Emmi Peltonen excels at Abu Dhabi ice rink ahead of European Championship

Emmi Peltonen competes during FBMA Trophy at Zayed Sports City on January 7. Tom Dulat / Getty Images

ABU DHABI // Emmi Peltonen and Chafik Besseghier are hoping to repeat their feats at the Fatima bint Mubarak Academy Trophy when they travel to the European Championship in the Czech Republic later this month.

The Finn and the Frenchman both made winning bows at Abu Dhabi Ice Rink, taking the prizes for the women and men respectively in the third staging of the competition on Saturday.

Finnish national champion Peltonen, 17, lived up her billing as the favourite.

“Abu Dhabi is my final stop before my first appearance at the European Championship and I am very excited about that,” she said. “My long-term objectives are the 2018 Olympics, if not 2022. Of course, it means work and more work.

Peltonen topped both the short and long programmes to win the title with an accumulated score of 152.73. Kerstin Frank of Austria was second with 136.61, ahead of Dasa Grm (130.74) of Slovenia.

“I think I did well on the short programme but got a bit nervous on the long,” Peltonen said.

“Nevertheless, I’m happy to win in Abu Dhabi.”

Besseghier had to come from behind to take the men’s title from Swiss Nurullah Sahaka.

“I came here to do a job and I’m quite satisfied with the work I did over the three days,” the French champion, 27, said

“It was nice competition to prepare ahead of the Europeans. It is my first time in Abu Dhabi and I can take a lot of positives when going to the Europeans later this month.”

In the other competitions, Nadjma Mahmoud of France won the junior ladies from Kwang Hiu-ching of Honk Hong and Swiss Camille Chervet.

Yann Frechon of France took the men’s junior from teammate Lotfi Sereir and Mathew Samuels of South Africa.

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