Elizaveta Tuktamysheva’s skating as dazzling as her looks

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia made a brisk rise to the top of her career, by a whopping 16.76 points in Shanghai. Japan’s Satoko Miyahara took silver, with Russia’s Yelena Radionova joining her compatriot on the victory stand winning the bronze medal.

It was only Yuna Kim, the 2010 Olympic Champion, who had won the World Championships with a greater mergin, under the new scoring system implemented only in 2005.

US skaters Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmunds did their best to make it only to the fourth, fifth and eighth positions. That’s the best shot that the US women skaters have had since their last World medals in 2006.

Tuktamysheva, who is just 18, had an impressive lead after the Thursday’s short program, which she completed with a triple axel. On the contrary her biggest competitor, Radionova, did not have an impressive free skate. Tuktamysheva might not had been as impressive in her final routine, but she managed to stay on her feet landing seven triple jumps.

This year Tuktamysheva has already bagged eight international competitions, including the three biggest — Worlds, the European Championships and the Grand Prix Final.

She was the Russian champion two years ago, but during the Olympic season (2014) she fell to number 10 and was nowhere close to Sochi.

The way she is performing, she has all the chances of repeating her success the next year and become the second woman to have won back-to-back World Championships.

Her strongest competition will come from within Russia, in the face of Olympic Champion Adelina Sotnikova, who has not been able to compete in top ranking tournaments this season, because of an ankle ligament injury, she suffered in November 2014. Further competition can be offered by Olympic team event star Yulia Lipnitskaya, who has been struggling with her form this year and was unable to win a spot in Shanghai.

Next year the World Championships will be held in Boston. This will offer some advantage to US skaters, but skating requires skills more than home turf. So hopes will still be higher for Elizaveta and Adelina..

Women’s Results

Gold: Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS) — 210.36

Silver: Satoko Miyahara (JPN) — 193.60

Bronze: Yelena Radionova (RUS) — 191.47