Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate Pairs in Helsinki
2024 Finlandia Trophy | Pairs
Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominated the Pairs’ field in Helsinki, taking the title with more than 23 points to spare at Finlandia Trophy. Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary rose one spot to snatch the silver, while Italy’s Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini claimed the bronze.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps
The 2024 World Champions showed commitment in their expressive and flawless short program to “Crazy in Love.” They produced a level-four triple twist, side-by-side triple toes, and a solid throw triple loop. The spin, death spiral, footwork and lift were all graded a level four, and all elements received positive grades of execution (GOE). The team placed first with a new season’s best of 75.89.
Stellato-Dudek was happy with the performance, especially since she is “feeling a little bit more nervous” this season.
“I am really glad we could put out a decent short program tonight,” she said. “The best we’ve shown this program yet. Still, a few little hiccups here and there, but overall, pretty decent.”
While she added that perhaps the world title may have put a “target on their backs,” she doesn’t feel the need to defend anything.
Skating to selections from the selections from Blue Planet II, the 2024 Four Continents champions produced a strong level-four triple twist and a side-by-side triple toe-single Axel-double Axel sequence. The Salchows were doubled and then Stellato-Dudek stepped out a throw triple Lutz before taking a fluke fall. The team quickly recovered and showed a total of three level four lifts and a solid throw triple loop. They placed first in the free skate and overall (131.55/207.44).
“The mistake on the Lutz was a bit surprising,” said Stellato-Dudek. “I haven’t missed one in a long time. Still, today went better than in Canada. The schedule was a bit bad today as the practice was very close to the competition, so we didn’t really have time to go to the hotel in between. It was a good learning experience though; you never know when you will get hit with this kind of schedule again.”
The team has made changes to their free skate since their outing at 2024 Skate Canada.
“We had four changes and we both were responsible to remind each other of two of them,” said Stellato-Dudek. “We will most likely keep them but of course keep evolving and developing the program over the season.”
Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko
The 2024 Shanghai Trophy Champions placed third (61.29) in the short program with their fun routine to “Kiss” and “Sex Bomb.” They showed a level-four triple twist and solid throw triple flip, but Pavlova landed her triple toe on the quarter and later stumbled in the footwork. Unfortunately, the team also received a one-point deduction for a time violation.
“I felt quite good about the skate until the moment it was over, then I realized we could have done better,” said Sviatchenko.
Pavlova felt good about the skate.
“We really wanted to enjoy our skate today and we did that,” she said. “At Skate America, we were very focused on the jumps. We were not happy with the scores. We worked very hard on the components, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. We will keep working though.”
2024 Lombardia Trophy bronze medalists put out a good free skate to music from Pirates of the Caribbean which was highlighted by clean jumps: a triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence, throw triple flip, triple Salchows, and a throw triple loop. The only major mistake came when they had to abort a group 5 reverse left. However, they still scored 122.92 points for second place in the free skate and overall (184.21).
“It was very hard to skate today,” confessed Pavlova. “We were both struggling breathing and were kind of worn out by the end of the skate. I heard him breathing heavily before entering the last lift. We both knew the lift wasn’t meant to be today. Also, Alexei injured his back a bit recently in training, so we weren’t able to practice any lifts. I am surprised that our scores are still higher than at Skate America. We know though that the judges don’t forgive any mistakes, and we need to practice more.”
Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini
The two-time European champions put out a solid short to “El tango de Roxanne” to place second with 67.43 points. Their routine featured a level-three triple twist, side-by-side double Axels, and throw triple flip. The lift was graded a level four, while the steps, death spiral and spin received a level three.
“We are happy with today’s skate,” said Ghilardi. “We have very good memories of skating in Finland, so it’s always super nice to come back here.”
“It was definitely a big improvement from the last competition,” agreed her partner. “We saw a lot of Italian flags. When they cheer for you, it means you moved them in a way and that is very nice.”
The 2024 Grand Prix de France bronze medalists struggled throughout their free skate to music from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, making several costly mistakes. Both skaters landed the triple Salchows on the quarter with Ambrosini taking a fall on his. Ghilardi then stepped out of the back end of a double Axel-double Axel sequence which was downgraded to a double-single. She also put a foot and hand down on the throw triple flip and a hand down on a throw triple loop. However, all lifts were graded a level four and the posted 114.16 for sixth place. With a total score of 181.59, they slipped to third place overall.
“We fought until the end, as always,” said Ghilardi. “Of course, it’s a bit harder if things don’t work out as planned and it’s nice of course to still be on the podium. The support of the public really helped us and pushed us today; that’s also especially important if things don’t go the way as planned.”
Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier
Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier of Canada placed fourth with 60.45 points for their short program to “Separate Ways” by Journey. Their routine was highlighted by their side-by-side triple Salchows, throw triple loop, and a level-four spin and steps.
“We are very happy about our skate here,” said Laurin. “We could show what we do every day in practices.”
“We haven’t made a single mistake in the short since Skate Canada,” added her partner. “Also, practices here went well.”
The 2024 Canadian national bronze medalists placed fourth with a new personal best (118.12) for their free skate to “Elevation” by U2. Their routine featured a side-by-side triple Salchow-Axel-double Axel sequence, a throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow. Two lifts were graded a level four, but Ethier slightly underrotated the triple loops. The team maintained fourth overall (178.57)—a turn around since their last event at Skate Canada where they were eighth.
“We are really happy about this competition,” said Laurin. “We were able to show almost two clean skates for the first time this season.”
“We want to work on our components moving forward and prepare for Nationals,” added Ethier.
USA’s Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe placed fifth overall (174.40), followed by Japan’s Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (171.80), Finland’s Milania Vaananen and Filippo Clerici, and USA’s Naomi Williams and Lachlan Lewer (153.34).
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