The candidates' Ball: what to expect from the stellar Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk

The third stage of the Russian Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Krasnoyarsk, will be held from October 31 to November 1. 12 men, 12 women and 10 dance duets will take to the ice of the Kristall Arena (there will be no sports pairs this time). But in other disciplines, very strong teams have gathered with several candidates for the national team.

Humennik is going for gold again

The main favorite of the men's tournament in Krasnoyarsk is the reigning champion of Russia, Peter Gumennik, who, after three tournaments in the season, cannot win in any way, while increasing his result each time by about 30 points. But there is always someone better — actually, all three times it turned out to be Vladislav Dikidzhi. Just a week ago, the participant of the 2026 Olympics was in the lead after the short program, but lost to Vlad by 3.68 points.

There will be no Dikiji at the Krasnoyarsk, but several medal contenders will perform at once. Andrey Mozalev and Artyom Kovalev won silver and bronze in Kazan two weeks ago, scoring 252.16 and 247.88 points respectively. Daniil Samsonov and Roman Savosin are also capable of intervening in the fight for the podium if they roll back two programs, not one. Nikolai Ugozhaev and Grigory Fedorov, who have already tried their hand abroad, have not started in this series yet, and Nikolai has the potential to show well over 250 points.

Matvey Vetlugin is of particular interest. After the international silver at the Lombardia Trophy, the figure skater took only sixth place at the stage in Kazan. We need to rehabilitate ourselves — after all, reaching the Grand Prix finals is at stake.

Dvoeglazova returns, but she's not a favorite at all

The women's tournament may turn out to be the most unpredictable — this has already happened in St. Petersburg in this series. Alisa Dvoeglazova, the winner of the Russian Grand Prix final last season, Alina Gorbacheva, the champion of the Budapest Trophy, and Sofia Dzepka, one of the strongest juniors in the world, will meet in Krasnoyarsk.

Dvoeglazova has the most impressive technical potential: last season she claimed three fours in the free skate, but this season she participated only in the box office and was clearly out of shape. Gorbacheva dispensed with ultra-si at the Budapest International tournament and won with a score of 203.35 points. And Zepka scored even higher in the junior Grand Prix series - she had 213.28 in China (which means that there is potential for higher scores for adults due to the addition of one element in the free program).

Another contender for gold is Anna Frolova, the silver medalist of the first stage in Kazan (208.32). And immediately before the tournament, there was a substitution: Sofia Muravyeva will go to the Grand Prix stage in Omsk, and Veronika Yametova will perform in Krasnoyarsk. The latter took silver in St. Petersburg just a few days ago, scoring 199.84 points. Another strong junior is the vice—champion of Russia at this age, Lidiya Pleskacheva.

It turns out that women have five or six real candidates for the podium at once. And a lot will depend not only on the difficulty of the jumps, but also on the stability.

Perm period: Slyusarenko's students caused a sensation at the Russian Grand Prix

Nelyubova beat Frolova, Semenenko defeated the competitors, and the international medalists were left without gold.

Stepanova and Bukin are still in the game

In ice dancing, the main intrigue is connected with Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. The five-time champions of Russia will hold the first competitive start of the season. Unlike many rivals, they did not compete in international tournaments because they did not receive a neutral status. But despite the next blow, they decided to continue their career. Their reputation speaks for them, but every year it becomes more difficult to justify it.

Sofia Leontieva and Daniil Gorelkin (another couple without neutral status) We have already won the stage in Kazan with a score of 186.11 points. Irina Khavronina and David Narizhny, despite the pause, seem to have retained the status of the third duet in the country, and in the absence of access to international music, Stepanova/Bukina, in theory, they should be rated higher. Anna Shcherbakova and Egor Goncharov are promising and daring.

Thus, in dancing, we will face the titles of Stepanova and Bukin and the competitive practice of the young rivals.

The Federation will have a difficult choice in almost all sports this season, because the quota for the European and World Championships is the same.

Stage schedule

Saturday, October 31

11:00. Men. Short program

13:20. Women. Short program

15:10. Dancing on ice. Rhythm dance

Sunday, November 1st

10:00. Men. Any program

12:10 p.m. Women. Any program

14:20. Dancing on ice. Free dance

Moscow time

The competition will be shown on Channel One's website