Han Yan of China won the gold medal last weekend at JGP Austria setting the top score so far this season with a quad in his free skate. He has the goods to deliver a winning performance again this week, but he's been sick and is competing three weeks in a row. It will be tough to keep the energy up, buthe only needs a podium finish to qualify for the JGP Final. A 4th place finish would set him up for a possible tiebreaker.
Jason Brown of the United States has one gold medal already this season. He doesn't have a triple axel, and usually his solid PCS scores and fluid presentation can make up for this deficit, but with Yan delivering triple axels and quads, it will be more difficult at this event. He needs a podium finish to qualify for the Final.
Artur Dmitriev of Russia also has a silver medal and one of the top scores of this season. He bested Joshua Farris in the free skate in Poland, so if he can bring up his short program score he has a real shot at a second silver medal here. He needs a gold or silver to qualify for the Final.
These three men are a head above the rest of the field and should not have a problem making the podium even with mistakes. The real fight will be to see who gets the top slot and guarantees themselves a spot in the JGP Final.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Han Yan
Silver: Artur Dmitriev
Bronze: Jason Brown
Bios of the competitors:
Oliver Porter, AUS: He finished 16th in his international debut in Australia. His personal best is 102.03. He is 16 years old.
Luiz Manella, BRA: He finished 15th at JGP Czech Republic last season. His personal best is 109.25. He is 15 years old.
Christopher Belley-Lemelin, CAN: This is his international debut. He is 17 years old.
Han Yan, CHN: He finished 6th at Junior Worlds. He won gold at JGP Austria. He won gold at JGP Austria and Czech Republic last season to qualify for the JGPF where he won silver. His personal best is 205.86. He is 15 years old.
Marco Zakouril, CZE: He placed 15th at JGP Australia. His personal best is 113.15. He is 17 years old.
Martin Rappe, GER: He finished 7th at JGP Latvia. His personal best is 155.54. He is 18 years old.
Lap Kan Yuen, HKG: He finished 22nd at JGP Great Britain last season. His personal best is 84.93. He is 15 years old.
Filippo Ambrosini, ITA: He finished 16th at JGP Poland. His personal best is 114.46. He is 18 years old.
Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: He finished 26th at Junior Worlds. His personal best is 142.55. He is 18 years old.
Maurizio Zandron, ITA: He finished 7th at JGP Austria. His personal best is 155.33. He is 18 years old.
Shu Nakamura, JPN: This is his international debut. He is 15 years old.
Yoji Tsuboi, JPN: He finished 7th at JGP Australia. His personal best is 157.64. He is 18 years old.
Adil Zharbolov, KAZ: He finished 22nd at his JGP debut in Poland. His personal best is 70.23. He is 18 years old.
Julian Zhi Jie Yee, MAS:
Leonardo Maekawa Moreno, MEX
Krysztof Gala, POL: He finished 17th at his international debut in Poland. His personal best is 90.31. He is 15 years old.
June-Hyung Lee, KOR: He finished 4th in his JGP debut in Latvia. His personal best is 171.75. He is 14 years old.
Vlad Ionescu, ROU: He finished 18th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds. He placed 18th at JGP Romania. His personal best is 118.59. He is 17 years old.
Artur Dmitriev, RUS: He finished 8th at Junior Worlds. He won silver at JGP Poland. His personal best is 197.09. He is 19 years old.
Victor Bustamante, ESP: He finished 14th at JGP Austria. His personal best is 132.28. He is 17 years old.
Ondrej Spiegl, SWE: He finished 27th at Junior Worlds. He finished 13th at JGP Romania. His personal best is 142.25. He is 18 years old.
Noah Scherer, SUI: He finished 7th at JGP France and 14th at JGP Austria last season. His personal best is 140.77. He is 19 years old.Suchet Kongchim, THA: He finished 25th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds. He placed 18th at JGP Australia. His personal best is 88.61. He is 17 years old.
Igor Reznichenko, UKR: He finished 12th at JGP Poland. His personal best is 134.40. He is 16 years old.
Jason Brown, USA: He placed 7th at Junior Worlds. He won gold at JGP Australia. His personal best is 197.23. He is 16 years old.
Jay Yostano, USA: This is his international debut. He is 17 years old.
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