Italy wins among the artistic couples of the circuit for the second time after Berton-Hotarek at Skate Canada 2013
Italy, for the second time in history, wins a stage of the Grand Prix of figure between pairs of artistic. Thanks to Rebecca Ghilardi-Filippo Ambrosini who, with great authority, prevailed on the ice of the Metro Areena in Espoo, Finland, in the sixth and last round of the season on the circuit, the equivalent of a World Cup. The only previous blue in 25 editions of the review dates back to October 2013, when in Saint John, as part of Skate Canada, Stefania Berton-Ondrej Hotarek won. The common denominator of the two companies is Franca Bianconi, coach of both couples who was the first to believe in the Italian potential in the specialty, in Espoo on the edge of the balustrade with Hotarek himself, now among her collaborators.
The race
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The affirmation of Ghilardi-Ambrosini – she is 23 years old from Bergamo from Seriate, he is 29 years old from Vicenza from Asiago, artistically together for six seasons with a fifth place at the 2021 European Championships – is worth double, because it guarantees the flag bearers of the Fiamme Azzurre promotion to the final, this year for the third time scheduled in Italy, from 8 to 11 December at the Palavela in Turin, theater of the event also in 2007 and 2020. The tandem which is based on the Icelab track, in Bergamo, gets on the podium at the sixth participation in a stage and immediately on the top step, after the fourth place three weekends ago at the Grand Prix de France in Angers. The two, in Finland, win both the short program (with personal best of 67.21), and the free (122.43), for a total of 189.74 (other personal, adjusted by about half a point), fourth world performance of the season. Only the Georgians Anastasiia Metelkina-Daniil Parkman could have undermined their pass to Turin: they finished third and very far (166.56), like the Germans Alisa Efimova-Ruben Blommaert (170.75), second. What makes the difference, above all, is the quality of the lifts, good casts and well-assembled programmes, on music by Queen in the first case, with him playing Freddie Mercury and on the notes of Giachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville in the second, in both cases with choreography by Luca Lanotte, former dance world champion together with Anna Cappellini.
The prospects
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“The final in Turin – she says – was a great goal: having achieved it makes us very proud. At the beginning of the season we didn’t think about it, then gradually we realized that it could have been an opportunity. We are happy and enjoying the moment.” “Our long-term project – he adds – takes us to the end of the four-year period, to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics. This is an important first step towards that goal”. Rebecca and Filippo naturally took full advantage of the absence of Russian skaters, banned from international activity and of the profound generational change taking place. But they were ready at the right time. And it wasn’t that obvious.
The moment
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This is what, thanks to the usual “miracles” of a few, the tricolor movement as a whole is doing, in the six stages capable of four successes and seven podium finishes. Italy, at the Palavela (six “competitors” per specialty), will even count on four representatives. Daniel Grassl among men (first time blue in the category), Ghilardi-Ambrosini and Sara Conti-Niccolò Macii in pairs of artistic and multi-decorated Charlene Guignard-Marco Fabbri in dance (plus Nikolaj Memola among the juniors). There had never been more than two.