Siao Him Fa of France now leads the Men after the Short Program with 10 points to spare. Italy’s Matteo Rizzo came second, ahead of Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia.
Siao Him Fa hit a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow, triple Axel and collected a level four for his spins and footwork in his dramatic routine to “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” by Ezio Bosso. The French Champion set a new personal best of 96.53 points.
“I am really happy about my performance today; it is my first clean short program of the season in an international competition. So I am very satisfied with my work together with my team,” Siao Him Fa said.
“I was very stressed in the beginning, but when the program started I breathed in deep and felt very calm.”
Skating to “Le parole lontane” and “Zitti e buoni” by famed Italian rock band Maneskin, Rizzo landed a quad toe-double toe combination and a triple axel. He went for a quad loop, but it was wobbly and underrotated. The 2019 European bronze medallist picked up a level four for two spins and a season’s best of 86.46 points.
“It was very hard for me, because the short program is always like a big wall that I need to crush. But I'm in a good position for Friday, that was the most important part for me,” Rizzo said.
“In the free program I want to skate as best as I can, that is my goal.”
Vasiljevs’ expressive routine to “Englishman in New York” featured a triple flip, triple Axel, a triple Lutz-triple toe combination, as well as level-four spins. However, the back end of the combination was underrotated. The 2022 European bronze medallist posted a season’s best of 84.81 points.
“I wasn't defending anything. I was skating for my own joy. I was skating for myself, first and foremost, to surpass myself as an athlete and as a performer,” Vasiljevs said.
“I was skating for the crowd, for the people, for the judges, for everyone who was watching it online. I wasn't fighting, defending, or doing anything of that sort. I was enjoying the moment in its fullest, trying to take it with a mindful approach.”
Kevin Aymoz (France) landed a quad toe, but singled his axel to finish fourth at 83.75 points. Lukas Britschgi (Switzerland) came fifth (79.26 points) while Vladimir Samoilov (Poland) ranked sixth at 78.26 points.
2022 European silver medallist Daniel Grassl (Italy) doubled his lutz and currently sits in eighth position (77.03 points).
The ISU European Championships continue until Monday, January 30. Catch all the action LIVE on SBS On Demand.
Watch the ISU European Championships on SBS
Friday, January 27
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Espoo, Day 3, Ice Dance
10:00pm-1:55am AEDT
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Saturday, January 28
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Espoo, Day 3, Men
2:55am-7:20am AEDT
LIVE on SBS On Demand
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Espoo, Day 4, Women
9:49pm-1:56am AEDT
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Sunday, January 29
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Espoo, Day 4, Ice Dance
3:25am-6:50am AEDT
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Monday, January 30
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Espoo, Day 5, Exhibition
12:25pm-3:10am AEDT
LIVE on SBS On Demand
Saturday, February 4
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Extended highlights, Espoo, Part 1
3:00pm-4:30pm AEDT on SBS
Sunday, February 5
ISU European Figure Skating Championships - Extended highlights, Espoo, Part 2
3:00pm-4:30pm AEDT on SBS
