The World Figure Skating Championships will be held in Canada on Friday and Saturday after a two-year break. On the night before Saturday, short programs will be skated in Finnish time and free programs will be skated late on Saturday night. Finland is aiming for two medals in the competition.
The figure skaters had to be disappointed the previous two spring when the World Cup was canceled due to a corona pandemic. The wait has been long, but in Finland the national teams have been able to train despite the corona pandemic. Now we can finally get to real action in Hamilton in front of a loud and full Canadian audience.
– So much has happened that I can’t even describe it in one word. The kind of classic that has had a lot of roller coaster and uncertainties. In my opinion, this has also been a really instructive time, which has been used to great advantage, said the captain of Helsinki Rockettes. Nona Vihma.
– We have been working hard all the time. It is very important that now the audience sees our great programs and sees the race situation. In competitive sports, competitions are salt and now it’s wonderful to get into the World Cup, the team’s head coach Kaisa Arrateig mood.
The recent Finnish champion Helsinki Rockettes has focused on the details of the program after the Finnish Championships. It has been 11 years since the team’s previous World Cup gold, now the whole has been honed to the championship condition.
– Most of the time, we have now worked with interpretation, tidying up the programs. It’s making the program a unison and gaining momentum, Arrateig, who has been a Rockettes pilot for 25 years, estimates.
At the previous World Championships in Helsinki in 2019, Finland won two medals when Rockettes skated bronze and Finland’s second representative in Canada, Marigold Iceunity silver. The Finns will have the hardest gold battle with each other on the World Cup, as the previous world champion, Russian Paradise, is not defending his championship due to the blocking action.
– Of course it’s annoying for them, I can’t even imagine what the situation would be like if we were excluded from the race. The situation in the world is what it is and I understand it, Rain said.
– Yes, it strengthens our chances for the brightest medals, which brings a little extra tension. We would have sought gold even if the Russians had resisted.
In Canada, there is a smaller-than-normal trough and fear of last-minute coronary infection is an added concern. However, everything has been carefully prepared to minimize unnecessary stress. According to Rain, the fast-paced, confident and fun Rockettes will be seen on the World Cup ice.
– We know each other so well that we can laugh and it is known that this is the stress. Enthusiasm can be put to good use, it can bring energy to the ice, Rain smiled.
– We have a skilled team and skill is definitely one thing we can shine with. Another thing is the interpretation and genuine presence in the programs, it will have a good interaction with the audience and the jury and it’s nice to go take it to the World Cup, Arrateig decided.
will show the World Figure Skating Championships live at Areena. Short programs on Saturday 9.4. from 00.55 and free programs from 20.35. On the television side, the short programs will be shown compiled on Saturday at TV2 at 10 am and the culmination of free programs will be shown live on TV2 at 11.45 pm.