The Swedish Nationals 2008By Magdalena Osborne
We had eagerly looked forward to this competition as it would involve the big show down between the three senior men, all battling for Sweden’s two spots at Europeans. Young Alexander “Sasha” Majorov would finally compete as a senior after having creamed the competition on the junior level the last couple of years. And in the absence of Lina Johansson the fight for the ladies only spot at Euros was believed to come down to the reigning Swedish Champion Viktoria Helgesson and Amanda Nylander. Well, in neither case it turned out that way. Sasha and Amanda both suffered from injuries and were unable to compete. This did, of course, put a damper on the event. And to make matters worse there would be no senior pairs competition after Anjelika Pylkina and Niklas Hogner parted ways. (Hogner has since found a new partner and will hopefully be able to compete together with her next season.) All this was disappointing, but we were still optimistic about going and we were right - the men’s competition made up for it all.
 
With only two senior participants, Kristoffer Berntsson and Adrian Schultheiss had pretty much already secured those two spots in Zagreb, but which one of them would win nationals? Kristoffer was first out in the short program. He opened with a triple Lutz/triple toe combination followed by a gorgeous triple Axel. A hand-down somewhat marred the triple flip but the spins were all level 4. The step sequences were “only” level 3 but got GOE plus point. Kristoffer is an artist and he made the most of his program – well done! He earned 75.29 points.
Scandinavium was far from filled up for nationals, but the crowd was quite loud. There were cheers and whistles during the warm-up, and great excitement to watch Sweden’s top male skaters who also happened to be local heroes. The free skate started with Adrian. His program was set to music from the movie Mr and Mrs Smith and he opened with a triple Axel/triple toe combination and immediately secured 11.5 points. He also managed an impressive triple Lutz/double toe/double toe combo but was unable to repeat the triple Axel. The music was wonderful and varied and all the elements fit the music well. The cheers were deafening as Adrian leaned backwards in a cantilever. It was a performance well fit for Europeans!
Kristoffer was beaming and commented that Adrian had had a good skate. And sure he’d felt the pressure, this was after all about the national title, which does carry some prestige. After he’d heard Adrian’s score all he could do was go out there and do his best. As we all know by now both of these guys were sent to represent Sweden at Europeans. And they did so well there, placing sixth and seventh, they earned a third spot for the Swedish men next year. By then Sasha Majorov -click here to read the feature we had about him in 2006- should be back in business and more than ready to fill that last spot. His coach (and dad) Alexander Majorov senior filled in some details about Sasha’s condition and training:
Sasha did compete in the Junior GP and did alright, and at The Golden Spin in Zagreb he competed as a senior. Sasha isn’t quite as good as Adrian and he doesn’t have as much experience competing internationally. But he’s only 16 and time is on his side. Just not this season, for now he needs to take it easy and give his back a rest. He’s has grown a lot, he’s taller and getting a man’s body. It’s easy to lose some of the coordination when that happens. On a positive note, Sasha was accepted to the Swedish Olympic Committee’s Talent program which dramatically improved his training conditions.
Things are looking up for the Luleå club, it was clear at nationals. Anton Truvé from Stockholm won the Junior men but was closely followed by Bertil Skeppar from Luleå. He competed and won as a novice last year. Last year Anton Truvé also competed and won the (novice) pairs with partner Elina Oldhoff. Three of the four pairs from last year were back, along with newcomers Richard and Michelle Lundberg from the Tyringe club. This brother/sister team did really well with their “Dirty dancing” program and well deserved the silver medal, Mim Persson and Gabriel Eurell won the gold. The pairs only performed a free program and it was impressive to see how much progress had been made since last year. Most elements are still at level one, but improving, so keep at it, guys! A fun part of attending competitions, besides watching the skating, is seeing old friends. We ran into Filip Stiller who had returned from his adventures at sea (skating on a cruise ship). Next on his agenda was to graduate (as a journalist) and to commentate Europeans and Worlds for Eurosport. Later this spring he will return to the seven seas for a few more months. He was at nationals reporting for the largest newspaper in Sweden and we got to read some of his articles. He’s already the best commentator and we always knew he’d make a great journalist as well.
The novice ladies’ competition was, to no one’s surprise, won by Josefin Taljegård. She has impressed us every year and we can’t wait for this girl to grow up a little so she can start competing internationally. The audience will be in for a treat! Watch this with your own eyes in the video (on Youtube) of this very entertaining program! We can’t very well report on the young ladies without mentioning
our little sweethearts from Malmö. We’ve watched them for years
now and they keep getting better and better. Pålina Boukov medalled
(bronze) and left Göteborg with more than just glorious memories.
Nicole Svensson finished fifth on her first shot at nationals (she
was fourth after the short program!). There were 21 contestants
so these girls did VERY well and we could not have been prouder
of them!  
Pålina Boukov / Nicole Svenson Something that turned many heads during the competition was a photographer with a camera strapped to his body. He moved around on the ice wearing hockey blades which looked really funny at a figure skating event. Apparently he was testing some new camera equipment for Worlds so watch for him and this device on TV! - In this video (youtube) they talk about the same thing as well, watch it for a feel of the athmosphere and a glance at some of the Swedish skaters -
The traditional gala was not held this year which was sad; they usually hold a very high standard. In the past few years we’ve been spoiled with performances from Team Surprise, at the moment the best synchro team in the world. We missed them this year but they will be back performing at Worlds. Instead there was a press conference featuring the five skaters chosen by the Swedish federation to receive special support as possible World team members: Kristoffer Berntsson, Adrian Schultheiss, Sasha Majorov, Amanda Nylander and Viktoria Helgesson. Tussan Rix, the head of the organizing committee, made our day by announcing that the very popular composer/pianist/singer Robert Wells will perform during the opening ceremony. Wells is already well known in the world of figure skating as his music has been used many times for programs in all four disciplines.
Carina Skoog, the Swedish Figure Skating Association’s Elite Sports Manager, mentioned TV commercials and the very important word of mouth as advertisement for the event. In the world of figure skating Sweden is already known for its organizing skills. We have a lot to live up to! The sport in Sweden is gaining popularity and heading in the right direction, but we’re not resting. We still don’t have but a fraction of the resources of some other countries, but our clubs and coaches are doing a fantastic job creating the kind of training environment the skaters need to progress. With that we’ll close our report and wish the skaters and organizers the very best for the exciting week of the World championships!
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Because
of the upcoming World Championships, the Swedish nationals served
as a trial run. The competition was held at the Scandinavium arena
in Göteborg (Gothenburg), the same arena as will also host Worlds.
Unfortunately only a fraction of the anticipated Worlds crowd was
present, but as Emjo and Magdalena experienced, it was still an
exciting few days. 
Adrian
soon proved that he was in excellent shape as well. He got slightly
higher marks for the jumps but lower levels for the spins and steps.
His turquoise gloves worked as colorful special effects in the spins
and he finished his program with impeccable timing. Great program
and a great performance! After the components had been added to
the technical score (30.04 + 39.48) Kristoffer’s lead was comfortable,
but Adrian was still a worthy opponent. This was wonderful to see
considering all his trouble with injuries last season. 
Kristoffer
had the crowd eating out of his hands as he got ready to skate his
by now famous disco program. He looked happy and confident as he
started by vainly pulling on his shirt collar. The audience was
with him all the way and he delivered another triple Axel to die
for. The rest of the jumps weren’t all perfect; there were some
hand-downs and doubling. But the rest, including the acting and
charisma, made up for any jumping flaws and the audience went wild.
Both men were a joy to watch and we had never seen so many journalists
and photographers wanting comments and pictures afterwards.
We’re
not sure what’s going on with his back, but it’s the type of pain
that follows practicing difficult jumps like the triple Axel; the
landing is very hard. It’s mainly with that jump the pain sets in.
Sasha already has a triple Lutz/triple toe combination.
Yes,
we have much more ice time in Luleå now, even private time. And
he is allowed to finish up his senior school year in two years which
gives him more time to practise. Maybe this summer he’ll be able
to train with Alexei Mishin. We’ll have to see, nothing is certain
yet. (Photo taken at Swedish Nationals 2006)
With
Amanda Nylander out because of injuries, Viktoria Helgesson fairly
easily defended her senior ladies title winning both the short and
the long programs. She also got a ticket to Euros in Zagreb where
she finished 18th - great for a debut! Soon she will
compete at Worlds but in the meantime she won gold at the Nordic
Championships in Reykjavik, Iceland. Her younger sister Joshi
grabbed the gold for the junior ladies, winning by almost
40 points. Joshi is only 14 years old and too young for Euros and
Worlds, but she did compete in Bulgaria at Junior Worlds and finished
seventh. Go girl! 
Last
time Göteborg hosted Worlds was back in 1976 and Tussan
talked about the long road to getting it again. Sweden hosted
the 2003 Europeans, as well as the 2005 Synchro Worlds, which were
both organizational successes, and a lot of valuable experience
was gained along the way. Göteborg city and Göteborg & Co have
played major roles in marketing the event and making sure everyone
will be comfortable during their stay. Sweden brought a sizable
promotion delegation to the World Championships in Japan last year
and all the hard work has paid off. Ticket sales are going well
(the end of the week is sold out) and it looks like the event will
be every bit as successful as anticipated. Göteborg is the second
largest city in Sweden and besides skating there’s plenty to do
and look at. Unfortunately Emjo and I had time for neither, there
was too much going on inside the arena, but the organizers hope
the event will benefit the whole city. Over 20 000 hotel nights
are already booked. 
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