Ice dancers Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis charmed the audience at the figure skating Finlandia Trophy competitions in Espoo.
Matti Lehtisaari,
Emma Hyuppa,
STT Sports
Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are celebrating the ice dance victory at the figure skating Finlandia Trophy event in Espoo. Turkkila and Versluis already took the top spot in the rhythm dance and kept their first place in the free dance.
Turkkila and Versluis achieved a total score of 193.73. of the USA Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko reached second place with 191.14 points. Canada’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen were third (188.56).
Turkkila and Versluis set their record of 198.21 last winter at the EC competitions held in Espoo, where they achieved bronze. The ice in Espoo has been favorable for them, as they took third place in last year’s Finlandia Trophy and the GP competition of the International Figure Skating Association.
Finland Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen finished sixth. Orihara and Pirinen got 174.73 points.
Turkkila: “This was one great stage”
The first Finlandia Trophy win warmed up Turkey.
– Our third place last year was already a surprise. But we were still able to raise our ranking and win. Winning always requires keeping your nerves under control. This was one great stage. Even as a little skater, I came to watch the Finlandia Trophy and dreamed that one day I would be on the podium, Turkkila smiled.
Turkkila admitted on Saturday that she was nervous about the rhythm dance, but in Sunday’s free dance her mind was calmer. The duo managed the pressure caused by the lead position in front of the home crowd.
– Overall, we improved compared to the competition in Oberstdorf, Turkkila referred to September’s Nebelhorn Trophy, which resulted in 183.63 points.
How can the current victory be compared to the previous achievements of the career?
– It is difficult to compare. The EC competitions will stay high in the memories, but we haven’t won many competitions, Versluis pointed out.
Versluis shed light on the duo’s upcoming competition program.
– In three weeks there will be a slightly smaller competition in Switzerland. After that, the program includes the GP races here in Espoo and in Japan, Versluis said.
The brightest goals of the season are the European Championships in Lithuania and the World Championships in Canada.