Preview: Who Wins the Men's Free Skate in Shenzhen at 08:00 Moscow Time?

Let's take it in order. Grand Prix of China, men's free skate — today, Nov. 8, at 08:00 Moscow time. After the short program the picture is this: Kao Miura 102.90, Shun Sato 101.97, Semenenko 99.72, Dikidzhi 98.86.

First: the gap between the leaders. Sato trails Miura by 0.93 — one mistake on a jump, no more. Second: our skaters. Semenenko is 3.18 points short of Miura, Dikidzhi 4.04. For a free skate that is not an abyss, since places are decided by the total of the two programs.

Third: what to watch for. Sato led after the short program at this event in both 2024 and 2025 (isu-skating.com, Sport24), so he has China experience. But Miura is first now, and he only needs to skate without breakdowns. Dikidzhi had an under-rotated quad Salchow in the short: if he lands it fully in the free skate, the podium fight gets serious. Semenenko skated clean, and for third place he needs exactly that consistency.

Verdict: gold is more likely to go to a Japanese skater — Miura is slightly ahead of Sato. A podium for Semenenko is realistic if the Japanese make at least one mistake. Results in the evening edition. This is the editors' opinion, not a guarantee of the result.