Gorshkov said the pairs had earned their berths by virtue of their strong Grand Prix results and granted their exemptions from the Russian Championships.
[4] Nikolai Morozov, the coach of Grand Prix Final bronze medalist Alena Leonova, said she had also already earned her place in the team and could have missed the event but she chose to compete.
[9][10][12] In the free skate, Lipnitskaya earned the highest TES (technical elements score), followed by 12-year-olds Radionova and Medvedeva,[13] who were ineligible for junior international competitions.
Vera Bazarova / Yuri Larionov took the lead in the pairs' short program, with Anastasia Martiusheva / Alexei Rogonov and Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov in second and third.
[10][17] Riazanova was injured a couple of weeks before the event; she sustained a concussion and a broken nose when her partner accidentally elbowed her in practice.
[26] Victoria Sinitsina / Ruslan Zhiganshin won gold while Alexandra Stepanova / Ivan Bukin took silver and Valeria Zenkova / Valerie Sinitsin the bronze.