At 21, Adam Siao Him Fa was crowned champion ofEurope of figure skating for the first time in his career, this Friday in Espoo (Finland).
“I don’t realize the result yet,” he reacted. “I often hide my emotions but I am very happy. It’s something to be European champion! I realize that hard work pays off. He offers France a first continental title in the men’s category since 2011 and Florent Amodio’s gold.
With a total of 267.77 points, he is ahead of the Italian Matteo Rizzo (259.92 pts) and the Swiss Lukas Britschgi (248.01 pts). All the technical elements of his free program did not go perfectly in the first part of the choreography, but Siao Him Fa freed himself afterwards.
With a total of 267.77 points, he is ahead of the Italian Matteo Rizzo (259.92 pts) and the Swiss Lukas Britschgi (248.01 pts). All the technical elements of his free program did not go perfectly in the first part of the choreography, but Siao Him Fa freed himself afterwards.
“I tried to stay focused and stay in my bubble. There were mistakes but I fought until the end. I didn’t give up because every element counts,” he said. He had a comfortable lead of more than ten points after the short program on Wednesday anyway.
In the absence of the defending champion, the Russian Mark Kondratuik suspended due to war in ukrainefirst place seemed more accessible than ever for the 21-year-old skater, who responded on Finnish ice.
He was able to express his qualities of interpretation on his two programs, which have the particularity of responding to each other and telling a single story, an innovative artistic choice in skating. A love that is torn in the court, between hatred and misunderstanding. Same notes and same gestures to start along, with a reversal of the choreography, to go back in time and find redemption.
Fourteenth at the Beijing Olympics then eighth at the Montpellier Worlds last year, Siao Him Fa changed everything last summer, leaving Laurent Depouilly and the Courbevoie ice rink in the western suburbs of Paris to train in Nice under the orders of Cédric Tour and Rodolphe Maréchal.
A change of direction
A change of course and “questioning” rewarded with good results this season, the best of his career. This European gold medal comes after his first victory in the Grand Prix, in November in Angers, and his first title of Champion of France conquered in December. “I know I’m on the right path and I have to keep working like this,” he said, two months before the world championships scheduled for Saitama in Japan.
“I was dying at the end, I had no energy at all,” admitted the Swiss. “I was taken away from the rinks for 4 or 5 weeks, until Christmas, only then was I able to resume training. And now I am here!”
Earlier in the day, the Italian duo of Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri took the lead in the ice dance competition. Skating a medley of rumba, salsa and samba to music by Grace Jones, they earned 85.53 points for their rhythm dance. They are favorites in the absence of Olympic champions, the French Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who have put their careers on hold this season.