Anna Shcherbakova recovered from an early fall to win her second Grand Prix of the season and reach the ISU final as part of a Russian one-two on the podium in Grenoble.
Despite suffering a slip on the take-off for her quad Lutz, the world champion hit back to record a a quad flip and seven triple jumps including triple-triple combinations.
The 17-year-old admitted the incident had unsettled her before she eventually saw off compatriot Alena Kostornaia, scoring a total of 229.69 points to win by a margin of 7.84 points.
That means Shcherbakova will advance to the final in Osaka which begins on December 9.
Nerves of Steel! 💥 Anna Shcherbakova comes back strong and takes home the 🥇 at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble! ⛸🇫🇷 #GPFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/RjprmoTiby
— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) November 20, 2021
Aliona 3A from practice this morning 🥰 pic.twitter.com/auiMZIk0qU
— Figure Skating Prints (@PrintsFigure) November 20, 2021
“I was shocked after the performance – I didn’t understand what happened on my first jump and after the program I was still not realizing what happened,” Shcherbakova said afterwards.
“The jumps went well in the warm-up and I was very confident. The mistake threw me off and I was very upset, but I did all my elements afterwards, which was very important.”
Shcherbakova insisted she did not agree with critics who said she look tired during parts of her performance.
🏆 Final results for the Women’s event at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Internationaux de France:
— ISU Figure Skating (@ISU_Figure) November 20, 2021
🥇 Anna Shcherbakova
🥈 Alena Kostornaia
🥉 Wakaba Higuchi #GPFigure #FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/BFieIY6xPf
Anna 😍😍
— Loving Anya 💛 (@veritadevera) November 20, 2021
"I came here motivated," she said. "I was focused, maybe that's why it seemed [that way].
"During the six-minute warm-up, I jumped well. After a mistake, I [suffered], but it is important for me that I got myself together and completed the rest of the elements to the end."
Kostornaia, 18, missed her triple Axel but secured silver courtesy of seven triple jumps and level-four spins for a season’s best of 145.41 points.
Anna Shcherbakova ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/CtWuSGSDeO
— Screaming about Shoma 🔥 Get well soon Yuzu 🙏 (@Dornrschen8) November 19, 2021
“Skaters like Kostornaia who will connect more emotionally” so true commentator so true
— Kris⚡️ (@skaesthetique) November 20, 2021
“I made a mistake on my triple Axel, a big mistake,” she said, adding another medal to the bronze she won at Skate Canada.
“I was shocked because I did it in the practices in Moscow and we hoped I'd do two triple Axels, but I couldn’t and it was sad. But I did the other jumps and I'm happy about it.”
Japan's Wakaba Higuchi also claimed her best score of the season to finish third.
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