The blue dance couple, in Saitama, Japan, on the dance floor at 7.35 Italian time: in front only the Americans Choick-Bates. The medal is within reach
3.35pm in Japan, 7.35am in Italy: Charlene Guignard-Marco Fabbri, tomorrow (Saturday) at this time they will be on the ice (second to last) at the Super Arena in Saitama for the free dance program of the World Figure Championship. The blue couple, chasing the first world podium of their career, will start from the great second place of the Salsa and Rhumba of the Rhythm Dance centered with a personal score of 88.21 points and a program with very high technical contents. Only the Americans Madison Chock-Evan Bates precede them, already silver in 2015 and bronze in 2016 and 2022 with nine participations behind them, on the track last. The bearers of the Fiamme Azzurre, based on the IceLab rink at the Assago Forum, in their eleventh presence in the event (the first in Moscow 2011) boast last year’s fourth place in Montpellier, France as their best finish.
The race
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The students of Barbara Fusar Poli, in the world champion specialty together with Maurizio Margaglio in Vancouver 2001, will perform to music with dark shades and will have to beware of the possible return of the Canadians Piper Gilles-Paul Poirier, who with 87.34 follow 87/100 of points (zero), by the British Lilah Fear-Lewis Gibson (86.56) and bordering on the other Canadians Laurence Fournier Beaudry-Nikolaj Soerensen (85.59). All rival tandems, Gilles-Poirier apart, train at the prestigious Montreal school directed by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer. In December, at the final of the Grand Prix held at the Palavela in Turin, Gilles-Poirier finished ahead of Chock-Bates and Guignard-Fabbri, on the first podium in the last act of the circuit after winning two consecutive stages in November, in the French Angers and in English Sheffield, when they boasted sixteen attempts in skates. On top of all, then, the icing of the European gold won in Espoo, Finland, in January. That of Charlene and Marco, 33 years old born in Brest she, 35 years old Milanese him, just in spite of the age, come what may in Saitama it will be a splendid season.
The others
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On the track, at 4.52 Italian time, also the second blue couple, Victoria Manni-Roethlisberger, eighteenth with 64.02. After the 23rd place in 2019, again in Saitama, when it was still flying the Swiss flag, she has already achieved her first goal: to enter the twenty tandems promoted to the second segment of the race. Applause also for Lara Naki Gutmann who, twenty-third in the short, thanks to the 13th place in the freestyle (sixth in European) recovers to seventeenth place (178.43). The title to the Japanese Kaori Sakamato (224.61), who makes an encore with Montpellier 2022 ahead of the South Korean Haein Lee (220.94) and the Belgian Loena Hendrickh (210.42). To close the event, after the free dance, the men’s one, led by Shoma Uno, another Japanese (104.63). Daniel Grassl (86.50) and Matteo Rizzo (79.28) will restart from 8th and 13th place. They will skate at 11.02 and 12.06 Italian time.
March 24, 2023 (change March 24, 2023 | 20:08)
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