TALLINN, Estonia — Adam Siao Him Fa’s attempt to claim the European men’s figure skating title for a third consecutive year concluded with a bronze medal, as Lukas Britschgi emerged as an unexpected champion on Saturday. Britschgi, who had placed eighth after the short program, made history by becoming the first European men’s champion from Switzerland since 1947. His victory follows that of Estonian Niina Petrokina, who claimed the title in the women’s division, making it a day filled with surprises.
“Thank you for this unforgettable night,” Britschgi expressed to the audience, humbly admitting he had not written a speech. When asked about his next objective, he replied cheerily, “Celebrating.” Despite having a rough start in the short program on Thursday, Britschgi delivered a flawless performance on Saturday, executing two quadruple jumps and earning a total score of 267.09 points, which secured him gold amidst various errors by his competitors.
Unlike Petrokina, who skated to the score of “Dune,” Siao had difficulty during his performance. He fell during his initial quad toeloop, missing a potentially high-scoring combination, and received deductions for unsteady landings on subsequent jumps. Italy’s Nikolaj Memola climbed from fifth in the short program to snatch the silver medal with 262.61 points, while Siao finished with 257.99 points to take home bronze.
In addition, Italian ice dance duo Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri achieved victory in their section for the third year running. The couple, competing in their 13th European championship together, maintained their lead from Friday’s rhythm dance and executed a confident free dance themed around robots. They accumulated a significant score of 212.12 points, effectively fending off fierce competition for the remaining medals.
Looking ahead, the Italian couple sets their sights on the world championships scheduled for March in Boston, hoping to surpass their previous best finish of a silver medal achieved in 2023. “Some time off and then back again at work,” Fabbri mentioned regarding their plans.
In a tightly contested event, only a fraction of a point separated second from fourth place. France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud secured their first European medal, claiming silver with a score of 206.76, narrowly edging out Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who performed to a medley of Beyoncé songs and finished with 206.06. Finland’s Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis were just shy of the podium, missing out by a mere 0.33 points.
The European figure skating championships, which commenced on Wednesday, have been cast in shadow by the tragic losses of skaters, coaches, and their families, following a mid-air collision between a passenger airplane and a military helicopter near Washington, D.C.
