The 2019 world junior champions were flawless at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, leaping past two-time world champs Sui Wenjing and Han Cong of China and short program leaders Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii to capture the world title on their senior world debut.
“We were really surprised to come first,” a shellshocked Mishina said after the win. “I don’t know what to say in this moment because we don’t even understand what it means yet.”
It’s the first time a team has won on debut since 1986, when Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov did so. The duo went on to win two Olympics golds.
The Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSR) skaters scored a 151.80 in the free for a 227.59 overall, beating Sui/Han’s 225.71, the Chinese coming in at 148.09 in the long program.
“After every element we were less nervous and it was closer to the end. Every element we were more happy,” Mishina continued.
