Italy’s Conti and Macii skated to the lead with Germany’s Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel, and Alisa Efimova and Ruben Blommaert, following in second and third.
Skating to “Oblivion”, Conti and Macii produced a triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and throw triple loop. The Italian Champions picked up a level four for the death spiral, spin, lift and step sequence to earn a personal best of 70.45 points.
“We are happy that we made 70 points - the first time in our life in international competition,” Macii said.
“This is the first season that we are collecting a lot of medals, so we are surprised about the points. I think we did a clean short, but it wasn’t a 'good' short and we got a lot of points. I can’t wait until we do our very best, but it is very, very difficult with the pressure.”
Hocke and Kunkel’s upbeat ABBA Medley was highlighted by a triple twist, throw triple loop and level-four combination spin. However, Hocke under-rotated the triple Salchow, and stepped out of it, while Kunkel two-footed. The German champions scored 67.08 points.
“We knew we were well prepared. We were happy to finally be able to skate. It felt like forever, that we waited for the Europeans, even though the German Nationals were just two weeks ago,“ Hocke said.
“We don't think about medals. Of course, we know this time it's a little different. If we show our best then everything is possible, so it's up to us to do what we have to do,” Hocke added.
“We had a really good time at the Finlandia Trophy two and a half months ago. I think everyone was a little shaky today, but it was very nice. The audience was super motivating,“ Kunkel said.
Efimova and Blommaert opened their lyrical performance to “Moonlight Sonata” in a new arrangement, with a high triple twist and throw triple loop, but they struggled with the axel lasso lift, which was rated only at the base level. The Grand Prix Espoo silver medallists earned 62.77 points.
“It felt good, actually,” Blommaert said. “But at the lift, she [Efimova] was a bit forward, and in practice I would have aborted the lift, as this is dangerous, especially in the axel lasso lift.
“But here at Europeans I obviously tried everything to keep the lift above my head. It was a shame, but the base level for the lift is still a lot of points,” Blommaert said.
ISU Grand Prix de France silver medallists Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev (France) are not far behind in fourth place at 62.46 points. ISU Grand Prix Espoo champions Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini (Italy) are currently ranked fifth, after Ghilardi singled the Axel and Ambrosini fell in the footwork (59.48 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
