Russian figure skaters win Olympic silver in ice dancing

Team ROC figure skaters Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov won silver medals in ice dancing at the Beijing Olympics.

Team ROC couple scored 220.51 points for rhythmic and free dance (88.85 + 131.66). French athletes Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron took the first place, setting a new world record (226.98 total points; 90.83 + 136.15).

The bronze medal went to the Americans Madison Hubbel and Zachary Donohue (218.02; 87.13 + 130.89). Team ROC Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin came in sixth (205.07; 84.09 + 120.98), Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin finished 14th (179.82; 71.66 + 108.16).

Sinitsina, 26, and Katsalapov, 30, were European champions twice (2020, 2022). The Russian athletes are the current world champions, they also claimed a silver medal at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships. At the Beijing Olympics, Sinitsina and Katsalapov also won the team tournament. They represent the Moskvich Sports School of the Olympic Reserve. France’s Papadakis and Cizeron are four-time world champions and silver medalists of the 2018 Games.