Palavela, the 2006 Olympics arena, hosted the first figure skating medal event of the Torino 2025 FISU World University Games on Friday, 17 January.
Spanish couple Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov took gold in ice dance under the watchful eyes of former Italian star Carolina Kostner, who witnessed their performance with keen interest from the side-lines.
The now 37-year-old is the 2014 Olympic bronze medallist, 2012 world champion and a five-time European champion. These days, she mostly prefers watching and supporting competitors from the beind the scenes.
“Mostly I want to support the athletes, because I know how much work there is behind putting a performance like that and being able to qualify for the Games. I just want to be here to support them, to give them my energy and show them how proud I am of their work and wish them all the best.”
Kostner does coach a student-athlete at these Games, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama. Just like his temporary coach, Kagiyama is already an Olympics medallist, having won men’s single silver and team bronze at Beijing 2022. The 21-year-old heads into Saturday’s men’s free single as the favourite after posting the best score in the short programme on Thursday.
Kostner has fond memories of Torino and Palavela and is so far enjoying the FISU Games. “It’s been amazing. I hope everybody has had success in their performances. I know that not everybody can always have a good day. But I want them to know that it’s not so much important to always win, but mostly to stand back up every time you fall.”
Nice to wear shoes on her feet
And while she is still close to the competition, the Italian admitted she doesn’t miss performing at the ice rink at all. “I feel like I really left everything I had in my heart on the ice and in the competitions. It’s really nice to now have another pair of shoes on, while trying to pass on all the experience and the hard work I have done to the younger generation.”
Another well-known Italian figure skater, Luca Lanotte, was in attendance at Palavela. He won gold in ice dance at the Torino 2007 FISU Games with Anna Cappellini.
Spanish duo prevails
Val, a student at the Camilo Jose Cela University in Madrid, and Russian-born Kazimov, who also studies in Madrid but at the Polytechnic University, posted a winning score of 172.77. They were accompanied on the podium by Lou Terreaux and Noe Perron from France (168.60) as well as Giulia Isabella Paolino and Andrea Tuba of host Italy (166.85).
The Spaniards, who teamed up in 2022 and already have world championships experience from 2023, when they finished 30th, confirmed their victory with the best result in the free dance (106.35) after also topping the rhythm dance (66.42) on Thursday.
Pure elegance on ice
“It felt really good,” said Val. “We tried not to rush through our program and enjoy every moment and think it worked. We are really happy.”
“We feel amazing, we haven’t been thinking about [the win] because we just wanted to perform well,” added Kazimov. “That wasn’t a goal, so a lot of emotions.”
The Torino 2025 figure skating competition concludes on Saturday, 18 January with the men’s and women’s free single events.
The take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on . Click on the link to find the full schedule.
Written by Nejc Molan, FISU Young Reporter, Slovenia
The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.
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