Monday, August 27, 2012

JGP Lake Placid Men's Preview

Joshua Farris is the most experienced competitor in this event and is the reigning JGPF bronze medalist and Junior Worlds silver medalist.  He can easily score over 200 points and has a consistent triple axel and quad toe.  He contemplated going senior internationally this season but decided to stay junior and will be looking to improve upon last season and challenge Han Yan.

Keiji Tanaka won the silver medal at Junior Worlds in 2011 and won two medals on the Junior Grand Prix.  He failed to medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final and dropped to 7th at Junior Worlds.  He'll have to improve on his consistency if he wants to make it back to the Junior Worlds podium.

June Hyoung Lee of Korea did well on the Junior Grand Prix last season taking home one bronze medal and just missing the podium in his second event.  He fell to 18th at Junior Worlds but at just 14 years old, he has plenty of time to make his mark on the junior scene.

Vladislav Tarasenko of Russia finished 6th at his lone JGP event last season and has the chance to make the podium at this event.  Martin Rappe of Germany is another dark horse for the podium having finished just outside the top 10 at Junior Worlds last season.

Two American men are making their international debut after winning medals at nationals as novices last season.  Four other skaters are making their international debuts and five skaters are making their JGP debuts.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Joshua Farris
Silver: Keiji Tanaka
Bronze: June Hyoung Lee

Bios of the competitors:
Jordan Dodds, AUS: This is his JGP debut.   He is 18 years old.

Roman Sadovsky, CAN: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old.

Chih-I Tsao, TPE: He finished 23rd at Junior Worlds.  He placed 11th at JGP Australia last season.  His personal best is 133.24.  He is 14 years old.

Viktor Zubik, FIN: He placed 9th at JGP Estonia last season.  His personal best is 138.97.  He is 18 years old.

Martin Rappe, GER: He placed 11th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 7th at JGP Latvia and 6th at JGP Italy last season.  His personal best is 171.38.  He is 19 years old.

Jack Newberry, GBR: He placed 12th at JGP Estonia last season.  His personal best is 117.54.  He is 17 years old.

Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: He finished 27th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 25th at Four Continents.  He placed 19th at JGP Austria last season.  His personal best is 115.00.  He is 18 years old. 

Conor Stakelum, IRL: This is his international debut. 

Artem Tsoglin, ISR: This is his international debut.  He is 14 years old. 

Taichi Honda, JPN: This is his JGP debut.  He is 14 years old.

Keiji Tanaka, JPN: He placed 7th at Junior Worlds.  He won silver at JGP Australia and bronze at JGP Austria to qualify for the JGP Final last season where he finished 6th.  His personal best is 196.98.  He is 17 years old.

Bryan Christopher Tan, MAS: This is his JGP debut.  He is 15 years old.

Michael Christian Martinez, PHI: He placed 15th at Junior Worlds.  He finished 8th at JGP Australia last season.  His personal best is 165.10.  He is 15 years old.

June Hyoung Lee, KOR: He finished 18th at Junior Worlds.  He placed 4th at JGP Latvia and won bronze at JGP Italy last season.  His personal best is 176.48.  He is 14 years old.

Adian Pitkeev, RUS: This is his international debut.

Vladislav Tarasenko, RUS: He finished 6th at JGP Poland last season.  His personal best is 161.70.  He is 15 years old.

Sinthawachiwa Phiriyiphon, THA: He placed 21st at JGP Romania last season.  His personal best is 78.75.  He is 16 years old.

Yaroslav Paniot, UKR: This is his JGP debut.  He placed 9th at the Youth Olympic Games last season.  His personal best is 132.55.  He is 14 years old.

Joshua Farris, USA: He is the reigning Junior World Silver Medalist.  He won gold at JGP Poland and JGP Estonia last season to qualify for the JGP Final where won bronze.  His personal best is 221.97.  He is 17 years old.

Spencer Howe, USA: This is his international debut.

James Schetelich, USA: This is his international debut.  He is 16 years old.

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