Kelowna, 1 November. Kazakhstani figure skater Sofia Samodelkina took fifth place after the short programme at the Skate Canada International stage of the Grand Prix in Kelowna with 71.84 points, her personal best in the short programme at International Skating Union (ISU) level, Qumash reported.
Samodelkina’s previous best in the short programme was 69.45 points. Japan’s Mao Shimada leads with 82.11, American Isabeau Levito is second with 78.50, Estonia’s Nina Petrykina third with 77.24, and Japan’s Saki Miyake fourth with 71.95, just 0.11 points ahead of the Kazakhstani. The skaters perform their free programmes in the night from 1 to 2 November Kazakhstan time, and the sum of the two performances will decide the medallists.
For Samodelkina this is the first Grand Prix stage of the current season, Informburo noted: she returned to international ice in early October at the Denis Ten Memorial in Almaty and won bronze with 204.36 points.
What it means: Fifth place after the short programme does not decide the outcome of the event: the gap between fourth and fifth is 0.11 points, and she is 10.27 points short of the leader; the result will be decided by the sum of the two programmes.
What we know now: The short programme is over, the free programme takes place in the night of 2 November. The final place will be decided by the sum of points for both programmes. The elements and difficulty declared for the free programme are not named in the reports found.
Background: The Denis Ten Memorial is an international competition in memory of the Olympic medallist Denis Ten, held in Almaty.
