JGP Austria Dance Preview

Sinitsina and Zhiganshin of Russia already have one gold medal under their belt this season and are aiming to be the top of the podium again.  They finished 2nd at the JGP Final last season and have a good shot at moving up the podium.  Their scores so far this season are heads and tails above the rest of the field and they should easily win here and secure their spot in the Final.


Orford and Williams of Canada also have a gold medal already this season.  They've made some great strides this season and should be able to take the podium again.  Nosulia and Kholoniuk of Ukraine also won gold earlier this season.  This should be an interesting fight for the silver medal as with the smaller Final field, a gold and silver are needed to guarantee a spot.  


With three gold medalists in the hunt, it will be tough for others to step onto the podium.  Aldridge and Eaton of the United States and Prochazkova and Ceska of the Czech Republic can pull off an upset with solid performances.  Aldridge and Eaton have a great free dance, but scored lower in their short dance.  If they can pull their scores up they could really be competitive.


My podium predictions:
Gold: Sinitsina/Zhiganshin
Silver: Orford/Williams
Bronze: Nosulia/Kholoniuk


Bios of the competitors:    


Smith/Eisenbauer, AUT: This is their international debut.


Edwards/Pang, CAN: This is their international debut.  She is 15 and he is 16.

Orford/Williams, CAN: They finished 8th at Junior Worlds.  They won gold at JGP Australia.  Their personal best is 127.21.  She is 18 and he is 20.

Zhang/Wu, CHN: They finished 6th at JGP Japan last season.  Their personal best is 110.90.  She is 18 and he is 19.

Prochazkova/Ceska, CZE: They finished 4^th at JGP Latvia.  Their personal best is 116.81.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Elizabeth/Le Gac, FRA: This is their international debut. 


Pousset/Thauron, FRA: This is their international debut.  She is 15 and he is 16.


Koch/Nuchtern, GER: She is 18 and he is 19.


Smart/Buckland, GBR: This is their international debut.  She is 14 and he is 18.


Merkwart/Lukacs, HUN: This is their international debut.


Busi/Fabbri, ITA: This is their international debut.  He is 18.


Maekawa Moreno/Maekawa Moreno, MEX: This is their international debut.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Zajac/Binkowski, POL: They finished 19th at JGP Poland.  Their personal best is 83.25.  She is 15 and he is 15.

Evdokimova/Bazin, RUS: This is their international debut.  She is 14 and he is 16.

Sinitsina/Zhiganshin, RUS: They won gold at JGP Poland.  They won silver at JGP Austria and Great Britain last season to qualify for the JGPF where they also won silver.  Their personal best is 140.31.  She is 16 and he is 18.

Bausback/Rokachev, SUI: This is their international debut.  She is 18.

Nosulia/Kholoniuk, UKR: They finished 19^th at Junior Worlds.  They won gold at JGP Latvia.  Their personal best is 124.84.  She is 16 and he is 21. 

Aldridge/Eaton, USA: They won bronze at JGP Latvia.  Their personal best is 118.18.  She is 17 and he is 19.