Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are developing rapidly towards the Olympics. Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen also put their best in Espoo.
Finland ice dancers shone at the Finlandia Trophy, which culminated on Sunday in Espoo. Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen warmed the audience, followed by the number one couple in our country Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis took over the space as a skilled main performer.
At the end of September, Turkkila and Versluis secured an Olympic place for Finland and did not try miracles over the weekend. A solid basic performance produced record points of 71.92 in Saturday’s rhythm dance and 113.27 in Sunday’s free dance.
The final result of 185.19 was enough in the international club instead of the sixth.
“That was pretty basic performance we’ve done in the exercises,” Versluis said modestly.
“On the better side than average,” Turkkila clarified the ranking after a two-step free dance that improved.
The sleek performance charmed the audience, which was comfortable enough, especially in the lower stands of the Espoo arena.
“There is a love theme in free dance,” Versluis began.
“Interaction and communication between us,” Turkkila added points that are visible to the public and create a positive tension between skaters.
“Those things have deepened in our skating. We have paid attention, for example, to where the gaze is. There will be more to watch in the competitions and we will get to the story together, ”the couple formulated.
German The grounded place in Oberstdorf seems to have been just a warm-up.
“From the good practice of the summer, we have been able to transfer things to competitions. There has become confidence, ”Versluis said.
“In the first race, a little more restrained himself from performing on the elements. Now I feel more liberated, even though the race was a semi-rank, ”Turkkila blew.
Versluis wiped the sweat in the interview area.
“The last minute felt on my feet. In front of a large audience, the top loads a lot. In the end, too, you should be able to make an effort.
The audience brought their spice to the competition, which the free dance couple ended up on a handsome slide.
“It was awesome to get to the final position and experience the joy. There was an audience in Oberstdorf too, but not so much, ”Versluis said.
Both Finnish couples will compete next in a couple of weeks in Nice, France. Orihara and Pirinen can also leave in good spirits after the experience gained in Espoo. The spectacularly skated couple was at home in international company.
The duo scored 97.33 points in their free dance, summed up 158.51 in the final results and pained 12th place.
“This was a really great show. We were really focused on our performance and this was one of our best skating, ”Orihara said.
Applause captivated the skaters’ ears. There were no remnants of the clinical nature of the empty racing halls and rehearsal halls.
“It was wonderful to see so many audiences, it brought more enthusiasm,” Orihara praised.
“The audience was fantastic and supported us. Already in the warm-up, the audience was well involved. Many athletes have said here that public support helps. That’s how we experienced it, ”Pirinen reflected.
“We are happy for the whole weekend. This is a fierce competition. It didn’t come with our best scores, but this was one of our best skates, ”Pirinen said before hearing the free dance scores in the middle of the interview to be a pair record.
French world champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won the ice dance with points 217.54.
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