Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are third after the rhythm dance of the GP competition.
will show the figure skating Helsinki GP on its channels on November 15-17, 2024. See shipping information.
Finnish ice dancer couples Juulia Turkkila–Matthias Versluis and Yuka Orihara–Juho Pirinen were excellent in their Saturday rhythmic dances at the figure skating GP competition in Helsinki.
Both couples made their international record points in rhythmic dance and surprised the coach Maurizio Margaglio in a sweet way on the Italian’s 50th birthday.
Turkkila and Versluis got 78.31 points and surpassed the record they set in Espoo last year by less than a point. Orihara and Pirinen got 72.56 points.
– We finally got an improved record. It had already been a while since the previous one, Orihara recalled three years ago.
Orihara and Pirinen are in eighth place after the rhythm dance, but Turkkila and Versluis are as much as third. The latter finished third in the GP competitions held in Espoo in 2022 and 2023, so the bronze medals from the previous home competitions have to be defended in Helsinki.
Soul rhythms hit the home audience and the performance hit the jury.
– Good feeling. It was a bit more tense than in other competitions of the season, when we were now in front of the home crowd. We had to focus more closely, Versluis said.
– The home crowd also brought a relaxed feeling. We were completely in the moment during the program, Turkkila continued.
The record scores pleased the skaters.
– We see that our work is appreciated, Turkkila said.
The YMCA blew the pot
The rhythmic dance of Orihara and Pirinen consisted of disco rhythms from the 1970s. The audience was very involved from the beginning, but the Village People’s YMCA classic heard at the end of the set blew the pot.
– People recognized the song and got involved. Technically, this was a better performance than our previous competition in Japan, Pirinen said.
Free dance is on Sunday. Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier scored 84.65 and lead after the rhythm dance. Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson are second with 82.03 points.
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