Australian figure skaters Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore win ISU World Cup bronze

Australian figure skaters Anastasiia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore have made history by securing a bronze medal at the ISU World Cup event in Halifax, Canada. This achievement marks Australia’s first-ever medal at a senior International Skating Union Grand Prix event.

Hektor Giotopoulos Moore, an Australian with Greek heritage, and his partner Golubeva are set to compete next at the Finlandia Trophy ISU Grand Prix in Helsinki, Finland, from November 15-17.

Reflecting on their performance, Giotopoulos Moore expressed excitement and satisfaction during an interview with ABC News Breakfast, stating, “We had a really great time. It was a tough competition, but we achieved a pretty decent result and we’re quite happy with it.”

The pair delivered a career-best performance, scoring 64.81 points in the opening short program and securing third place, which they maintained with a score of 121.33 points in the free skate. This competition was particularly significant as it was their first of the season, following a back injury that had affected Giotopoulos Moore.

Both skaters, two-time junior world championship medallists, achieved a milestone with this bronze medal, improving on their two fourth-place finishes last season.

Golubeva, 18, shared her excitement about the experience, noting, “The atmosphere was very friendly, and we enjoyed showing our performance.”

The journey to this success has been challenging for the duo. Sydney-born Giotopoulos Moore, who embraces his Greek heritage, traveled extensively to find a compatible partner before being paired with Golubeva, a young Russian soloist, based on a recommendation from coaches Galina Pachina and Andrei Pachin. Golubeva recalled her first meeting with her partner, saying, “I was told: ‘Warm-up and wait. A boy will come.’ I didn’t know what he looked like, only that he doesn’t speak Russian. Now, we speak only Russian. He has learnt it all.”

Source ABC.net.au