Barely 24 hours after Kamila Valieva wowed audiences with her sparkling performance in the women's event of the European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia; another Russian teenager Mark Kondratiuk produced the skate of a lifetime to win the men's title on Friday night, showcasing the country's enviable pool of skating talent three weeks away from the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Despite finishing second in the short program, Kondratiuk managed to recapture his composure in the free skating section. The 18-year-old impressed many with his phenomenal musical interpretation on the ice and marked his Euro debut with three quadruple jumps, scoring a total of 286.56 points. 

Four-time Italian national champion Daniel Grassl finished a distant second with 274.48 points, while the 2020 Nebelhorn Trophy champion Deniss Vasiļjevs of Latvia took bronze with 272.08. 

Kondratiuk's compatriot Andrei Mozalev, who was a former world junior champion and came out on top in the short program, struggled with his landings in the free skate and ended up in fourth place, while reigning Russian junior national champion Evgeni Semenenko languished in fifth. 

However, title favorites Mozalev and Semenenko's nervy performances paved the way for the ascendance of an up-and-coming talent. 

"That was unexpected. I was just hoping to make the top three, like I was hoping for that at Russian Nationals. A kind of miracle happened," Kondratiuk told a press briefing after becoming the unlikely new champion. 

"It's nice I was able to be on a higher level than previously. I am happy with the elements I did but am not very happy with my skating, I wanted to show more emotions but I was unable to do so," he added.

The Russians have dominated the tournament so far with Valieva setting a new short program world record on Thursday night.  

Such was Valieva's supremacy, in which the 15-year-old's 90.45 points placed her more than 14 points ahead of Loena Hendrickx, who is the first Grand Prix medalist ever from Belgium in women's singles and a two-time International Challenge Cup champion. 

Earlier, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov wrapped up the pairs title in a Russian sweep of the event. The duo finished with a total of 239.82 points to compatriots Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov's 236.43. Teammates Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii clinched bronze with 227.23.

"We skated well and we were able to overcome all problems that we encountered here and in practice," Galliamov observed.  

"I am not feeling too great, I was cold in my room, but that does not play any role and does not stop us to skate at the highest level. It does not matter if you feel sick or not, you need to go out and just do it," he added.