The ISU Post-Internationaux de France Figure Skating Grand Prix
Internationaux De France 2021 Figure Skating
The 2021 Internationaux de France marked the end of the 2021-22 International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating, with the ISU Grand Prix Final set for the second week of December in Osaka, Japan.
With the highest scores in both the short programme and the free skate, Yuma Kagiyama of Japan won his second gold of the series by a comfortable margin of more than 20 points.
Kagiyama, fresh off his win at the Gran Premio d’Italia earlier this month, now holds the highest qualifying score for men’s singles, 30 points, ahead of Shoma Uno of Japan and Vincent Zhou of the United States.
There are only two spaces left for men’s singles in the Grand Prix Final, with Kagiyama, Uno, Zhou, and American Nathan Chen already locked in.
After the Internationaux de France,
Jason Brown of the United States sits in fifth place with 24 points, and Shun Sato of Japan is close behind in sixth with 22 points. Neither, though, can rest easy because fellow Russians Mikhail Kolyada (13 points) and Evgeni Semenenko (11 points) are also competing in the Rostelecom Cup this week.
When compared to Semenenko and Kolyada, Brown is in a safer position because only if both of them win gold at the Rostelecom Cup and Kolyada wins silver and their combined score is higher than 267.74 points will Brown not qualify for the Grand Prix Final (over nine points better than his current personal best combined-score of 258.45).
In contrast, Sato has almost little chance of Qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.
If Kolyada or Semenenko place third or second at the Rostelecom Cup, respectively, the Japanese competitor would be demoted.
With Kolyada’s strong recent play and his chances of taking gold at the Rostelecom Cup, it appears likely that Kolyada and Brown will join Kagiyama, Uno, Zhou, and Chen in Osaka in December.
Anna Shcherbakova of Russia won the women’s singles event after dominating the competition. Since she also won the Gran Premio d’Italia, she has 30 points and is therefore the best qualifier in her division.
The Japanese skater Kaori Sakamoto, who won the NHK trophy, has secured her spot in the Grand Prix Final with her 24 points thanks to her dominating performance.
With her second-place performance at the Internationaux de France, Russian Alena Kostornaia is also at 24 points, although she may not qualify along with You Young of Korea (22 points) and Mai Mihara of Japan (18 points), who are closing in on the leaders.
This weekend’s competition will include several top players, including the Russian trio of Kamila Valieva (15 points), Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (13 points), and Maya Khromykh (13 points), and the Belgian duo of Loena Hendrickx (11 points).
In light of Valieva and Tuktamysheva’s dominant performances at Skate Canada, it’s reasonable to expect them to repeat those results at the Rostelecom Cup. At the Gran Premio d’Italia, Khromykh and Hendrickx finished second and third, proving that they are also formidable rivals.
It is highly Improbable that Mihara and Young will keep their Qualifying spots after Tonight.
Should Valieva win gold, Khromykh silver, and Tuktamysheva bronze at the Rostelecom Cup, Kostornaia will not qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
If Khromykh wins bronze and Tuktamysheva wins silver, then the final placing will likely be determined by a comparison of Tuktamysheva’s and Kostornaia’s total scores in both tasks.
It’s expected that Shcherbakova, Valieva, Sakamoto, Tuktamysheva, Kostornaia, and either Khromykh or Hendrickx will make up the Osaka women’s singles roster.
With their gold medal performance at the Internationaux de France, Russian pair Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii (26 points) joined fellow countrymen Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (28 points) and China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong (30 points) in qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.
In close pursuit at 24 points are the Japanese duo of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the Russian duo of Iuliia Artemeva and Mikhail Nazarychev, the American duo of Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, and the British duo of Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc.
With Russian teams Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov (15 points) and Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin (13 points), as well as Italian teams Nicole Della Monica and Matteo Guarise (9 points), competing at the Rostelecom Cup, neither American pair is likely to advance to the Grand Prix Final.
Miura and Kihara, along with Artemeva and Nazarychev, will qualify for the Grand Prix Final unless Della Monica and Guarise put on a gold medal performance while the two Russian pairs earn silver and bronze.
Sui and Han, Tarasova and Morozov, Boikova and Kozlovskii, Mishina and Galliamov, Pavliuchenko and Khodykin, and Miura and Kihara are likely to make an appearance in Osaka in December.
Amazing Performances by Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron at the Internationaux de France earned them gold in the ice dance category.
They scored the most points (30) and are now guaranteed a spot in the Grand Prix Final of ice dancing. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada scored 28 points, good enough for second place and automatic qualification.
Alongside the Canadians are the Americans Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue, who secured their spot by winning the Skate America championship and then taking silver at the Gran Premio d’Italia.
The next Closest team is the American duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who have scored 26 Points.
After them come the Russian duo of Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin (22 points), the Spanish duo of Olivia Smart and Adrián Daz (21 points), and the Italian duo of Marco Luca and (20 points).
This weekend’s Rostelecom Cup still features Russians Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov (15 points), Italians Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri (13 points), and Canadians Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Srensen (11 points).
Nonetheless, it’s highly doubtful that the first three teams will all make it to the Grand Prix Final. While it’s likely that Chock and Bates will keep their qualifying spot, it’s far more likely that Sinitsina and Katsalapov, as well as Guignard and Marco Fabbri, will outperform Stepanova and Bukin, and Smart and Daz, respectively.
Papadakis/Cizeron, Hubbell/Donahue, Gilles/Poirier, Sinitsina/Katsalapov, Guignard/Marco Fabbri, and Chock/Bates are all strong candidates for the Grand Prix Final in ice dance.
As the final event of this season’s Grand Prix series, the Rostelecom Cup will determine which skaters will join the rest of the world’s best at the ISU Grand Prix Final.