FIGURE SKATING
Lopareva/Brissaud (FRA) delight home crowd as they dance to first Grand Prix title
02 Nov 2024
Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) danced to their first ISU Grand Prix title on home ice in Angers (FRA) on Saturday, upsetting favorites Charlène Guignard/Marco Fabbri (ITA) to take gold.
The Ice Dancers brought techno, robots, romance and more to the ice of Angers, and to the delight of the home crowd, Lopareva/Brissaud claimed their very first ISU Grand Prix title, overtaking favorites and overnight leaders Guignard/Fabbri.
Emily Bratti/Ian Sumerville (USA) came from fourth place to earn the bronze, their first ISU Grand Prix medal.
Lopareva/Brissaud entertained the capacity crowd at the Angers Ice Parc with their avant-garde techno dance to “Elephant”, “Fugue in D minor” and “360” by BFRND. The French Champions collected a level four for the lifts, twizzles and dance spin and a level three for the step sequences to post a seasons best of 117.52 points which added up to 195.27 points.
Victory in their home ISU Grand Prix has put Lopareva/Brissaud well on the way to qualifying for the ISU Grand Prix Final, also in France © ISU
“It's a big experience to win our first gold medal in Grand Prix in France with our family, our friends and our public,” Brissaud said.
“To win this medal is super cool to have this experience in France.”
Lopareva was still very surprised by their success.
“Honestly, it was a little bit of a surprise for us today to achieve this. We were trying this season to fight for our place in the final.
“I wasn't sure if it could be possible or not, we kept the possibility, so now we probably will go and of course it's going to be something special because it's in France again and it's going to be our first final. I'm just feeling shocked actually right now.”
Guignard/Fabbri came to the ice as robots, dressed in silver-grey bodysuits. The two-time and reigning ISU European Champions picked up a level four for their lifts and dance spin, but they didn’t skate as freely and with as much confidence as in the Rhythm Dance and Fabbri fell at the end of the circular step sequence.
The lifts and dance spin were rated a level four while the footwork was a level three. The two-time ISU World medalists, aiming for a hat-trick of ISU Grand Prix de France titles, ranked fifth in the Free Dance with 106.88 points but overall held on to the silver medal with 189.08 points.
Guignard/Fabbri (ITA) shone in their robot suits but admitted to being a little rusty in the Free Dance as they slipped from first to take a suitable silver © ISU
“I think it's been the worst performance in our career of 15 years so far,” a very disappointed Fabbri commented.
“We struggled since the first combo lift and then nothing worked tonight. We fought for every element after element, I fell in the circular step sequence. I don’t know what to say.”
Bratti/Sumerville (USA) showed romance on the ice with their performance to “Ne Me Quitte Pas”. They received all level fours and threes for their elements and were second in the Free Dance with 113.07 points. The couple accumulated 113.07 points for a total of 185.88 points.
Just one week after their bitter disappointment at Skate Canada where they had finished in ninth place, Bratti/Sumerville celebrated their first ISU Grand Prix medal.
Bratti/Somerville (USA) bounced back from ninth place at Skate Canada to win their first ISU Grand Prix medal with an "unbelievable" bronze © ISU
“It's really unbelievable. We definitely weren't expecting this result, but we're extremely thrilled and it's unbelievable to be up here with these amazing skaters that we've looked up to for a long time,” Somerville noted.
“What Marco said is how we felt last week. It was just a disaster and very disappointing,” Bratti explained.
“It's like night and day how we feel now versus last week. I'm just really proud of how we're able to come back from that”.
The 2024 ISU European bronze medalists Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) slipped from third to fourth on 185.24 points while Katerina Mrazkova/Daniel Mrazek (CZE) moved up two spots to fifth place with 183.05 points. The 2024 ISU World Junior Champions Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) came sixth (176.60 points).
Lopareva/Brissaud now have 26 points from their two events which should be enough to make the ISU Grand Prix Final. Guignard/Fabbri (13 points) will compete again at the Cup of China. Bratti/Somerville finish their ISU Grand Prix season with 11 points.
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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