Figure skating world championship: Mikutina surprises with debut with top place

With the seventh best freestyle in the field, Mikutina Austria secured a quota place for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and a second starting place for the 2022 World Cup. After Mikutina had surpassed her personal best point from the 2020 European Championship by almost 14 points in the short program, she pulverized her best freestyle so far with 131.59 points by no less than exactly 35 points.

As in the short program, the protégé of coach Elena Romanowa came through safely and without a fall, to the music of “Primavera” and “Experience” – each by the Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi – just a twofold thought of Axel just got through. “After finishing eleventh in the short program on Wednesday, I was of course motivated to give everything again today. I would never have dreamed that the freestyle would be such a precision landing and that I could still catch up a few places, ”said Mikutina.

Russia clears in the women’s competition

The women’s competition ended with a triple victory for Russia. Anna Shtscherbakowa brought her lead from the short program with the second best freestyle to the ends. Her compatriot Alexandra Trusowa made it to bronze after a failed short program from twelfth place with a few fourfold and the best performance of the day. Between the two 16-year-olds, their 24-year-old compatriot Elisaweta Tuktamischewa, the 2015 world champion, ranked.

Mikutina was just 18.43 points behind bronze, her previous best point mark from the 2019 Junior World Championships increased by 53.43 points. The title fights in Sweden ended extremely successfully for the Austrian Figure Skating Association (ÖEKV), as the pair skaters Miriam Ziegler and Severin Kiefer also convinced with eleventh place.

The 27-year-old from Burgenland and the 30-year-old from Salzburg also bought a ticket for the Winter Games in China. Only Maurizio Zandron in the men did not succeed as 29th. With regard to the Olympics, there is still the chance to buy one of the remaining tickets in Oberstdorf in September.