Russia wins first Junior GP gold after four years
Russian junior figure skaters Maria Feofelova and Artem Valov won gold in ice dancing at the first ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Xi'an, China, marking their first international appearance after a four-year absence. They also led in all four disciplines at the event.
Consensus
- Russian figure skaters Maria Feofelova and ArtemValov won gold in ice dancing at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Xi'an, China.
- The event marked the first international appearance for Russian skaters after a four-year absence.
- Feofelova and Valov competed in a neutral status.
- They scored 63.10 in the rhythm dance and 99.06 in the free dance, totaling 162.16 points.
- The event was the first Junior Grand Prix stage with Russian participation since 2022.
- Russia led in all four disciplines at the tournament.
- Feofelova is 14 years old, Valov is 17.
- The pair won the Russian junior national championship and the Junior Grand Prix Final in Russia the previous season.
Points of divergence
- Sofia Dzepka leads in the women's singles after the short program with 72.74 points. — fontanka
- Lev Lazarev leads in the men's singles before the free program with 86.76 points. — fontanka
- Polina Shekelyova and Yegor Karnaukhov won the short program in pair skating with 65.54 points. — fontanka
- Alexandra Iglantova and Petr Gumenik are listed as participants in the Kinoshita Group Cup in Japan, which is a Challenger series event. — vm
- Five Russian skaters received neutral status from the ISU on July 16. — vm
- The ISU only allowed Russian athletes to participate in the 2026 Olympics qualification events prior to this event, and that decision did not extend to other tournaments. — vesti
- The ISU began allowing Russian skaters to compete in neutral status starting from the 2026/2027 season. — kommersant
Coverage (4 sources)
- Returned after four years and took the gold: Russians won the first stage of the ISU Junior Grand Prix — Фонтанка
- Duet of Feffelova and Valov won junior stage of Grand Prix in China — Вечерняя Москва
- Figurists Tefelova and Valov won at the junior ISU Grand Prix — Вести
- Russians Feifelova and Valov won rhythm dance at junior Grand Prix ISU stage — Коммерсантъ
Key entities
More on Artem Valov
- Russian skater Lazarev wins junior Grand Prix in China
- Russian juniors sweep all golds at ISU Grand Prix in China