ST. PETERSBURG, December 24. /TASS/. Russian figure skaters Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin won gold in pair dancing at the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championship, which is hosted by Saint Petersburg between December 23 and 27.

The pair of Stepanova and Bukin were awarded an aggregate result of 223.7 points (88.76 points for rhythm-dancing and 134.61 points for free dance).

The silver went to Diana Davis and Gleb Smolin (207.70 points on the aggregate), while the duo of Yelizaveta Khudaiberdiyeva and Yegor Bazin secured the bronze with an aggregate result of 195.75 points.

The 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championship in Saint Petersburg is viewed as a qualification tournament for national athletes ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China’s Beijing.

2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing

The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in the Chinese capital of Beijing are scheduled to be held between February 4 and 20, while the Paralympic Winter Games will be held on March 4-13.

During the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2015, Beijing was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games making the Chinese capital the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2008) as well as the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (in 2022).

Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Olympics and Paralympics in a tight race, beating Kazakhstan’s Almaty in 2015, by chalking up 44 votes against its rival’s 40.