The ice dance couple Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are in eighth place after a nice instas in the rhythm dance. The dream of a top 10 placement lives on: “We want to show what we can do in the free dance”.
Turkkila and Versluis opened the WC in Japan with the ice dance rhythm dance.
During the home EC in Espoo, the pair set their scoring record of 77.56. Today’s performance didn’t quite reach the same level, but was still close enough to give them a good starting point for the free dance. The performance was rewarded with a score of 76.97.
Matthias Versluis seemed to have problems during the warm-up, so it was a relief that everything went as it should in the program itself.
– Yes! This went well, exclaimed Yle Sporten’s commentator Marianne Nyman.
“We want to show what we can do”
Turkkila and Versluis admitted that it was nerve-wracking at first, but then it eased up. Towards the end of the program, the couple was beaming with joy.
– We were not meant to do it so carefully in the beginning. We really enjoyed it and the program got better towards the end, Turkkila tells Helsingin sanomat newspaper.
Ahead of the WC, the pair revealed they are targeting a top ten finish, something they have failed to achieve at global championships before. Today’s performance gives them good chances to fulfill the goal, as the free dance is Turkkila’s and Verslui’s strongest card in the competition.
– The free dance is still there, we want to show what we can do, says Turkkila.
The ice dance’s free dance is broadcast live at the Arena on Saturday starting at 05.30.
The position before the free dance
1. Madison Chock / Evan Bates USA 91,94
2. Charlene Guignard / Marco Fabbri ITA 88.21
3. Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier CAN 87,34
4. Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson GBR 86,56
5. Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sorensen CAN 85.59
6. Caroline Green / Michael Parsons USA 78,74
7. Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevicius LTU 78.70
8. Juulia Turkkila / Matthias Versluis FIN 76.97
