ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:
Preview
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2007/2008 cumulates
with the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in
Gdansk, Poland from December 7 to 9.
50 skaters and couples from ten ISU members are competing
in the Final. Eight skaters/couples in each category qualified
in the eight events of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
Series in Lake Placid (USA), Mircurea Cuic (ROM), Tallinn
(EST), Vienna (AUT), Zagreb (CRO), Sofia (BUL), Chemnitz (GER)
and Sheffield (GBR). Some skaters are coming back to the Final,
but there are also many new faces from the next generation
of junior skaters.
World Junior silver medalist Mirai Nagasu (USA), Yuki Nishino
(JPN) and Chrissy Hughes (USA) all advanced with the maximum
of 30 points to the Final after claiming gold medals in their
two events. Rachael Flatt (USA) comes with the gold from Vienna
and the silver medal from Chemnitz to Poland. Jenni Vähämaa
(FIN) and Svetlana Issakova (EST) earned their spot with silver
and bronze medals on the circuit. Alexe Gilles (USA) and Kristina
Musademba (USA) qualified with a silver and fourth place finish.
All eight Ladies will compete for the first time in the Junior
Final.
Brandon Mroz (USA) leads the Men at the Final and is the
only one to come with two gold medals to Poland. Mroz was
a silver medalist at the Grand Prix Final last year. For Austin
Kanallakan (USA), it’s already the third trip to the
Final. He captured a silver medal in 2005 and finished 8th
in 2006. This year, he qualified with a gold medal from Romania
and a silver medal from Bulgaria.
Armin Mahbanoozadeh earned his berth in Gdansk after taking
the gold in Lake Placid and the bronze in Zagreb. Jinlin Guan
(CHN) advanced to the Final after winning the gold in Estonia
and the silver in Austria. Ivan Bariev (RUS) qualified with
two silver medals from his events in Romania and Croatia.
Artur Gachinski (RUS) comes with a silver medal from Tallinn
and a fourth-place finish from Chemnitz to Gdansk. Douglas
Razzano (USA) was the first substitute and is replacing Artem
Borodulin (RUS), who broke his ankle.
Russia qualified four pairs team for the Junior Final. Vera
Bazarova/Juri Larionov top the Junior standings with a gold
medal from Sheffield and a silver medal from Chemnitz. Ekaterina
Sheremetieva/Mikhail Kuznetsov qualified with a gold from
Tallinn and a fourth place finish in England. Ksenia Krasilnikova/Konstantin
Bezmaternykh were third in Germany and third in Sheffield.
Anastasia Khodkova/Pavel Sliusarenko claimed the bronze in
Lake Placid and were ranked 5th in Tallinn. The USA are represented
by two couples. Jessica Rose Paetsch/Jon Nuss earned their
spot after winning their event in Germany and finishing 5th
in the USA. Bianca Butler/ Joseph Jacobson qualified with
a fourth place finish in Lake Placid and a fifth place in
Chemnitz.
Yue Zhang/Lei Wang (CHN) come with two bronze medals from
Estonia and England. Amanda Velenosi/Mark Fernandez (CAN)
booked their ticket to Poland with a silver medal in Tallinn
and a fourth place finish in Sheffield. The Polish Federation
decided to use their wild card for their pairs team Krystyna
Klimczak/Janusz Karweta.
The dance competition features eight couples from five ISU
members. Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) and Emily Samuelson/Evan
Bates (USA) both advanced with the maximum of 30 points to
the Final. Samuelson/Bates were the silver medalists last
year at the Final in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ksenia Monko/Ilia Tkatchenko
(RUS) come with a gold medal from Sheffield and a silver medal
from Vienna to Gdansk. Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov (RUS)
are the only other couple that competed at the Final before.
They won in Germany and were second in Romania. Isabella Pajardi/Stefano
Caruso (ITA) come with the gold medal from Sofia and a bronze
medal from Vienna to the Final. Ekaterina Riazanova/John Guerreiro
(RUS) qualified with two silver medals from their events in
Mircurea Cuic and Chemnitz. Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein (USA)
made it to the Final with a gold medal from Tallinn and a
fourth place in Chemnitz. Alisa Agafonova/Dmitri Dun(UKR)
were the first substitutes and are replacing Joanna Lenko/Mitchell
Islam (CAN), who withdrew due to Lenko being ill.
The schedule of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final is
as follows:
Friday, December 7: Compulsory & Original Dance, Ladies,
Men, Pairs Short Programs
Saturday, December 8: Free Dance, Pairs, Ladies, Men Free
Skating
Sunday, December 9: Exhibition Gala
|
