FIGURE SKATING
Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) surges from eighth to first to clinch ISU Grand Prix de France hat-trick
02 Nov 2024
Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) vaulted from eighth place to the top step of the podium to complete his Grand Prix de France hat-trick in an eventful Men’s Free Skating in Angers on Saturday. The standings following the Short Program shuffled quite a bit and the top three after the Free Skating were completely different from the Short Program leaders.
While Siao Him Fa surged from eighth to first, Japan’s Koshiro Shimada pulled up from fifth to earn the silver while Andrew Torgashev (USA) moved up from fourth to take the bronze. For Shimada and Torgashev it was their first medals at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
Following his faulty Short Program, Siao Him Fa had not much to lose and fought like the hero in the “Dune” movie – the soundtrack he was skating to.
The two-time ISU European Champion nailed a quad Lutz right out of the gate, following it up with a quad toe and five triples in his program. He only doubled another planned quad toe and won the Free Skating segment with 171.68 points to total 246.58 points.
Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) won his home Grand Prix for the third year in a row, leaping seven places to take gold after a disappointing Short Program © ISU
“I just let go,” the 2024 ISU World bronze medalist said.
“I put too much pressure on myself in the Short Program. It’s only my second competition since I came back from my injury and I had just five weeks of preparation which is not much. After the Short Program I took this competition as a practice and I got off all the pressure I had so I felt better.
“I know what I have to work on, there are many things. I will go back to my home town and prepare for the Cup of China. I have little time but I need to prepare smartly and I will just keep going on with the process,” he added.
Shimada put out a strong performance to “Danse Macabre” that was highlighted by a quad toe, difficult spins and steps.
The Japanese skater scored 153.42 points, improving his season’s best by 15 points. He ranked second in the Free Skating and finished second overall with 233.84 points.
Koshiro Shimada (JPN) improved his season's best in the Free Skating by 15 points to pull up from fifth and take silver © ISU
“First of all I still can’t believe that I’m talking here [at the press conference] I’m so happy,” Shimada shared.
“We never know what will happen at the competition and I trusted myself in the Short Program and Long Program. I kept saying ‘today is my day’ and then it happened. I never had such a beautiful experience.”
Skating to “Sheherazade”, Torgashev landed a quad toe as well as six good triple jumps to net 152.10 points, which was a new season’s best. He was fourth in the Free Skating just as he was in the Short Program but with all the ups and downs in the standings he moved up one spot to claim bronze on 233.64 points.
Andrew Torgashev (USA) finished fourth in both the Short and Long Programs but it was enough for him to take bronze, his first ISU Grand Prix medal © ISU
“It was great,” Torgashev commented. “I didn't expect to be in this position, but I just went out and tried my best.
“I trained so hard to prepare for this event and I'm glad that things worked out to allow me to get a medal. But most importantly, I think I had a good skate for myself, so this was a good result.”
Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) jumped into Figure Skating history by becoming the first skater to land a triple Axel-quadruple toeloop combination in competition. He placed fourth at 231.86 points. Kazuki Tomono (JPN) slipped from third to fifth (231.48 points) while Nikolaj Memola (ITA) moved up from tenth to sixth at 227.62 points. Overnight leader Boyang Jin (CHN) dropped to eighth after some errors (219.05 points).
Siao Him Fa picked up 15 points for the win and will hope to secure his spot in the ISU Grand Prix Final at the last event of the series, the Cup of China. Shimada has 18 points from his two events and Torgashev (11 points) currently has no second Grand Prix assignment.
For full entries, schedules & results, see the ISU Grand Prix series page, ISU Grand Prix de France event page and the official Grand Prix de France website.
Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:
Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance
What & When
The schedule of the Grand Prix de France is as follows:
Friday, Nov 1: Pairs & Women’s Short Programs, Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program
Saturday, Nov 2: Women’s & Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Pairs Free Skating
Sunday, Nov 3: Exhibition Gala
Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:
- 18 - 20 Oct 2024 Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
- 25 - 27 Oct 2024 Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
- 01 - 03 Nov 2024 Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
- 08 - 10 Nov 2024 NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
- 15- 17 Nov 2024 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)
- 22 - 24 Nov 2024 Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:
- 05 - 08 Dec 2024 Grenoble (FRA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
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