Daniel Grassl at the European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn. © ANSA / TOMS KALNINS

Grassl's big comeback fails to materialize

Daniel Grassl started the European Championships in Tallinn with a handicap from the short program. The Meran native was unable to fulfill his dream of a medal on Saturday evening.

01. February 2025

From: never

To the sounds of the musical Billy Elliot Daniel Grassl started to catch up in the European Championships freestyle in Tallinn on Saturday evening. But in the Estonian capital - the place where he had won the silver medal three years ago - he was ultimately unable to make the hoped-for jump into the top 3. After finishing tenth in the short program, the 22-year-old managed to overtake several of his competitors, but in the final reckoning Grassl finished eighth (237,4 points). Two failed landings on a quadruple loop and a triple Lutz proved to be the downfall of the Meran native.

Shortly after Grassl's performance, the free program was dominated by Switzerland: Lukas Britschgi exceeded his own expectations and catapulted himself from eighth place to the European title (267,09). The 26-year-old left the Italian Nikolaj Memola (262,61) behind him, and the Frenchman Adam Sio Him Fa, who had been in the lead after the short program (257,99), came in third.

Italy also celebrates in ice dancing

The Italian ice dancing couple Charlène Giugnard and Marco Fabbri went one step higher than Memola. The duo secured their third European Championship title in a row with 212,12 points. The two won with a lead of almost six points over the French couple Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud (206,76), while the bronze went to Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson from Great Britain (206,02).