The European Figure Skating Championships are underway in Sheffield, England, wiht competition running January 13-18 at the Utilita Arena [[1]]. The event, returning to the UK for the first time in years, saw promising results in the rhythm dance competition on Thursday, as Czech pair natálie Taschlerová and Filip Taschler secured sixth place [[2]], and [[3]]. Below are details on their performance and othre highlights from the opening day of the competition.
The Czech pair of Natálie Taschlerová and Filip Taschler are sixth after the rhythm dance at the European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, a strong showing as they compete in their first major event under new coach Maurizio Margagliovi. The duo, who moved from Italy to Helsinki to train with Margagliovi, scored 77.33, just two-hundredths of a point shy of their season best.
“We are extremely satisfied, we delivered what we trained for,” Taschlerová told Czech Television. “We worked on being free, being ourselves, and not holding back,” she explained after their energetic performance. Her brother added, “We fulfilled everything, the step sequences went well, and I’m happy. These are good points for a major international competition.”
A top-ten finish at the Championships would secure two spots for Czech pairs at next year’s event. The Czech record for a European Championship performance by a pair is ninth place, achieved by Martin Bidař and Anna Valesiová in their debut as a team.
“This is another stepping stone, and we’ll build from here as we work towards the Olympics,” said Filip Taschler, looking ahead to the season’s major events, including the upcoming competition in Milan and the World Championships in Prague in March.
The other Czech pair, Kateřina and Daniel Mrázek, withdrew from the European Championships due to partner Daniel Mrázek’s cold.
France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier-Beaudry currently lead the competition after the rhythm dance, having paired up just this season. They earned a score of 86.93.
The Olympic gold medalist from Beijing found a new partner in Canada and holds a roughly 1.96-point lead over Great Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson. Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri are in third place with a score of 84.48.
The dance competition will conclude Saturday at 7:30 PM with the free dance. The women’s competition is set to finish tonight in Sheffield, but Barbora Vránková did not qualify for the free skate.
| European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield: |
|---|
| Ice Dance – After Rhythm Dance: |
| 1. Fournier-Beaudry, Cizeron (FRA) 86.93 |
| 2. Fear, Gibson (GBR) 85.47 |
| 3. Guignard, Fabbri (ITA) 84.48 |
| … |
| 9. Taschler, Taschler (CZE) 77.33 – advanced to free dance. |
| 7:00 PM Women – Free Skate. |
