on the ice. Kolyada is so present in each of his steps, fully living the moment in connection with his audience. He amassed 100.48 points for his program, a new season’s best.
“The main difference from previous outings is that now I’m healthy,” Kolyada offered. “It’s definitely easier to skate when you’re healthy. This was a good performance.”
Kolyada won his first small gold medal (awarded after short programs at major competitions) in an ISU event.
“But this day can’t be a special day in my life yet,” he added. “It’s important now not to let out the emotions, I need to keep them for the free.”
Samarin opted for the most difficult content. He opened with a magnificent quad Lutz, triple toe, but tripled his subsequent quad flip attempt. The audience nonetheless gave him a strong ovation at the end, up-to-par with the energy he had displayed throughout. Belarussian and Russian audiences appreciate the energy of competitors more than any other people. Samarin garnered 91.97 points, a new season’s best.
“I wanted to show more,” Samarin offered. “I practiced quad flip and it went well in training, so I thought I could include it, although I was afraid that I wouldn’t have enough experience to include it.
“Well, now I’ll have more experience,” he said, smiling.
Fernandez skated to his charm-routine, Malagueña. He opened with a quad toe, double toe. Rather surprisingly, his subsequent quad Salchow was deemed underrotated by the panel.
“I’ve been away quite a bit this season, but I think that I’m still able to recognize a few things in skating. I saw the landing of my quad Salchow on the ice. I rotated not even half of a straight angle on the ice, so the jump should have been validated, and it was not,” he offered at the post-event press conference.
Fernandez’s component score went slightly above Kolyada’s (46.64 points for the Spaniard, 46.44 points for the Russian), but his total, 91.84 points, meant that he’ll have to fight in the free.
“Oh yes, I’ll fight!” he promised. “In the free, 9 points is nothing. I want to show that I can do more than 91 points.”
The sensation of the day came from French skater Kevin Aymoz, who displayed an exhilarating and crisp program to Bryce Fox’s “Horns.” He captivated the audience and wound up in fourth place, 0.32 point ahead of Kovtun, who missed his opening quad toe.
MORE: How to watch Europeans
As a reminder, you can watch the European Championships live and on-demand with the ‘Figure Skating Pass’ on NBC Sports Gold. Go to NBCsports.com/gold/figure-skating to sign up for access to every ISU Grand Prix and championship event, as well as domestic U.S. Figure Skating events throughout the season. NBC Sports Gold gives subscribers an unprecedented level of access on more platforms and devices than ever before.
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