It was a solid win for Evaldas Sodeika – Ieva Zukauskaite (LTU) as they jumped on the highest step of the podium in Rimini on Saturday. The third leg of the 2019 WDSF GrandSlam Series Standard thrilled the spectators at Rimini Fiera, and the crowd welcomed the star couples warmly, from their first round onwards.
As humble as always, Evaldas and Ieva admitted that during the competition they managed to achieve what they were planning to do. ”We’re trying to impress and surprise the audience. I think we did it tonight”, Ieva said immediately after the competition. Indeed they did, and they impressed the Adjudicator panel aswell, since the couple was awarded over 39 points in each five dances of the final.
About the warm welcome by the Italian spectators, Ieva gave respect to the Italian crowd. ”From the first round the audience was crazy, so they were really warmly welcoming us.”
”I would say it was a little bit of a surprise for us, because we know that our friends Francesco and Debora are the favourites, because it is their home country. But for sure we are really surprised that they showed respect, clapped and cheered for us aswell. We felt really great from the first round”, Evaldas thanked the enthusiastic Italian spectators.
The Italian runners-up, Francesco Galuppo – Debora Pacini, ranked second in the competition and also wanted to say thankyous to the spectators. ”Of course, we are very happy to be here. Already during the last GrandSlam we felt like almost at home, because we had a lot of supporters, but it can not compare to the audience of today. We have to say thank you to everybody”, Francesco commented seemingly happy. ”We felt really good today, especially all this audience was really amazing”, Debora added.
About their good start of 2019 the couple confirmed that the year has started in a good way, ”But we can always do better!”, they both added. The couple is hoping to reach the top next year in Rimini, and they are already looking forward to it.
The competition itself was held in a fast pace, with 20-minutes break between rounds, but it seemed to suit these top class athletes well, making the competition day to start a bit later in the afternoon, and in whole making the day a bit shorter. The fast-paced schedule however had probably left some marks in the bodies of the couples. Just like Evgeny Moshenin, who ranked third with his couple Dana Spitsyna, said next morning: ”I felt it in my body when I woke up, but it wasn’t too bad!”
The spectacle in Rimini saw high scores, high-quality dancing, and moments to remember. All the finalists were performing beautifully, seemingly enjoying the event and giving the Rimini crowd what they came to see: the best Standard dancing in the world.
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