Aleksandr Selevko makes Estonian figure skating history
Estonian figure skater Aleksandr Selevko made history at the recent Grand Prix stage in Saskatoon, Canada.
While Niina Petrõkina took third place at a GP stage held in Texas in October 2023, Selevko is the first male skater to reach the podium at the same level.
Selevko, 24, also set a new Estonian record with 91.28 points in the short program, and was second only to double world champion and major skating star Ilia Malinin (U.S.).
"When I came here, I didn't expect a podium spot. I came to compete, to enjoy my performance, to show my programs to the judges and the audience, hoping the audience would enjoy my skating. I just came to do my job. Before the competition, I looked at the list of participants, and it was a very strong Grand Prix stage. It was a huge surprise for me to finish so high," Selevko told ERR.
"I am very happy that I was able to come up with such a result. I hope everything goes uphill from here. There were many factors that helped me achieve this result. I want to say a big thank you to the Estonian Skating Union, my club Kristalluisk in Tallinn, and the Boston Skating Club in the United States, as they believe in me and help me a lot. I want to thank my coaches and my family. I am very satisfied with this competition," he went on.
The Estonian had relocated to Boston for training after finishing ninth at the European Championships in January, to work under the guidance of coaches Alexei Letov and Olga Ganicheva.
In Saskatoon, Selevko started off on the free skate excellently, performing a quad lutz, a quad toe loop, and a triple Axel, and on the combination he did a double toe loop. About the only fly in the ointment was a fall on the triple Axel, but this did not dent his good finish and 165.93 points from the judges, just 1.01 points short of his personal best.
In total, Selevko scored 257.21 points at the Grand Prix stage.
The performance also means Selevko has very likely secured a ticket to the European Championships in Sheffield, England, next January.
There are places for two male skaters: The selection is based on the highest combined score (short + free) from two ISU GP or ISU Challenger events. Selevko currently leads the table with his total of 257.21 + 235.70 points. Competing for the remaining spots are his younger brother Mihhail, as well as Arlet Levandi.
The Winter Olympics follow in February, though Selevko remained cautious on the near future.
"I don't want to say anything big until it's completely sure. We'll see. I can say that I really want to skate at the European Championships. It's still too early to talk about the Olympics. I just hope I can keep going this well," he added.
Selevko will stay on in Boston for a couple of weeks to continue training. His next appearances at home will be on November 27–28 at the ISU Challenger Tallinn Trophy and on December 13–14 at the Estonian Championships, both held at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Lasnamäe.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste. Henrik Laever
