Bobrova and Soloviev build lead in short
Russian ice dancers make few errors, soar past competition
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| Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev have a sizable lead on the Shibutani siblings. (Getty Images) |
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Despite some wobbliness in their step sequence, Bobrova and Soloviev finished with 65.73 points for their Latin short dance, giving them a commanding lead on their way to what could be their first Grand Prix title.
"It wasn't our best performance, as we had some upsetting little mistakes," Soloviev said. "Emotionally, it felt good, and overall we are quite pleased."
The world bronze medalist Shibutanis came in second with 57.79 points. The Shibutanis lost out on valuable points in their program when they received only a Level 1 for their rotational lift; the Russians, on the flip side, received a Level 4 for their straight line lift.
"We are very pleased with our performance today. It was a good start for us," Maia Shibutani said. "We are really happy with that performance level."
British pair Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland came in third with 53.89 points, employing a strong, high-energy short program to music by Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez. They are nearly four points out of second place and are followed closely by French team Pernelle Carron and Lloyd Jones with 52.41 points.
American teams Emily Samuelson and Todd Gilles, and Charlotte Lichtman and Dean Copely came in seventh and eighth place, respectively.