Fay

That man was the definition of being over the top....

I protest! This is not the most ridiculous costume Mr Mercury wore, even! ETA: that dubious title goes to this...

I mean look at this... .

Anything. Freddie was into wearing craziest unitards at that moment, so Yuzu's got quite a lot of choice.

It was Ross Miner - and I confessed my eternal love to him then and there. I'm fickle, I know, but it was such a nice moment to hear that gorgeous piano and harp...

Or that. Bo-Rhap had better be avoided - no one can skate to that 6-minute monster in full, and I hate hearing it cut. Sorry.

Can we get some less mainstream Queen, please? Something in the line of My Melancholy Blues, perhaps?

Careful, he predicted Boyang would get a gold in the similar fashion. But then these predictions don't always work - Gachinsky never got one, poor thing...

Hmmm, in fact, I gave the link to Morozombie straightaway after Yuzu's WR SP. Reading his blog is a lot of fun - he was in love with Yuzu over his R&J1, then became disenchanted over NDP and transferring to Orser and came back to love him with Chopin.

I've come across this old video with Nicole Hassler - and while most of her skating looks far too simple, though quite elegant, for us now, the speed of most of her spins is just mind-boggling. I wonder if our current top spinners can beat this. Nice seeing her skate to a Russian song too. Well, who is your favourite spinner among men or women, retired or still competing?

As for Hana Wa Saku, can we get that Yuzu+Akko+Shizuka+Takeshi Honda collaboration?

R&J 1 Worlds 2014 White Legend at the Olympics

Requiem Worlds 2016.

Kovtun IS out of Skate Canada - he's injured. Or rather hasn't recovered yet. https://rsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20170930/1126508245.html

Yeah, but all his instagram says is the fact he's been to a public bathing place, apparently...

He is, but there hasn't been any announcement as to why he should have withdrawn from SC. It's a month away...

What happened to Kovtun - why has his name been removed from Skate Canada list?

Twice the Olympic champion Lyudmila Belousova has passed away. She was 82.

Valentina Marchei/ Ondrej Hotarek (ITA) (31 y.o./33 y.o.) (World standings #10) An Italian pair coached by Franca Bianconi and Rosanna Murante Valentina was born on May 23rd, 1986, a daughter of the Olympian marathon runner Marco Marchei. She took up speed skating and gymnastics as a child. She went into figure skating in 1993 and was first a singles skater, ending up National Champion five times. She represented Italy in the Sochi Olympics 2014. Ondrej Hotarek is a Czech-Italian skater and was born on January 25th, 1984. He had three partners before Valentina, and with one of them, Stefania Berton, he became the 2013 European bronze medallist, the 2013 Skate Canada champion and a three-time National Champion, and they became the first Italian pair to win European and Grand Prix medals. Hotarek is married to the ice dancer Anna Cappellini, the 2014 World Champion. Valentina and Ondrej teamed up in 2014 and became National Champions in 2015. Their personal best total score is 203.93 their best SP score is 71.04, their best FS score is 132.88 all of them achieved at the 2017 World Championship. Their SP is Tu Vuo Fa l’Americano choreographed by Massimo Scali Their FP is Amarcord OST by Nino Rota choreographed by Peter Tchernyshev Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau (CAN) (20 and 24 y.o.) (World standings #8) A Canadian pair, the 2016 Skate America champions, 2015 World Junior silver medallists, and 2014 JGP Final champions. Currently coached by Josee Picard, Valerie Saurette and Marc-Andre Craig. Previously, the pair was coached by Patrice Archetto. Julianne Seguin was born on November 7th, 1996. As a single skater, she was assigned to the 2013 Four Continents Championships and finished 11th in her senior international debut. She also teamed up with Andrew Evans in around 2011. In November 2012, Julianne and Charlie started to skate together. Charlie Bilodeau was born on August 6th, 1993, he first teamed up with Krystel Desjardins by 2008. Their personal best total score is 208.30, their best SP score is 71.40, their best FS score 136.90, all of them set at the 2016 Autumn Classic International Their SP is "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Lorde choreographed by Marie France Dubreil Their FP is Where's My Love performed by SYML choreographed by Patrice Lauzon and David Wilson???? Charlie Bilodeau is the brother of singer-songwriter Marilie Bilodeau Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov (25 and 27 y.o) (World standings #7) A Russian pair, the 2014 Olympic silver medallists, the 2014 Olympic champions in the team event, the 2014 World silver medallists, a three-time European medallists (2012 bronze, 2014, 2015 silver), the 2015–16 Grand Prix Final champions, the 2013 Winter Universiade champions, a two-time World Junior medallists (2010 bronze, 2011 silver), and a three-time Russian national champions (2014, 2015, 2017). Coached by Nina Mozer and Vladislav Zhovnirski, previously coached by Lyudmila Velikova Fedor Klimov was born on September 7th, 1990, and started to skate at the age of four. Fedor tried to skate with two partners, Natalya Golubeva and Maria Chashina, before he teamed up with Ksenia. Ksenia was born on February 7th, 1992, and started to skate at the age of 6. She first skated with Artur Minchuk before she started out with Fedor. The pair’s career has been quite successful, but they have also have been dogged with some injuries, too: Fedor broke his leg in 2013 and had arm and shoulder injury in 2016, while Ksenia’s injury and boot problem made them withdraw from their GP events last year. Their personal best total score is 229.44 set at the 2015 GP Final in Barcelona, their best SP score is 76.15 achieved at the 2014 World Championship in Sapporo, their best FS score is 154.60 set at the 2015 GPF. Their SP is Besame Mucho, their FP is Carmen, both programs choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov (22 y.o./24 y.o.) (World standings #1) A Russian pair, the 2017 World bronze medallists, the 2017 European and 2016 Grand Prix Champions, three-time Russian National medallists. 2014 Junior World Championship silver medallists. Coached by Nina Mozer, Andrei Hekalo, Robin Szolkowy, previously by Stanislav Morozov Evgenia was born on December 17th, 1994 and first was a singles skater. She switched over to the pairs in 2010 and her first partner was Egor Chudin. Vladimir was born on November 1st, 1992 and went through two partners, Ekaterina Krutskikh and Irina Moiseeva, before he teamed up with Evgenia. Their personal best total score is 227.58, their best SP score is 80.82, their best FS score is 146.76, all of which were achieved at the 2017 European Championship. Their SP is Piano Concerto No.2 by Rakhmaninov choreographed by Peter Tshernyshev Their FP is Candyman choreographed by Peter Tshernyshev

Sumire Suto/Francis Boudreau-Audet (JPN) (19 and 23 y.o.) (World standings #25) A Japanese pair, two-times Japanese national champions (2016 and 2017). Currently coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte. Francis was born on November 8th, 1993 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada. He started to skate in 2001 and previously competed with Ami Koga for Japan in 2013-2015. Sumire was born on November 11th, 1997 and started to skate in 2006. She previously partnered Konstantin Chizhikov for Japan and the pair once became the Junior Japanese national champions. Francis and Sumire teamed up in 2015. Their personal best total score is 164.96 set at the 2017 Four Continents Championship, their personal best SP score is 61.70 at the 2017 World Championship and their personal best FS score is 109.20 at 2016 NHK Trophy Their SP is Sakura (Spring Blossom) by Naotaro Moriyama, their FP is the Beatles Medley both choreographed by Julie Marcotte. Marissa Castelli/Mervin Tran (both 27 y.o.) (World standings #17) An American pair, 2016 bronze and 2017 silver national medallists. Currently coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier and Sylvie Fullum Marissa Castelli was born on August 20th, 1990. She began skating at the age of three. Early in her career, she competed as a single skater and then paired up first with Brad Vigorito. Then in 2006, she started skating with her second partner Simon Shnapir, and they became the 2013 Four Continents bronze medallists, the 2009 World Junior bronze medallists, and a two-time U.S. national champions (2013 & 2014). The pair also won a bronze medal in the team event at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Mervin Tran was born on September 22nd, 1990. He’s a Canadian and began to skate at the age of four first as a hockey player, but then moved on to figure skating. Mervin also was a single skater first and then moved on to pairs. His first partner was Narumi Takahashi and the pair skated for Japan, eventually winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Nice World Championship (the same year as Yuzuru and Akiko won their bronze medals). When the partnership with Narumi came to an end, due to her injuries and the difficulty of Tran ever getting a Japanese citizenship, Mervin briefly teamed up with Natasha Purich in 2013. This pair competed only for a season, and in spring 2014, Marissa and Mervin started to skate together. Their personal best total score is 176.38, their personal best SP score is 67.50, and their personal best FS score is 117.74. All these results were set at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. Their SP is Fallin’ by Alicia Keys, their FP is Women by Shawn Phillips both choreographed by Julie Marcotte Miriam Ziegler/Severin Kiefer (AUT) (23 y.o/27 y.o.) (World standings #12) An Austrian pair, National Champions in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The highest placement at the world championships was 18th in 2015 and 2017. Currently coached by Knut Schubert. The pair was previously by Eva Sonnleitner. Miriam was born on March 19th, 1994. As a single skater, she was twice the National Champion in 2009 and 2010. Severin was born on October 11th, 1990. His first partner was Stina Martini, and they became National Champions three times. Miriam and Severin paired up in 2013 Their personal best total score is 180.60, their best SP score is 65.09, their best FS score 115.51. All of them were set at the 2017 Nebelhorn Trophy. Their SP is Sunshine on Leith, their FP is Coldplay Medley, both programs were choreographed by Mark Pillay Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov (RUS) (20 y.o./29 y.o.) (World Standings #12) A Russian pair, 2015 Winter Universiade silver medallists Coached by Artur Dmitriev. Kristina was born on February 25th, 1997. She previously skated with two partners, Maxim Kurdyukov and Nikita Bochkov. Alexei was born on June 6th, 1988, and previously skated with Anastasia Martyusheva and Sabina Imaikina. With Anastasia he became the 2009 World Junior silver medallist, 2009 Russian Junior champion, and 2012 Russian national bronze medallist. Kristina and Alexei started to skate together in 2014. Their personal best total score is 191.12, their best SP score is 67.18, both set at the 2017 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, their best FS score 127.66 at the 2014 Golden Spin of Zagreb. Their SP is Adagio For A String by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Requiem in D Minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, O Fortuna (from "Carmina Burana") by Carl Orff, their FP is La La Land OST, both programs were choreographed by Sergei Komolov

In the history of the Cup of Russia, it’s Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze (RUS) and Alyona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (GER) who had the most CoR gold medals – three of them (1998, 2000, 2001 for B/S and 2006, 2011 and 2013 for S/S). Alyona Savchenko has gone beyond that because she won one more with Bruno Massot last year. Tatiana Totmyanina and Maxim Marinin (RUS), Zhang Dang and Zhang Hao (CHN) and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (RUS) have won two for each team. The pairs who won one CoR gold are Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer (GER), Marina Eltseva and Andrei Bushkov (RUS), Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov (RUS), Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (CHN), Pang Qing and Tong Xian (CHN), Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov (RUS), Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov (RUS). There are eight pairs taking part in the competition. We will briefly introduce the competitors.

You might have to explain why carrots...

Keiji Tanaka JPN (22y.o) (World Standings #17) A Japanese skater, the 2016 NHK Trophy bronze medallist, 2017 Winter Universiade silver medallist, 2011 World Junior silver medallist, and 2017 Japanese national silver medallist. Currently coached by Yusuke Hayashi, Utako Nagamitsu and Sayaka Yodo. He was born on November 22nd, 1994. He started skating in 2002. He trains in Osaka and Kurashiki. He turned senior in the season of 2014-2015. He took part at the Cup of Russia in 2016 and placed 7th. Keiji has been hampered by his own inconsistency. He's got 4S in his technical arsenal and when at best, he's capable of landing quite high in the ranks. His personal best total score is 248.44. his personal best SP score is 80.49, his personal best FS score is 167.95, all of which were achieved at the 2016 NHK Trophy. His SP is "The Prophet" by Gary Moore https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l161ROwjJU His FP is Fellini films medley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3BKoJK_K7I Both of Keiji’s programs were choreographed by Massimo Scali Dmitri Aliev RUS (18 y.o) (World Standings #16) A Russian skater, the 2017 World Junior silver medalist, the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time medalist at the 2016 Youth Olympics (bronze in the men's singles discipline and gold in the team event), and a two-time (2016, 2017) Russian national junior champion. Currently coached by Evgeni Rukavicin, his former coaches were Lidiya Rodionova and Vyacheslav Maksimov. Dmitri was born on June 1st, 1999, and started skating in 2005. He trained in Ukhta until he moved to train with Evgeni Rukavicin in St. Petersburg. He’s a late starter compared to most Russian male skaters and couldn’t master his triples for quite a long time, but his musicality and his expressiveness make him stand out among the rest of the field. He’s been developing by leaps and bounds these couple of years, and though he’s dogged by inconsistency issue, he’s a dire threat to other top Russian men. He’s also developing his technical arsenal and could be a contender at this GP event. This is Dmitri’s first senior season and the Cup of Russia will be his debut senior Grand Prix event. Dmitri has 4T and 4S in his technical arsenal and has been practising 4Lz, which he intends to include in his programs this year. He said he is going for 4 quad LP. His personal best total score is 247.31, his personal best SP score is 83.48, and his personal best FS score is 163.83, all of which were achieved at the 2017 Junior World Championship. His SP is Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmpq7flA7B4 His FP is To Build A Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnLgVT0bPrM Both his programs were choreographed by Olga Glinka Daniel Samohin ISR (19 y.o) (World Standings #15) An Israeli skater, the 2016 World Junior champion. He has won two ISU Challenger Series medals, including gold at the 2015 U.S. International Classic. Currently coached by Igor Samohin, his father, his former coach was Igor Pashkevich. He lives and trains in the USA. His skating idol was Evgeni Plushenko. His brother, Stanislav, is 7½ years older and competed in figure skating for Russia and Israel. He was born on March 12th, 1998 and started skating very young. He could have skated for the US team, but he chose to skate for Israel in the end. He started to compete internationally in 2013, but it was only last season that he moved on to the senior circuit. Unfortunately, the season of 2016-2017 put a bit of a damper on his ambitious plans, as he was dogged by inconsistency and sometimes by bad luck – everyone is sure to remember that his skates got lost with his luggage just before the 2017 European Championship, and he had to skate in a pair of skates he borrowed from his brother, and as a result, he didn’t make it into the free program skate. But nevertheless, Daniel is one of the few skaters to have landed two quad jumps in a short program, three quads in a free program, and five quads in one competition, which makes him a contender for a medal at this event. This is Daniel’s second senior season, and he has never previously skated at the Cup of Russia. His technical arsenal includes 4S and 4T. His personal best total score is 236.65 at the 2016 Junior World Championship, his personal best SP score is 83.47 at 2016 Cup of China, and his personal best FS score is 165.63 at the 2016 Junior World Championship. His SP is It's a Man's, Man's, Man's World choreographed by… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RcEquKHsZQ So far his free program doesn't seem to have been revealed Nathan Chen USA (18 y.o) (World Standings #7) An American skater, the 2017 Four Continents champion, 2016–17 Grand Prix Final silver medallist, and 2017 U.S. national champion. Earlier in his career, he won bronze at the 2014 World Junior Championships and gold at the 2015–16 Junior Grand Prix Final. Currently coached by Rafael Arutunyan. Genia Chernyshova, Karl Kovar and Marina Zouyeva were his former coaches. Nathan was born on May 5th, 1999, and started skating at the age of three. He moved to Arutunyan in 2011. His junior years proved he was about to become a major threat to all the elite skaters, but he has been dogged with injuries and has had to undergo a couple of surgeries. Nathan is the only skater in the world who landed both the quad lutz and quad flip jumps in competitions. He is also the first man to land five quads in the free program and is the current record holder of scoring the most amount of points on one element (the quad lutz-triple toe loop combination). His technical prowess made him capable of beating the other top senior figure skaters, which he decisively proved by finishing ahead of Yuzuru at the 2017 Four Continents Championship and winning the gold medal there. This season, he has debuted 4Lo, which makes him the only skater to have landed 5 quads in competitions. This is Nathan’s first time at the Cup of Russia His personal best total score is 307.46, his personal best SP score is 103.12, and his personal best FS score is 204.34, all of which were achieved at the 2017 Four Continents Championship. His SP is Nemesis by Benjamin Clementine choreographed by Shae Lynn Bourne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4KAcZLbEbM His FP is Mao’s Last Dancer by Christopher Gordon choreographed by Lori Nichol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NejdonImvKg In addition to figure skating, as a kid, Chen trained in ballet with Ballet West Academy as well as competing in gymnastics at the state and regional levels for seven years. Mikhail Kolyada RUS (22 y.o) (World Standings #6) A Russian skater, the 2017 European bronze medallist and 2017 Russian national champion. He has won six senior international medals, including two on the ISU Challenger Series. He’s been coached by Valentina Chebotareva ever since he was five. He has also been uncommonly loyal to his choreographer Olga Kliushnichenko – the fact which drew harsh criticism on him last season. He was born on February 18th, 1995. He won Junior Nationals in 2013 and ended up 6th at the Junior World Championship the same year. 2014-2015 should have been his first senior season, but he broke his right ankle in 2014, which led to two surgeries and five months off ice, so he withdrew from the GP events and Russian Nationals. The season of 2015-1016 proved to be a rough experience at first, but to everyone’s surprise, he ended up 4th at Boston World Championship ahead of such skaters as Patrick Chan and Shoma Uno. This instantly made him the principal hope of the ailing Russian male skating. He’s arguably the closest Russian skaters have got to the idea of an all-round skater – his beautiful skating skills, flexibility in spins, musicality and charisma, his powerful jumps (especially his trademark 3Lz) made him stand out among the rest of the field. But he struggled throughout last season with the new jump he tried to incorporate in his program – 4Lz, but he successfully landed it at Ondrej Nepela Trophy this season and earned high GOE for it. He also intends to include 4S in his FP this season. He lives and trains in St. Petersburg. This is the second time Mikhail has taken part in the Cup of Russia. His personal best total score is 279.41, his personal best SP score is 95.37, and his personal best FS score is 184.04. He achieved these results at the 2017 World Team Trophy in Tokyo. His SP is Piano Concerto no. 23, Adagio movement, by Mozart + Tango choreographed by Olga Kliushnichenko https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1eQH9xhc2g His FP is Elvis Presley medley choreographed by Olga Kliushnichenko and Stephane Lambiel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0bN11pkoC8 Yuzuru Hanyu JPN (#1) A Japanese skater we all love and adore. He doesn’t really need introduction on our planet, does he? But we’ll just remind you of the impressive array of titles and medals he’s won and of the figure skating feats he’s achieved. Yuzuru is the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games champion, two times World Champion (2014 and 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), a three-time Four Continents Championship silver medallist (2011, 2013, 2017), the Junior World champion, the 2009 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion (2012–2015). He has also medalled at three other World Championships, taking bronze in 2012, and silver in 2015 and 2016. Yuzuru has broken world records twelve times, and currently holds the world records for the highest short program, free skating, and combined total scores. He is the first man to have broken the 100-point barrier in the men's short program, the 200-point barrier in the men's free skating, and the 300-point barrier in the combined total score, as well as being the first Asian figure skater competing in men's singles to win the Olympic gold. At the age of nineteen, he was the youngest male skater to win the Olympic title since Dick Button in 1948. At the 2015–2016 Grand Prix Final, he broke the record for the largest victory margin, with 37.48 points. At the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, Yuzuru Hanyu became the first skater in history to successfully land a quadruple loop in competition. He is the first men's singles skater from Asia to win multiple World Championships. He also became the first skater to complete three quadruple jumps in the second half of a free skating program, at the 2017 World Team Trophy. Yuzuru took part in the Cup of Russia in 2010 when he placed 7th and in 2011 which was the first time he won a senior GP event. Yuzuru trains with Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson at Toronto Cricket Club. He’s got an otherworldly set of personal bests: his total score is 330.43 achieved at the 2015 Grand Prix Final and his SP score is 112.72 at Skate Canada Autumn Classic 2017, and his FS score is 223.20 set at the 2017 World Championship. His SP is Chopin Ballade No. 1 choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fZe8sgGn4k His FP is Seimei choreographed by Shae Lynn Bourne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYx2WzIXvZ8 If you interested in Yuzu trivia, you’re welcome to read everything in this forum.

Definitely YES!

Andrei Lazukin RUS (19 y.o) (World Standings #82) A Russian skater, the 2015 Bavarian Open champion, 2017 Triglav Trophy silver medallist, and 2014 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany champion. He placed 4th at the 2017 Russian National Championship Andrei is coached by Tatiana Mishina and Oleg Tataurov Andrei was born on November 19th, 1997, in Samara and started skating in 2000. In 2010, he moved to St. Petersburg to train in Alexei Mishin’s group. He turned senior in 2014. An elegant skater with impeccable lines and nice skating skills, Andrei stands out among the current batch of Russian skaters, but his career has been hampered by jump inconsistency and lack of stamina and by back injuries. He’s been able to land 4T and 4Lo at a competition within Russia last season, and is said to be currently practising 4S. His personal best total score is 202.68, personal best SP score is 68.73, personal best FS score is 133.95. He achieved all of these results at the 2014 Junior Grand Prix event in Germany. His SP is Spanish Flamenco choreographed by Misha Ge and Ramil Mekhdiyev https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJqOazS5heE His FP is Masquerade Waltz by Aram Khachaturian choreographed by Adam Solya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBJg41JrZk Denis Ten KAZ (23 y.o) (World Standings #31) A Kazakhstani skater, first and only major skater from his country. 2014 Sochi Olympic Bronze medallist, 2013 World Silver medallist, 2015 World Bronze medallist. 2015 Four Continents Championship Champion, 2017 Winter Universiade champion, five-time national champion. He also became the first Kazakhstani skater to win an ISU competition at a Junior Grand Prix event in Belarus in 2008. Currently coached by Frank Carroll. His previous coaches were Nikolay Morozov, Elena Buyanova and Tatiana Tarasova. Denis was born on June 13th, 1993. He’s a descendant of famous Korean General Min Keung Ho, who was a famous Korean independence fighter general during the time of the Korean Empire when Korea fought for independence from Japan. Denis started skating at an open-air skating rink in Almaty and then practised at a shopping mall skating rink. In 2003, he won his first competition in Omsk, Russia. He then moved to Moscow to train with Elena Buyanova. In 2010, after competing at Vancouver Olympic Games and placing 11th there, he moved to the USA to train with Frank Carroll, who he stayed with until last season, when he moved to Nikolai Morozov. Denis is a gorgeous and expressive skater with a charismatic presence on ice. But, unfortunately, his last two seasons were not as successful as his peak period of 2013-2015 when he was known as the skater who took part in only a selected few tournaments, but knew how to peak for the most important competitions of the season, the Olympics or the World Championships. He was dogged by injuries and had to withdraw from quite a few competitions. Let’s hope he finds this season more fulfilling and satisfying. Denis competed at the Cup of Russia in 2012 where he finished 9th. His personal best total score is 289.46, personal best SP score is 97.61, personal best FS score is 191.85. He achieved all of these results at the 2015 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, Korea. His technical arsenal includes 4T and 3A, and last season he tried landing 4S at several competitions. His SP is ??? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjyLYsxzUY His FP for the season is S.O.S by Dimash choreographed by https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4G4YOHmhfiM Denis is also a passionate amateur musician and has a pretty active social life in his country. In 2013, he began producing his own ice show, "Denis Ten and Friends". In summer 2014, he announced his co-operation with All That Sports management company established by Kim Yuna. He’s also interested in photography. Nam Nguyen (CANADA) (19 y.o) (World standings #26) A Canadian skater of Vietnamese origin, 2014 Junior World Champion, 2015 Canadian national champion, 2014 Skate America bronze medallist. Currently coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Last season, he was coached by David Glynn in San Jose, and in 2012-2016 he trained with Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson in Toronto Cricket Club along with Yuzuru and Javier Fernandez. Nam was born on May 20th, 1998 and started skating in 2003. When growing, his skating idols were Evgeni Plushenko, Stephane Lambiel, and Jeffrey Butler. He also looked up to Yuzu and Javi as his skating inspirations. Nam’s sister, Kim, is also a competitive skater. Nam looked like a rising star of Canadian male skating winning his first major competition in 2007. Ngyuen won three consecutive national titles, being the youngest athlete so far in each category: He won the Juvenile title in 2007 at age 8, the Pre-Novice title in 2008 and the Novice title in 2009. He became also the youngest Junior Men's Champion when taking the title in 2011 at age 12 and youngest National Champion (senior level) in 2015, at age 16. He was going strongly up to the season of 2015-2016, when a sudden growth spurt seems to have derailed him in his development as a skater. We wish him well in the coming season! He's done quite well at the recent Skate Canada Autumn Classic, where he finally placed fifth This is Nam’s first time at the Cup of Russia. His technical arsenal includes 4T and 4S His personal best total score is 242.59 at the 2015 World Championship. His best SP score is 79.62 at 2016 Skate America. His best FS score is 164.86 at 2015 World Championship. His SP is Over The Rainbow choreographed by ??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk7OmcF_Pig His FP is An American in Paris+ Love Is Here To Stay choreographed by David Wilson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XGdj30j8s4 Grant Hochstein USA (27 y.o) (World Standings #22) An American skater, the 2016 Nebelhorn Trophy bronze medallist and he finished fourth twice in the US National Championships (2016, 2017). He has finished in the top ten at three ISU Championships, including the 2016 World Championships. He won silver at a Junior Grand Prix event in Budapest in 2009. Currently coached by Peter Oppegard and Karen Kwan-Oppegard. His former coaches were Lindsay O'Donoghue and Maria Moscato. Grant was born on July 17th, 1990. Grant started practising taekwondo as a child but switched to figure skating when he was nine years old, inspired by the performances of Michelle Kwan at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games. His younger sister Veronica is a competitive skater as well. This is the first time Grant has taken part at the Cup of Russia. His technical arsenal includes one quad, 4T. His personal best total score is 237.25 at the 2016 World Championship in Boston, his personal best SP score is 81.94 at the 2017 Four Continents Championship, his personal best FS score is 162.44 at the 2016 World Championships. His SP is Your Song (from Moulin Rouge) choreographed by Peter Oppegard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMcFjPJbXmA His FP is All I Ask Of You and Music Of The Night (from The Phantom Of The Opera) choreographed by Peter Oppegard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJPBQN-qykM He works as a coach in addition to competing. On April 5, 2016, he announced his engagement to fellow figure skater Caroline Zhang. Grant has announced his intention to retire after the coming season is over: "So, as I bring this long journal entry to a close, I am ending my season feeling satisfied. I’m not overjoyed and on top of the world like I was last year, but I know I’m ending this season wiser and with a better grip on my career. I’m looking forward to going home and getting back to work for next season. It is important to me, not only because it is the Olympic season, but because it is my final season. I’m going to approach this year by skating from the heart and skating because it is what I love to do. " Misha Ge UZB (26 y.o) (World Standings #21) An Uzbekistani skater, four-times national champion, who has won seven international medals. He has finished in the top-ten at four ISU Championships, including 2015 Worlds (6th), and competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics, finishing 17th. Currently coached by his father Jun Ge and helped by Alexei Mishin. His former coaches include Frank Carroll and Larisa Ge. Misha Ge was born on May 17th, 1991, to Larisa and Jun Ge, both skaters. He’s of Russian, Chinese and Korean descent. He started skating when he was three and a half, but he started training seriously when he was 10, after he moved from Moscow to Beijing, China. He started representing Uzbekistan in 2010. Misha has twice been to the Cup of Russia: first time in 2013 (his final placement was 8th) and in 2014 (4th). Misha is an incredibly fine and expressive skater with beautiful lines and very concise and exact choreography, but he has been held back by lack of quads in his arsenal. He tried to overcome this drawback by including 4T into his layout last season, but it may have caused his health problems in the second half of it. At the end of last season Misha hinted he was considering retirement, but fortunately he seems to have reconsidered, since he has taken part in Skate Canada Autumn Classic. His personal best total score is 243.45 at the 2017 World Championship, personal best SP score is 82.25 at the 2015 Four Continents Championships, his personal best FS score is 163.54 at the 2017 World Championship. His SP is Massenet’s Meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnFRn3JHGc For his FP he opted to go back to his old 2014-2015 program Ave Maria. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Aj2CyFDF8 Misha choreographed both his programs himself. He speaks Russian, Mandarin, and English, so we’ve seen him do some work as an interpreter for Boyang Jin at the Helsinki World Championship. He often also offers thanks and says hello to his fans in these three languages at major competitions. Ge has taken choreography courses at the Beijing Dance Academy and the Hollywood Dance Academy. He’s known to choreograph his own programs, and lately has been choreographing for quite a few competitive skaters, among them Anna Pogorilaya, Elena Radionova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Kevin Reynolds, Gracie Gold, Alexander Petrov, Sergei Voronov etc Deniss Vasiljevs LAT (18 y.o.) (World Standings #20) A Latvian skater, the youngest skater at this competition, the 2017 Cup of Tyrol champion, the 2015 CS Tallinn Trophy bronze medallist, and a two-time Latvian national champion. He finished in the top ten at the 2017 European Championships. He finished 14th at the 2017 World Championship, thus providing Latvia with a spot for Peyongchang Winter Olympics. Vasiljevs is the first Latvian skater to win medals in the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (silver at JGP Riga and JGP Torun in 2015). Currently coached by Stephane Lambiel. His former coaches were Alexei Urmanov, Ingrida Snieskiene, and Elena Ivanova. Deniss was born on August 9th, 1999. He started skating in 2002. As he was sick, his parents decided to involve him in a sport and he ended up choosing figure skating. His figure skating idols were Stephane Lambiel, Patrick Chan, Daisuke Takahashi and Javier Fernandez. Deniss skated at the Cup of Russia last year and placed 11th. Deniss is an expressive and gorgeous skater with excellent spins and admirable skating skills and flexibility, but the most difficult jump he's got under his belt is 3A so far. His personal best total score is 239.00, his personal best SP score is 81.73, and his personal best FS score is 157.27, all of which were achieved at the 2017 World Championship. His SP is Recondita Armonia by Giacomo Puccini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWYcvXw55X0 His FP is Put the Blame On Mame by Doctor 3 + Anyone to Love and Sway by Michael Buble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLUuNiHpBYg Both his programs were choreographed by Stephane Lambiel Deniss enjoys drawing and he speaks three languages – Latvian, Russian and English.