There are four teams competing here that are still in the running for the Final. Edwards and Pang started their season with a silver medal at JGP Mexico. They won the free skate at that event and nearly claimed the gold with one of the best free skate scores of the season. The Parsons siblings also claimed a silver medal this season at JGP Slovakia. Popova and Vlasenko just took home the silver medal from Belarus last week after pulling up from a 3rd place short dance. They come in with the biggest disadvantage as they won't have time to tinker with their levels, especially in the short dance. All three teams need a gold medal to guarantee a spot int he Final, while a silver or bronze would keep them in the running.
Evdokimova and Bazin won the bronze medal earlier this season at JGP Mexico after a 4th place short dance and a 3rd place free dance but they finished more than 20 points behind Edwards and Pang. They'll have quite an uphill battle to catch the other three top teams here. They need a gold medal to qualify for the Final while a silver will keep them in contention.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Edwards/Pang
Silver: Parsons/Parsons
Bronze: Popova/Vlasenko
Bios of the competitors:
Smith/Eisenbauer, AUT: They placed 32nd at Junior Worlds. They finished 17th at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 83.49. She is 16 and he is 15.
Edwards/Pang, CAN: They placed 12th at Junior Worlds. They won silver at JGP Mexico. Their personal best is 135.01. She is 17 and he is 18.
Wu/Soo, CAN: This is their international debut. She is 15 and he is 16.
Konickova/Lang, CZE: They finished 16th at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 87.94. She is 17 and he is 18.
Mansour/Ceska, CZE: They placed 12th at JGP Poland. Their personal best is 103.21. She is 18 and he is 21.
Vadskjaer Grapek/Jones, DEN: They placed 18th at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 76.08. She is 17 and he is 19.
Schiffner/Salatzki, GER: They finished 19th at Junior Worlds. They placed 8th at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 113.11. She is 17 and he is 19.
Smart/Buckland, GBR: They placed 22nd at Junior Worlds. They finished 7th at JGP Poland. Their personal best is 116.70. She is 16 and he is 20.
Moscheni/Lukacs, HUN: They finished 6th at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 119.49. She is 18 and he is 17.
Bolshem/Zilberberg, ISR: They placed 30th at Junior Worlds. They finished 15th at JGP Turkey and 11th at JGP Croatia last season. Their personal best is 97.39. She is 14 and he is 17.
Kaliszek/Kurbakov, POL: They placed 9th at JGP Poland. Their personal best is 109.24. She is 17 and he is 17.
Evdokimova/Bazin, RUS: They won bronze at JGP Mexico. Their personal best is 116.81. She is 16 and he is 18.
Popova/Vlasenko, RUS: They won silver at JGP Belarus. Their personal best is 128.71. She is 16 and he is 18.
Korotitskaia/Spodirev, UKR: They finished 6th at JGP Latvia. Their personal best is 114.47. She is 16 and he is 19.
Lewis/Bye, USA: They placed 5th at JGP Mexico. Their personal best is 104.32. She is 13 and he is 15.
Parsons/Parsons, USA: They won silver at JGP Slovakia. Their personal best is 134.09. She is 15 and he is 18.
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