Men took to the ice just before noon to skate the Short Programme. The crowd was supportive, but went wild only after Plushenko’s warm up group came on. The Russian star got a loud cheer, but underperformed due to a back injury that had him withdraw after the short. His tepid performance with a champion’s attitude scored high enough to put him in front of younger and less strained performers such as Majorov or Pfeiffer. Spain’s Fernandez finally overtook Plushenko with the remarkable skate to The Mask of Zorro and finished second overall. Joubert’s steady and cheeky performance to Genesis showed what this skater can do when his nerves don’t get the best of him, putting him in third place and fellow Frenchman Amodio took the first place on the night with his typically energetic skate to Memories of Sobral. The fight for the medal will take place on Saturday.

The Pairs got their medallists last night as the Russians Volosozhar and Trankov held firm and calm in their beautiful skate to Violin Muse while Savchenko and Szoklowy struggled to overtake them with Flamenco Bolero. The Italians Berton and Hotarek deservedly stayed in bronze position with their sweet and steady performance to Poeta en el viento.

Ladies skate their Short Programme today and medals are decided in Ice Dance.