Yanovskaya and Mozgov have been one of the best teams on the Junior circuit over the past several seasons but haven't been able to claim a Junior Worlds medal. They have four JGP medals and have qualified for the Final twice. They never reached their personal best mark last season, and can still improve.
Bent and Mackeen claimed their first JGP gold medal earlier this season at JGP Latvia. They finished 5th at Junior Worlds last season and shown they are ready to improve their standing. However, they finished just 3rd in the Free Dance at Latvia and only won gold by half a point. They'll need to clean up their Free Dance if they want to hold on again and have a chance to compete in the Final.
The Parsons siblings won their first JGP medal last season but injuries took them out of nationals and cost them a chance at the Junior Worlds team. Their WISA teammates have already had a strong start to their season and the program is known for it's innovative choreography which makes their teams stand out. The biggest problem they have been contending with the past season is that their heights are very closely matched which makes some of the holds and lifts more difficult, but they've been handling it well so far.
Baklanova and Bagin have only competed once on the JGP and are looking for their first medal. The Russians are very strong in Ice Dance, and they train with Alexander Zhulin one of the top dance coaches in Russia.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Yanovskaya/Mozgov
Silver: Bent/Mackeen
Bronze: Parsons/Parsons
Bios of the competitors:
Smith/Eisenbauer, AUT: They placed 32nd at Junior Worlds. Their personal best is 79.50. She is 16 and he is 15.
Abts/Buckens, BEL: They placed 33rd at Junior Worlds. They finished 13th at JGP France and 17th at JGP Turkey last season. Their personal best is 77.67. She is 16 and he is 17.
Bent/MacKeen, CAN: They finished 5th at Junior Worlds. They won gold at JGP Latvia. Their personal best is 129.16. She is 16 and he is 19.
Collins/Seymour, CAN: This is their international debut. She is 17 and he is 19.
Zhao/Liu, CHN: This is their international debut. She is 18 and he is 19.
Konickova/Lang, CZE: They finished 15th at JGP Slovenia last season. Their personal best is 87.46. She is 17 and he is 18.
Vadskjaer Grapek/Jones, DEN: This is their international debut. She is 17 and he is 19.
Dias/Sanchis, FRA: This is their JGP debut. She is 15 and he is 20.
Rouffanche/Brissaud, FRA: This is their international debut. She is 16 and he is 15.
Schiffner/Salatzki, GER: They finished 19th at Junior Worlds. They placed 13th at JGP Slovenia and 10th at JGP Germany last season. Their personal best is 97.80. She is 17 and he is 19.
Steffan/Steffan, GER: This is their JGP debut. She is 14 and he is 17.
Dyson/Dredge, GBR: They placed 12th at JGP France last season. Their personal best is 63.14. She is 15 and he is 21.
Moscheni/Lukacs, HUN: This is their international debut. She is 18 and he is 17.
Ghislandi/Ortenzi, ITA: They placed 7th at JGP Latvia. Their personal best is 99.90. She is 14 and he is 17.
Kim/Minov, KOR: They finished 20th at Junior Worlds. They placed 10th at JGP Croatia last season. Their personal best is 104.48. She is 15 and he is 20.
Baklanova/Bagin, RUS: They finished 8th at JGP Turkey last season. Their personal best is 115.44. She is 16 and he is 17.
Yanovskaya/Mozgov, RUS: They won silver at JGP Austria and JGP Slovenia last season to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 4th. Their personal best is 146.96. She is 16 and he is 18.
Gaistruk/Olejnik, UKR: They finished 12th at JGP Croatia last season. Their personal best is 95.95. She is 15 and he is 19.
Moore/Klaber, USA: They finished 8th at JGP France last season. Their personal best is 103.04. She is 17 and he is 19.
Parsons/Parsons, USA: They placed 6th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Croatia. Their personal best is 134.09. She is 15 and he is 17.
No comments:
Post a Comment