- Miyabi Oba, JPN: 49.57 TES + 43.27 PCS -1.00 = 91.84
- Risa Shoji, JPN: 43.16 TES + 46.08 PCS = 89.24
- Zijun Li, CHN: 46.86 TES + 42.24 PCS = 89.10
- Ho Jung Lee, KOR: 40.85 TES + 40.42 PCS = 81.27
- Ira Vannut, BEL: 39.25 TES + 40.68 PCS = 79.93
- Alexandra Kamieniecki, POL: 43.85 TES + 34.34 PCS = 78.19
- Monika Simancikova, SVK: 39.20 TES + 39.61 PCS -2.00 = 76.81
- Alina Fjodorova, LAT: 40.20 TES + 35.62 PCS = 75.82
- Alice Garlisi, ITA: 36.33 TES + 39.40 PCS = 75.73
- Patrica Glesic, SLO: 39.35 TES + 34.41 PCS -1.00 = 72.77
- Victoria Huebler, AUT: 36.38 TES + 33.27 PCS = 69.65
- Brooklee Han, AUS: 33.61 TES + 35.88 PCS -1.00 = 68.49
- Katie Powell, GBR: 32.52 TES + 33.02 PCS = 65.54
- Rimgaile Meskaite, LTU: 32.04 TES + 32.61 PCS = 64.65
- Anne Line Gjersem, NOR: 29.82 TES + 33.88 PCS -1.00 = 62.70
- Alina Milevskaia, UKR: 27.69 TES + 34.67 PCS = 62.36
- Vanessa Grenier, CAN: 25.22 TES + 38.54 PCS -2.00 = 61.76
- Zhaira Costiniano, PHI: 27.84 TES + 33.48 PCS = 61.32
- Chelsea Rose Chiappa, HUN: 25.88 TES + 31.68 PCS = 57.56
- Joyce den Hollander, NED: 27.27 TES + 31.28 PCS -1.00 = 57.55
- Marta Grigoryan, ARM: 30.43 TES + 28.52 PCS -2.00 = 56.95
- Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook, THA: 23.96 TES + 32.82 PCS -1.00 = 55.78
- Madelaine Parker, NZL: 28.55 TES + 26.95 PCS = 55.50
- Reyna Hamui, MEX: 23.61 TES + 31.48 PCS = 55.09
- Celia Robledo, ESP: 20.69 TES + 32.73 PCS = 53.42
- Margot Krisberg, ISR: 23.22 TES + 29.49 PCS -1.00 = 51.71
- Nastassia Hrybko, BLR: 23.29 TES + 30.16 PCS -2.00 = 51.45
- Daniela Stoeva, BUL: 22.33 TES + 26.94 PCS -1.00 = 48.27
- Brittany Lau, SIN: 22.65 TES + 24.74 PCS = 47.39
- Nadia Geldenhuys, RSA: 20.63 TES + 26.04 PCS -1.00 = 45.67
- Kristina Prilepko, KAZ: 18.38 TES + 26.89 PCS = 45.27
- Sumika Yamada, HKG: 17.22 TES + 27.54 PCS -1.00 = 43.76
- Sandra Ristivojevic, SRB: 19.06 TES + 23.83 PCS = 42.89
- Jiajen Hsieh, TPE: 16.86 TES + 21.89 PCS -2.00 = 36.75
- Maral-Erdene Gansukh, MGL: 15.17 TES + 18.76 PCS -2.00 = 31.93
- Siau Chian Ching, MAS: 12.23 TES + 20.19 PCS -3.00 = 29.42
Monday, February 28, 2011
Junior World Championships: Ladies Preliminary Round
There are 36 ladies competing. The top 12 (bolded) will advance to the short program.
Junior World Championships: Dance Preliminary Round
The top 11 teams (bolded) advance to the short dance.
- Papadakis/Cizeron, FRA: 39.02 TES + 35.25 PCS = 74.27
- Visnova/Csolley, SVK: 35.34 TES + 32.33 PCS -1.00 = 66.67
- Hurtado/Diaz, ESP: 32.92 TES + 32.50 PCS -1.00 = 64.42
- Shtork/Rand, EST: 31.16 TES + 32.39 PCS -1.00 = 62.55
- Nosulia/Kholoniuk, UKR: 29.99 TES + 29.24 PCS = 59.23
- Zhang/Wu, CHN: 30.54 TES + 28.39 PCS = 58.93
- Uzurova/Ali, KAZ: 31.79 TES + 26.62 PCS = 58.41
- Elsener/Roost, SUI: 29.97 TES + 27.37 PCS = 57.34
- Kavaleva/Bieliaeiv, BLR: 28.76 TES + 25.26 PCS = 54.02
- Carroll/Gerber, POL: 25.77 TES + 27.60 PCS = 53.37
- Tremasova/Lichev, BUL: 28.71 TES + 23.42 PCS = 52.13
- Karmi/Lindholm, FIN: 29.84 TES + 23.07 PCS -1.00 = 51.91
- Vellrath/Pirogov, LTU: 25.50 TES + 25.00 PCS = 50.50
- Komatsubara/Mizutani, JPN: 26.17 TES + 24.70 PCS -2.00 = 48.87
- Bugrov/Rogov, ISR: 25.08 TES + 23.67 PCS = 48.75
- Demirsal/Akalin, TUR: 25.32 TES + 23.10 PCS = 48.42
- Pecherkina/Jakushin, LAT: 26.25 TES + 23.03 PCS -1.00 = 48.28
- Hew-Low/Hemmert, AUS: 18.57 TES + 17.91 PCS = 36.48
- Yigit/Speden, NZL: 19.35 TES + 16.90 PCS = 36.25
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Junior World Championships: Mens Preliminary Round
27 men will compete in the qualifying round. The top 14 skaters advance to the short program (bold indicates that the skater has qualified).
- Keiji Tanaka, JPN: 72.28 TES + 56.28 PCS = 128.56
- Ryuichi Kihara, JPN: 66.91 TES + 57.16 PCS - 1.00 = 123.07
- Artur Dmitriev, RUS: 54.86 TES + 56.00 PCS = 110.86
- Liam Firus, CAN: 53.67 TES + 55.58 PCS -1.00 = 108.25
- Petr Coufal, CZE: 56.13 TES + 47.80 PCS -1.00 = 102.93
- Viktor Romanenkov, EST: 48.97 TES + 49.42 PCS = 98.39
- Dong-Won Lee, KOR: 46.29 TES + 51.70 PCS = 97.99
- Bela Papp, FIN: 52.22 TES + 45.38 PCS = 97.60
- Tomi Pulkkinen, SUI: 49.63 TES + 46.56 PCS = 96.19
- Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: 50.48 TES + 45.28 PCS = 95.76
- Ondrej Spiegl, SWE: 42.93 TES + 49.08 PCS = 92.01
- Jordan Ju, TPE: 46.01 TES + 41.84 PCS = 87.85
- Vitali Luchanok, BLR: 44.52 TES + 42.50 PCS -1.00 = 86.02
- Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: 36.12 TES + 49.22 PCS -1.00 = 84.34
- Boyito Mulder, NED: 42.71 TES + 37.72 PCS = 80.43
- Harry Mattick, GBR: 34.26 TES + 48.06 PCS -3.00 = 79.32
- Brendan Kerry, AUS: 36.54 TES + 43.08 PCS -3.00 = 76.62
- Vlad Ionescu, ROU: 36.13 TES + 40.58 PCS -1.00 = 75.71
- Manol Atanssov, BUL: 34.86 TES + 37.28 PCS = 72.14
- Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: 38.25 TES + 32.42 PCS -1.00 = 69.67
- Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: 32.69 TES + 37.80 PCS -2.00 = 68.49
- Saulius Ambrulevicius, LTU: 27.46 TES + 38.86 PCS -2.00 = 64.32
- Ryan Zhi Jwen Yee, MAS: 28.27 TES + 33.30 PCS -2.00 = 59.57
- Suchet Kongchim, THA: 23.70 TES + 29.64 PCS = 53.34
- Engin Ali Artan, TUR: 28.09 TES + 32.44 PCS -2.00 = 58.53
- Armen Agaian, GEO: 20.84 TES + 32.56 PCS -2.00 = 51.40
Friday, February 25, 2011
Junior World Championships: Dance Preview
Monko and Khaliavin by far have the best scores of the season and easily won the Junior Grand Prix Final. They are the only returning medalist from last season's Junior Worlds and they should easily win gold here. I think they'll win by a comfortable margin that will set them up for a jump to the senior level and a tough Russian field.
Pushkash and Guerreiro from Russia have consistently scored behind their teammates but put up a big score at Russian nationals to make the team. They have a great opportunity to set themselves apart from the other Junior teams by claiming a medal here.
Lichtman and Copely are the top U.S. team here. They are coached by Zoueva and Shpilband, arguably one of the best coaching teams in the world. I don't think this team looks as polished yet as some of the other teams they coach, but they've had a breakout season this year. The U.S. Dance field is especially deep and they'll need a medal here to stay competitive as they move to the senior ranks next season. I think the bronze is well within their grasp, but they tend to make small errors and if they can have two clean programs, they could definitely move up the podium.
Kosignia and Moroshkin will be looking to make this a Russian sweep, but there scores have been at both ends of the spectrum during the season. If they perform like they did at Russian Nationals, they could be very competitive for a medal.
Orford and Williams of Canada and Galyeta and Shumski of Ukraine will also be in the hunt and should be able to pull together a top 10 finish if not better. The Ukrainians were really consistent in their two JGP assignments but their score dropped considerably at the Final. If they can take care of these problems, they may be looking at a possible medal.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Monko/Khaliavin
Silver: Pushkash/Bukin
Bronze: Lichtman/Copely
Russia's dance field is so deep that they are leaving behind three of the world's best junior teams, including two Junior Grand Prix Final medalists. Stepanova and Bukin won two gold medals on the JGP and qualifed for the JGPF where they won bronze; Sinitsina and Zhiganshin won two silver medals on the JGP and qualified for the JGPF where they won silver; Antipova and Kudashev won a silver medal on the JGP and qualified for the JGPF.
The teams (a D indicates a direct entry)
Hew-Low/Hemmert, AUS:
Kavaleav/Bieliaiev, BLR: They finished 9th at JGP Romania and 11th at JGP Czech Republic.
Tremasova/Lichev, BUL: They finished 15th in the preliminary round at Europeans. They placed 13th and 16th at their two JGP assignments this season. They finished 32nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Oliveira/Hockley, CAN (D): They finished 5th at JGP Japan and 6th at JGP Germany.
Orford/Wiliams, CAN (D): They won bronze at JGP Great Britain and finished 5th at JGP Czech Republic.
Zhang/Wu, CHN: They finished 6th at JGP Japan. They placed 25th at World Juniors last season.
Prochazkova/Ceska, CZE (D): They finished 9th at JGP Germany and 6th at JGP Czech Republic.
Shtork/Rand, EST: They finished 23rd at the Olympics. They placed 21st at Europeans. They finished 8th and 6th at their two JGP assignments this season. They placed 28th at Junior Worlds last season.
Karmi/Lindholm, FIN: They finished 14th at JGP Great Britain.
Papadakis/Cizeron, FRA: They finished 4th at JGP France and won bronze at JGP Austria. They placed 22nd at World Juniors last season.
Zahorski/Miart, FRA (D): They finished 4th at JGP Romania and won silver at JGP Czech Republic.
Dieck/Zenkner, GER (D): They finished 8th at JGP Japan and 14th at JGP Germany.
Aiken/Whidborne, GBR (D): They finished 9th at JGP Great Britain and 11th at JGP Germany. They placed 15th at World Juniors last season.
Bugrov/Rogov, ISR:
Rizzo/Manenti, ITA: They finished 17th at JGP Czech Republic.
Sforza/Fioretti, ITA (D): They finished 6th at JGP Romania and 8th at JGP Germany. They placed 31st at Junior Worlds last season.
Komatsubara/Mizutani, JPN: They finished 11th at JGP Japan and 15th at JGP Germany.
Uzurova/Ali, KAZ:
Pecherkina/Jakushin, LAT: They finished 13th at JGP Austria and 17th at JGP Germany.
Vellrath/Pirogov, LTU: They finished 14th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Czech Republic.
Yitig/Speden, NZL: They finished 20th at JGP Germany and 13th at JGP Japan. They placed 34th at Junior Worlds last year.
Carroll/Gerber, POL:
Kosignina/Moroshkin, RUS (D): They won bronze at Courcheval and gold at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 6th.
Monko/Khaliavin, RUS (D): They are the reigning World Junior bronze medalists. They won gold at Brasov Cup and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the JGPF where they won gold for the second year in a row.
Pushkash/Guerreiro, RUS (D): They won silver at SBC Cup and gold at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 4th. They finished 6th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Visnova/Csolley, SVK: They finished 9th in the preliminary round at Europeans. They placed 10th and 7th at their two JGP assignments this season. They placed 19th at World Juniors last season.
Hurtado/Diaz, ESP: They finished 15th at Europeans. They placed 10th and 5th at their two JGP assignments this season. They finished 16th at Junior Worlds last season.
Elsener/Roost, SUI: They finished 19th at Europeans. They finished 7th and 13th at their two JGP assignments. They placed 27th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Demirsal/Akalin, TUR: They are the reigning national champions.
Galyeta/Shumski, UKR (D): They won silver at Brasov Cup and bronze at Czech Skate where they finished 7th. They finished 8th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Nosulia/Kholoniuk, UKR: They finished 5th at JGP Austria and 10th at JGP Germany.
Bonacorsi/Mager, USA (D): They won bronze at JGP Romania and finished 5th at Great Britain.
Cannuscio/McManus, USA (D): They won silver at JGP France and finished 4th at JGP Japan.
Lichtman/Copely, USA (D): They won gold at JGP Austria and bronze at Germany to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they finished 5th.
Pushkash and Guerreiro from Russia have consistently scored behind their teammates but put up a big score at Russian nationals to make the team. They have a great opportunity to set themselves apart from the other Junior teams by claiming a medal here.
Lichtman and Copely are the top U.S. team here. They are coached by Zoueva and Shpilband, arguably one of the best coaching teams in the world. I don't think this team looks as polished yet as some of the other teams they coach, but they've had a breakout season this year. The U.S. Dance field is especially deep and they'll need a medal here to stay competitive as they move to the senior ranks next season. I think the bronze is well within their grasp, but they tend to make small errors and if they can have two clean programs, they could definitely move up the podium.
Kosignia and Moroshkin will be looking to make this a Russian sweep, but there scores have been at both ends of the spectrum during the season. If they perform like they did at Russian Nationals, they could be very competitive for a medal.
Orford and Williams of Canada and Galyeta and Shumski of Ukraine will also be in the hunt and should be able to pull together a top 10 finish if not better. The Ukrainians were really consistent in their two JGP assignments but their score dropped considerably at the Final. If they can take care of these problems, they may be looking at a possible medal.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Monko/Khaliavin
Silver: Pushkash/Bukin
Bronze: Lichtman/Copely
Russia's dance field is so deep that they are leaving behind three of the world's best junior teams, including two Junior Grand Prix Final medalists. Stepanova and Bukin won two gold medals on the JGP and qualifed for the JGPF where they won bronze; Sinitsina and Zhiganshin won two silver medals on the JGP and qualified for the JGPF where they won silver; Antipova and Kudashev won a silver medal on the JGP and qualified for the JGPF.
The teams (a D indicates a direct entry)
Hew-Low/Hemmert, AUS:
Kavaleav/Bieliaiev, BLR: They finished 9th at JGP Romania and 11th at JGP Czech Republic.
Tremasova/Lichev, BUL: They finished 15th in the preliminary round at Europeans. They placed 13th and 16th at their two JGP assignments this season. They finished 32nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Oliveira/Hockley, CAN (D): They finished 5th at JGP Japan and 6th at JGP Germany.
Orford/Wiliams, CAN (D): They won bronze at JGP Great Britain and finished 5th at JGP Czech Republic.
Zhang/Wu, CHN: They finished 6th at JGP Japan. They placed 25th at World Juniors last season.
Prochazkova/Ceska, CZE (D): They finished 9th at JGP Germany and 6th at JGP Czech Republic.
Shtork/Rand, EST: They finished 23rd at the Olympics. They placed 21st at Europeans. They finished 8th and 6th at their two JGP assignments this season. They placed 28th at Junior Worlds last season.
Karmi/Lindholm, FIN: They finished 14th at JGP Great Britain.
Papadakis/Cizeron, FRA: They finished 4th at JGP France and won bronze at JGP Austria. They placed 22nd at World Juniors last season.
Zahorski/Miart, FRA (D): They finished 4th at JGP Romania and won silver at JGP Czech Republic.
Dieck/Zenkner, GER (D): They finished 8th at JGP Japan and 14th at JGP Germany.
Aiken/Whidborne, GBR (D): They finished 9th at JGP Great Britain and 11th at JGP Germany. They placed 15th at World Juniors last season.
Bugrov/Rogov, ISR:
Rizzo/Manenti, ITA: They finished 17th at JGP Czech Republic.
Sforza/Fioretti, ITA (D): They finished 6th at JGP Romania and 8th at JGP Germany. They placed 31st at Junior Worlds last season.
Komatsubara/Mizutani, JPN: They finished 11th at JGP Japan and 15th at JGP Germany.
Uzurova/Ali, KAZ:
Pecherkina/Jakushin, LAT: They finished 13th at JGP Austria and 17th at JGP Germany.
Vellrath/Pirogov, LTU: They finished 14th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Czech Republic.
Yitig/Speden, NZL: They finished 20th at JGP Germany and 13th at JGP Japan. They placed 34th at Junior Worlds last year.
Carroll/Gerber, POL:
Kosignina/Moroshkin, RUS (D): They won bronze at Courcheval and gold at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 6th.
Monko/Khaliavin, RUS (D): They are the reigning World Junior bronze medalists. They won gold at Brasov Cup and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the JGPF where they won gold for the second year in a row.
Pushkash/Guerreiro, RUS (D): They won silver at SBC Cup and gold at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 4th. They finished 6th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Visnova/Csolley, SVK: They finished 9th in the preliminary round at Europeans. They placed 10th and 7th at their two JGP assignments this season. They placed 19th at World Juniors last season.
Hurtado/Diaz, ESP: They finished 15th at Europeans. They placed 10th and 5th at their two JGP assignments this season. They finished 16th at Junior Worlds last season.
Elsener/Roost, SUI: They finished 19th at Europeans. They finished 7th and 13th at their two JGP assignments. They placed 27th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Demirsal/Akalin, TUR: They are the reigning national champions.
Galyeta/Shumski, UKR (D): They won silver at Brasov Cup and bronze at Czech Skate where they finished 7th. They finished 8th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Nosulia/Kholoniuk, UKR: They finished 5th at JGP Austria and 10th at JGP Germany.
Bonacorsi/Mager, USA (D): They won bronze at JGP Romania and finished 5th at Great Britain.
Cannuscio/McManus, USA (D): They won silver at JGP France and finished 4th at JGP Japan.
Lichtman/Copely, USA (D): They won gold at JGP Austria and bronze at Germany to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where they finished 5th.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Junior World Championships: Pairs Preview
This is a unique event as all of the medalists from last year are back this season.
Leading the pack are Sui and Han who rocked the senior circuit this season, medaling at both of their Grand Prix assignments and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze. They have a throw quad that they've been landing more consistently in their free skate throughout the season. This team is also caught up in the falsification of age scandal which might take away their focus here. If they skate like they have been all season, they should repeat as champions here.
Takahashi and Tran took the silver medal at this event last season and also had a good senior debut, medaling in both of their Grand Prix assignments. They are the only pairs team in Japan and they are really taking advantage of their eligibility, competing in two JGP, two GP, JGPF, Four Continents, Junior Worlds and Worlds this season. I thought they showed this strain at 4Cs and were sloppier than normal. They're also training two programs at the same time and are likely not getting enough reps in on either one.
Stolbova and Klimov are the only junior team to have defeated both Sui/Han and Takahashi/Tran this season. They were nine points from gold at the JGPF, but have had the over two months since to focus solely on their programs. I think they have a really good shot to pull up here, and with the deep pairs field in Russia, they'll have to really pull out all the stops if they want a place on the senior teams next season.
Yu and Jin from China have not been able to excel to the same level as their teammates and are also caught up in the age scandal. They had good scores on the JGP and took home a medal from the JGPF but they're far behind the top three teams and will need some mistakes at the top to make it onto the podium here.
Cain and Reagan are leading the U.S. teams here and a top 5 finish is well within their sights. They showed a maturity to their programs at nationals that was not matched in the field and put out two clean programs. If they can repeat that here, they should have a strong finish to their first international season.
Silaeva and Minchuk qualified for the JGPF and placed 11th at this event last season but are not on the Russian team here. Steele and Schultz also qualified for the JGPF but did not make the Canadian team.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Sui/Han
Silver: Stolbova/Klimov
Bronze: Takahashi/Tran
The teams:
Martini/Kiefer, AUT: They placed 15th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. They placed 20th at Junior Worlds last season.
Palyakova/Fomichev, BLR:
Jones/Gaskell, CAN: They placed 6th at Cup of Austria and 4th at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 6th. They placed 7th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Purich/Schultz, CAN: They won bronze at J. Curry Memorial and Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 7th.
Sui/Han, CHN: Sui and Han are the reigning World Junior Champions. They won the silver medal at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board and bronze at Skate America with a personal best free skate to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze. They won bronze at JGP Austria and gold at JGP Czech Republic to qualify for the JGPF but withdrew to focus on the senior event.
Yu/Jin, CHN: They won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and gold at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they won bronze.
Kadlecova/Bidar, CZE: They placed 7th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. They finished 7th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard with a personal best short program. They finished 14th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Clement/Hunt, GBR: They placed 13th at JGP Great Britain. They finished 19th at Junior Worlds last season.
Khnychenkova/Magyar, HUN: They finished 15th at their Junior Grand Prix assignment. They placed 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard. They finished 15th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Gillespie/Dematte, ITA: They placed 12th at Europeans. They finished 8th and 11th at their two JGP assignments this season.
Takahashi/Tran, JPN: They are the reigning Junior World silver medalists. They placed 7th at Four Continents. They won silver at J. Curry Memorial and Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they won gold. They won bronze at NHK Trophy and silver at Rostelecom Cup.
Epstein/Epstein, NED: They won the Junior event at Ice Challenge and NRW Trophy.
Klatka/Chruscinski, POL: They placed 12th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Germany.
Astakhova/Bochkov, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Austria.
Stolbova/Klimov, RUS: They are the reigning Junior World bronze medalists. They won JGP Cup of Austria and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the JGPF where they won silver. They placed 5th at Skate America.
Vasilieva/Shevchuk, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Great Britain.
Morand/Leemann, SUI:
Labrentieva/Rudik, UKR: They placed 13th at JGP Austria.
Andrews/LeDuc, USA: They are the reigning national junior silver medalists.
Cain/Reagan, USA: They finished 6th at J. Curry Memorial and won silver at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 5th.
Leading the pack are Sui and Han who rocked the senior circuit this season, medaling at both of their Grand Prix assignments and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze. They have a throw quad that they've been landing more consistently in their free skate throughout the season. This team is also caught up in the falsification of age scandal which might take away their focus here. If they skate like they have been all season, they should repeat as champions here.
Takahashi and Tran took the silver medal at this event last season and also had a good senior debut, medaling in both of their Grand Prix assignments. They are the only pairs team in Japan and they are really taking advantage of their eligibility, competing in two JGP, two GP, JGPF, Four Continents, Junior Worlds and Worlds this season. I thought they showed this strain at 4Cs and were sloppier than normal. They're also training two programs at the same time and are likely not getting enough reps in on either one.
Stolbova and Klimov are the only junior team to have defeated both Sui/Han and Takahashi/Tran this season. They were nine points from gold at the JGPF, but have had the over two months since to focus solely on their programs. I think they have a really good shot to pull up here, and with the deep pairs field in Russia, they'll have to really pull out all the stops if they want a place on the senior teams next season.
Yu and Jin from China have not been able to excel to the same level as their teammates and are also caught up in the age scandal. They had good scores on the JGP and took home a medal from the JGPF but they're far behind the top three teams and will need some mistakes at the top to make it onto the podium here.
Cain and Reagan are leading the U.S. teams here and a top 5 finish is well within their sights. They showed a maturity to their programs at nationals that was not matched in the field and put out two clean programs. If they can repeat that here, they should have a strong finish to their first international season.
Silaeva and Minchuk qualified for the JGPF and placed 11th at this event last season but are not on the Russian team here. Steele and Schultz also qualified for the JGPF but did not make the Canadian team.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Sui/Han
Silver: Stolbova/Klimov
Bronze: Takahashi/Tran
The teams:
Martini/Kiefer, AUT: They placed 15th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. They placed 20th at Junior Worlds last season.
Palyakova/Fomichev, BLR:
Jones/Gaskell, CAN: They placed 6th at Cup of Austria and 4th at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 6th. They placed 7th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Purich/Schultz, CAN: They won bronze at J. Curry Memorial and Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they placed 7th.
Sui/Han, CHN: Sui and Han are the reigning World Junior Champions. They won the silver medal at Cup of China with personal best scores across the board and bronze at Skate America with a personal best free skate to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where they won bronze. They won bronze at JGP Austria and gold at JGP Czech Republic to qualify for the JGPF but withdrew to focus on the senior event.
Yu/Jin, CHN: They won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and gold at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they won bronze.
Kadlecova/Bidar, CZE: They placed 7th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. They finished 7th at both their Junior Grand Prix assignments and placed 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard with a personal best short program. They finished 14th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Clement/Hunt, GBR: They placed 13th at JGP Great Britain. They finished 19th at Junior Worlds last season.
Khnychenkova/Magyar, HUN: They finished 15th at their Junior Grand Prix assignment. They placed 7th at Trophee Eric Bompard. They finished 15th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Gillespie/Dematte, ITA: They placed 12th at Europeans. They finished 8th and 11th at their two JGP assignments this season.
Takahashi/Tran, JPN: They are the reigning Junior World silver medalists. They placed 7th at Four Continents. They won silver at J. Curry Memorial and Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where they won gold. They won bronze at NHK Trophy and silver at Rostelecom Cup.
Epstein/Epstein, NED: They won the Junior event at Ice Challenge and NRW Trophy.
Klatka/Chruscinski, POL: They placed 12th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Germany.
Astakhova/Bochkov, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Austria.
Stolbova/Klimov, RUS: They are the reigning Junior World bronze medalists. They won JGP Cup of Austria and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the JGPF where they won silver. They placed 5th at Skate America.
Vasilieva/Shevchuk, RUS: They finished 9th at JGP Great Britain.
Morand/Leemann, SUI:
Labrentieva/Rudik, UKR: They placed 13th at JGP Austria.
Andrews/LeDuc, USA: They are the reigning national junior silver medalists.
Cain/Reagan, USA: They finished 6th at J. Curry Memorial and won silver at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 5th.
Junior World Championships: Ladies Preview
The favorite in this event is Russian national champion Adelina Sotnikova. At just 14, she won't be eligible for senior worlds until 2013 so look for her to try for the first of two world titles here. She has an impressive arsenal which features a triple+triple and has posted the highest international junior score of the season. She also had an impressive victory at the Junior Grand Prix Final, besting the field by 9 points.
Elizaveta Tuktamisheva took home the silver medal from the JGPF but her scores have been all over the place this season. She also has a triple+triple in her arsenal and posted an impressive 193.56 score at Russian junior nationals.
Polina Shelepen is the final entry for Russia and also is a medal threat here. Her scores have been fairly consistent throughout the season, but have been consistently lower than her countrymates. She finished 20 points behind Tuktamisheva at Russian junior nationals.
Christina Gao leads the United States entries. She had good scores early in the season but had problems in the JGPF and was only able to finish 6th. She has had a major growth spurt this season and that has effected some of her technique as she adjusts to her new proportions. She seemed to have settled a little at nationals and nailed her triple+triple combination and two clean skates. She is beginning to look more and more like Yuna Kim on the ice, and I expect it won't be long before she's putting up similar scores.
Agnes Zawadzki is the reigning silver medalist at this event and the only medalist from last year to return. She competed on the senior Grand Prix and had one of the best scoring short programs of the season but seemed to struggle with her long at both her events. She skated a clean long at nationals including her triple+triple and put up an impressive score. She is reworking her current free skate to meet the junior time and element requirements. She is a determined young lady and is returning to this event with the intention to medal.
Courtney Hicks is entering Junior Worlds as her first ever international competition. She had the highest junior score ever posted at U.S. Nationals under code of points, edging out Agnes Zawadzki for that honor. She has already been compared to Sasha Cohen due to her look and skills on the ice, but it seems like she has one important difference: she can land her jumps. She demolished the field at U.S. Nationals with a triple+triple combination and a unique spin she invented called the Tw-Hicks. It will be interesting to see how she fares under the pressure against a very tough field.
Risa Shoji was edged out for the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final due to a tiebreaker. Her scores have been fairly consistent all season, but don't match up to the scores of the top Russian and American ladies. Her consistency is a plus though, as she can sneak in for a medal if other ladies make a mistake.
Zijun Li is in much the same boat as Shoji, whom she defeated to take the bronze medal at the JGPF. Her scores are good enough to put her in the top 10 and consistent enough to earn a medal if others make mistakes.
Ira Vannut of Belgium had a decent JGP season but her scores didn't match up with the top of this field. She then went on to place 7th at Europeans, with a score that would make her competitive here. If she continues this improvement she could be a big dark horse at this event, but will definitely improve on her 22nd place finish here last season.
Yasmin Siraj and Kristiene Gong qualified for the JGPF but won't be at this competition due to a deep field in the United States.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Adelina Sotnikova
Silver: Elizaveta Tuktamisheva
Bronze: Agnes Zawadzki
The competitors:
Marta Grigoryan, ARM: She placed 3rd as a junior at the Nestle Cup.
Brooklee Han, AUS: She placed 10th at JGP Great Britain and 17th at JGP Germany.
Victoria Huebler, AUT: She finished 13th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 42nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Nastassia Hrybko, BLR: She finished 26th and 29th at her two JGP assignments last season. She finished 12 in the preliminary round at Europeans.
Ira Vannut, BEL: She placed 7th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 4th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Germany. She finished 22nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Daniela Stoeva, BUL: She finished 26th at JGP Romania and 29th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 32nd at Junior Worlds last year.
Vanessa Greiner, CAN: She placed 12th at JGP France.
Alexandra Najarro, CAN (D): She finished 10th at JGP Romania and 7th at JGP Great Britain.
Zijun Li, CHN: She won bronze at Cup of Austria and placed 4th at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she won bronze.
Chaochih Liu, TPE: She finished 24th at Four Continents. She finished 19th at JGP Japan.
Anita Madsen, DEN (D): She finished 14th at JGP Japan and 24th at JGP Czech Republic.
Gerli Liinamae, EST (D): She placed 13th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 9th and 10th at her two JGP assignments this season.
Juulia Turkkila, FIN (D): She placed 15th at the European Championships with personal best scores across the board. She finished 10th at her JGP assignment this season.
Yretha Silete, FRA (D): She finished 4th at JGP France and 6th at JGP Germany.
Isabel Drescher, GER (D): She finished 11th at JGP Great Britain and 16th at JGP Germany. She placed 18th at World Juniors last season.
Katie Powell, GBR: She placed 18th at JGP Great Britain and 14th at JGP Germany.
Georgia Glastris, GRE: She finished 44th at Worlds last season. She finished 17th in the preliminary round at Europeans. She finished 21st and 18th at her two JGP assignments this season. She placed 28th at Junior Worlds last year.
Sumika Yamada, HKG:
Chelsea Rose Chiappa, HUN: She placed 17th at JGP Great Britain.
Margot Krisberg, ISR:
Alice Garlisi, ITA: She placed 21st at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 19th and 7th at her two JGP assignments this season.
Yuki Nishino, JPN (D): She placed 7th at JGP Romania and won bronze at JGP Great Britain.
Miyabi Oba, JPN: She placed 7th at Coupe de Nice.
Risa Shoji, JPN: Shoji won gold at SBC Cup and silver at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she placed 4th (she actually tied for bronze but lost the tiebreaker).
Kristina Prilepko, KAZ: She finished 13th at JGP Romania and 22nd at JGP Japan. She placed 43rd at World Juniors last season.
Alina Fjodorova, LAT: She finished 15th at JGP France and 12th at JGP Germany. She placed 24th at Junior Worlds last season.
Rimgaile Meskaite, LTU: She finished 27th at JGP Great Britain and 19th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 34th at World Juniors last season.
Siau Chian Ching, MAS:
Reyna Hamui, MEX: She placed 28th at Four Continents. She finished 20th at JGP Austria.
Maral-Erdene Gansukh, MGL:
Joyce den Hollander, NED: She finished 24th at JGP Austria.
Madelaine Parker, NZL:
Anne Line Gjersem, NOR: She placed 25th at Europeans with a personal best short program and total score. She finished 14th and 15th at her two JGP assignments earlier this season. She finished 26th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Zhaira Costiniano, PHI: She finished 36th at World Juniors last season.
Alexandra Kamieniecki, POL:
Ho Jung Lee, KOR: She finished 9th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Japan.
Polina Shelepen, RUS (D): She won gold at JGP Courcheval and bronze at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she placed 5th. She placed 4th at the World Junior Championships last year.
Adelina Sotnikova, RUS (D): Sotnikova won gold at JGP Cup of Austria and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where she won gold.
Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, RUS (D): She won gold at JGP Brasov Cup and Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where she won silver.
Sandra Ristivojevic, SRB:
Brittany Lau, SIN: She placed 26th at Four Continents. She finished 18th at JGP Japan. She finished 46th at World Juniors last season.
Monika Simancikova, SVK: She finished 5th at JGP Austria and 6th at JGP Czech Republic.
Patricia Glescic, SLO: She finished 6th at JGP Austria and 17th at JGP Czech Republic.
Nadia Geldenhuys, RSA: She finished 30th at JGP Austria. She placed 49th at Junior Worlds last season.
Celia Robledo, ESP: She finished 23rd at JGP France. She placed 48th at Junior Worlds last season.
Rebecka Emmanuelson, SWE (D): She placed 16th at JGP Austria.
Isabelle Olsson, SWE (D): She placed 5th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Great Britain.
Romy Buhler, SUI (D): She placed 16th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 10th at her JGP assignment this season. She placed 13th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook, THA: She placed 19th at Four Continents. She finished 12th at JGP Japan and 21st at JGP Austria. Chindasook placed 29th at World Juniors last season.
Sila Saygi, TUR (D): She placed 13th at JGP France and 12th at JGP Romania. She finished 14th at World Juniors last season.
Alina Milevskaia, UKR: She finished 11th at JGP Romania and 9th at JGP Austria. She placed 21st at World Juniors last season.
Christina Gao, USA (D): She won silver at JGP Cup of Austria and silver at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where she finished 6th. Gao finished 8th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Courtney Hicks, USA (D): She is the reigning national junior champion.
Agnes Zawadzki, USA (D): Zawadzki is the reigning World Junior Silver Medalist. She finished 6th at her Grand Prix debut in Canada with personal best scores across the board and 4th at Cup of Russia with a personal best short program.
Elizaveta Tuktamisheva took home the silver medal from the JGPF but her scores have been all over the place this season. She also has a triple+triple in her arsenal and posted an impressive 193.56 score at Russian junior nationals.
Polina Shelepen is the final entry for Russia and also is a medal threat here. Her scores have been fairly consistent throughout the season, but have been consistently lower than her countrymates. She finished 20 points behind Tuktamisheva at Russian junior nationals.
Christina Gao leads the United States entries. She had good scores early in the season but had problems in the JGPF and was only able to finish 6th. She has had a major growth spurt this season and that has effected some of her technique as she adjusts to her new proportions. She seemed to have settled a little at nationals and nailed her triple+triple combination and two clean skates. She is beginning to look more and more like Yuna Kim on the ice, and I expect it won't be long before she's putting up similar scores.
Agnes Zawadzki is the reigning silver medalist at this event and the only medalist from last year to return. She competed on the senior Grand Prix and had one of the best scoring short programs of the season but seemed to struggle with her long at both her events. She skated a clean long at nationals including her triple+triple and put up an impressive score. She is reworking her current free skate to meet the junior time and element requirements. She is a determined young lady and is returning to this event with the intention to medal.
Courtney Hicks is entering Junior Worlds as her first ever international competition. She had the highest junior score ever posted at U.S. Nationals under code of points, edging out Agnes Zawadzki for that honor. She has already been compared to Sasha Cohen due to her look and skills on the ice, but it seems like she has one important difference: she can land her jumps. She demolished the field at U.S. Nationals with a triple+triple combination and a unique spin she invented called the Tw-Hicks. It will be interesting to see how she fares under the pressure against a very tough field.
Risa Shoji was edged out for the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final due to a tiebreaker. Her scores have been fairly consistent all season, but don't match up to the scores of the top Russian and American ladies. Her consistency is a plus though, as she can sneak in for a medal if other ladies make a mistake.
Zijun Li is in much the same boat as Shoji, whom she defeated to take the bronze medal at the JGPF. Her scores are good enough to put her in the top 10 and consistent enough to earn a medal if others make mistakes.
Ira Vannut of Belgium had a decent JGP season but her scores didn't match up with the top of this field. She then went on to place 7th at Europeans, with a score that would make her competitive here. If she continues this improvement she could be a big dark horse at this event, but will definitely improve on her 22nd place finish here last season.
Yasmin Siraj and Kristiene Gong qualified for the JGPF but won't be at this competition due to a deep field in the United States.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Adelina Sotnikova
Silver: Elizaveta Tuktamisheva
Bronze: Agnes Zawadzki
The competitors:
Marta Grigoryan, ARM: She placed 3rd as a junior at the Nestle Cup.
Brooklee Han, AUS: She placed 10th at JGP Great Britain and 17th at JGP Germany.
Victoria Huebler, AUT: She finished 13th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 42nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Nastassia Hrybko, BLR: She finished 26th and 29th at her two JGP assignments last season. She finished 12 in the preliminary round at Europeans.
Ira Vannut, BEL: She placed 7th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 4th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Germany. She finished 22nd at the World Junior Championships last season.
Daniela Stoeva, BUL: She finished 26th at JGP Romania and 29th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 32nd at Junior Worlds last year.
Vanessa Greiner, CAN: She placed 12th at JGP France.
Alexandra Najarro, CAN (D): She finished 10th at JGP Romania and 7th at JGP Great Britain.
Zijun Li, CHN: She won bronze at Cup of Austria and placed 4th at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she won bronze.
Chaochih Liu, TPE: She finished 24th at Four Continents. She finished 19th at JGP Japan.
Anita Madsen, DEN (D): She finished 14th at JGP Japan and 24th at JGP Czech Republic.
Gerli Liinamae, EST (D): She placed 13th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 9th and 10th at her two JGP assignments this season.
Juulia Turkkila, FIN (D): She placed 15th at the European Championships with personal best scores across the board. She finished 10th at her JGP assignment this season.
Yretha Silete, FRA (D): She finished 4th at JGP France and 6th at JGP Germany.
Isabel Drescher, GER (D): She finished 11th at JGP Great Britain and 16th at JGP Germany. She placed 18th at World Juniors last season.
Katie Powell, GBR: She placed 18th at JGP Great Britain and 14th at JGP Germany.
Georgia Glastris, GRE: She finished 44th at Worlds last season. She finished 17th in the preliminary round at Europeans. She finished 21st and 18th at her two JGP assignments this season. She placed 28th at Junior Worlds last year.
Sumika Yamada, HKG:
Chelsea Rose Chiappa, HUN: She placed 17th at JGP Great Britain.
Margot Krisberg, ISR:
Alice Garlisi, ITA: She placed 21st at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 19th and 7th at her two JGP assignments this season.
Yuki Nishino, JPN (D): She placed 7th at JGP Romania and won bronze at JGP Great Britain.
Miyabi Oba, JPN: She placed 7th at Coupe de Nice.
Risa Shoji, JPN: Shoji won gold at SBC Cup and silver at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she placed 4th (she actually tied for bronze but lost the tiebreaker).
Kristina Prilepko, KAZ: She finished 13th at JGP Romania and 22nd at JGP Japan. She placed 43rd at World Juniors last season.
Alina Fjodorova, LAT: She finished 15th at JGP France and 12th at JGP Germany. She placed 24th at Junior Worlds last season.
Rimgaile Meskaite, LTU: She finished 27th at JGP Great Britain and 19th at JGP Czech Republic. She placed 34th at World Juniors last season.
Siau Chian Ching, MAS:
Reyna Hamui, MEX: She placed 28th at Four Continents. She finished 20th at JGP Austria.
Maral-Erdene Gansukh, MGL:
Joyce den Hollander, NED: She finished 24th at JGP Austria.
Madelaine Parker, NZL:
Anne Line Gjersem, NOR: She placed 25th at Europeans with a personal best short program and total score. She finished 14th and 15th at her two JGP assignments earlier this season. She finished 26th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Zhaira Costiniano, PHI: She finished 36th at World Juniors last season.
Alexandra Kamieniecki, POL:
Ho Jung Lee, KOR: She finished 9th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Japan.
Polina Shelepen, RUS (D): She won gold at JGP Courcheval and bronze at Czech Skate to qualify for the JGPF where she placed 5th. She placed 4th at the World Junior Championships last year.
Adelina Sotnikova, RUS (D): Sotnikova won gold at JGP Cup of Austria and J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where she won gold.
Elizaveta Tuktamisheva, RUS (D): She won gold at JGP Brasov Cup and Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the JGPF where she won silver.
Sandra Ristivojevic, SRB:
Brittany Lau, SIN: She placed 26th at Four Continents. She finished 18th at JGP Japan. She finished 46th at World Juniors last season.
Monika Simancikova, SVK: She finished 5th at JGP Austria and 6th at JGP Czech Republic.
Patricia Glescic, SLO: She finished 6th at JGP Austria and 17th at JGP Czech Republic.
Nadia Geldenhuys, RSA: She finished 30th at JGP Austria. She placed 49th at Junior Worlds last season.
Celia Robledo, ESP: She finished 23rd at JGP France. She placed 48th at Junior Worlds last season.
Rebecka Emmanuelson, SWE (D): She placed 16th at JGP Austria.
Isabelle Olsson, SWE (D): She placed 5th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Great Britain.
Romy Buhler, SUI (D): She placed 16th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. She finished 10th at her JGP assignment this season. She placed 13th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Mimi Tanasorn Chindasook, THA: She placed 19th at Four Continents. She finished 12th at JGP Japan and 21st at JGP Austria. Chindasook placed 29th at World Juniors last season.
Sila Saygi, TUR (D): She placed 13th at JGP France and 12th at JGP Romania. She finished 14th at World Juniors last season.
Alina Milevskaia, UKR: She finished 11th at JGP Romania and 9th at JGP Austria. She placed 21st at World Juniors last season.
Christina Gao, USA (D): She won silver at JGP Cup of Austria and silver at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where she finished 6th. Gao finished 8th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Courtney Hicks, USA (D): She is the reigning national junior champion.
Agnes Zawadzki, USA (D): Zawadzki is the reigning World Junior Silver Medalist. She finished 6th at her Grand Prix debut in Canada with personal best scores across the board and 4th at Cup of Russia with a personal best short program.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Junior World Championships: Mens Preview
This should be a very competitive field with several of the JGP Final contestants here as well as medal winners from the JGP. Notably absent is JGP Final Champion, Richard Dornbush, who skated well enough at U.S. Nationals to qualify for the World team. Joshua Farris also qualified for the JGPF but broke his leg at nationals and won't be competing here.
I see eight competitors really fighting for the podium title. Artur Dmitriev just missed qualifying for the JGPF. He then went on to beat out his compatriots at the Russian Junior Nationals. He'll have to earn a spot in the short program by competing at the qualifying round, while many of the other competitors won't and the extra day of competition could affect his final score.
Andrei Rogozine had good scores at his two JGP assignments and qualified for the Final in first position. He had problems at the Final and posted his lowest score of the season. He had a disastrous performance at nationals, scoring over 30 points below his season's best. If this downward trend continues, he could have a problem medaling in this competitive field.
Gordei Gorshkov's scores are almost a virtual tie with Dmitriev's and both were very consistent over the season. He had the lowest score at the JGPF, however, and will be looking to rebound with a better score here.
Han Yan of China won the silver medal at the JGPF and has posted the highest junior international score of this field. His JGPF score gives him a 5 point advantage, but he won't be able to make any mistakes if he wants the Junior World title.
Keegan Messing has put up good scores all season, but his international scores were on a downward trend. He had a solid nationals performance as a senior. If he can put out programs like he did there he should have a good shot at a medal. He is not the most artistic skater and his strength is really in his jumping abilities which could be a factor. If all the skaters go clean, he doesn't have the artistic points to keep him on pace with everyone else. He finished 4th at this competition last season and is the highest placed returning competitor.
Max Aaron's scores have been trending upward all season, with minor improvements between each competition. He won the junior title at nationals but his score was no where near that of Messing, even taking into account the higher points possible in a senior program. He went for the triple axel in both of his programs at nationals but struggled. If he lands them, this could give him a big boost technically, but could put him out of contention if the rest of the field is clean.
Zhan Bush's scores have also been slightly trending upward over the season. His scores though are at the lower end of the top skaters. He kept pace with the Russians at their nationals and it will be interesting to see if the international judges do the same.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Han Yan
Silver: Artur Dmitriev
Bronze: Keegan Messing
The competitors (note: D indicates a direct entry into the short program):
Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He finished 17th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 34th at World Juniors last season.
Brendan Kerry, AUS: He finished 14th and 20th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 18th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.
Vitali Luchanok, BLR:
Jorik Hendrickx, BEL (D): He placed 16th at Europeans with a personal best free skate and total score. He finished 7th and 6th at his two JGP assignments this season. He finished 15th at World Juniors last season.
Manol Atanassov, BUL: He finished 40th at World Juniors last season.
Liam Firus, CAN: He finished 5th at the JGP Brasov Cup and won bronze at J. Curry Memorial.
Andrei Rogozine, CAN (D): He won bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final after winning gold at both JGP Courchevel and SBC Cup. He placed 6th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Jiaxing Liu, CHN (D): He finished 10th at JGP Poland and 5th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 14th at World Juniors last season.
Han Yan, CHN (D):Yan won JGP Cup of Austria and Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he won silver.
Jordan Ju, TPE: He finished 13th at both his Junior Grand Prix assignments this season. He placed 17th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.
Petr Coufal, CZE: He finished 8th at JGP Austria and 7th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 21st at World Juniors last season.
Keiran Araza, DEN: He finished 19th at JGP Austria and 24th at JGP Germany.
Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 36th at the World Championships last season. He finished 8th and 11th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 26th at World Juniors last season.
Bela Papp, FIN: He finished 14th at JGP Romania and 16th at JGP Germany. He placed 24th at World Juniors last season.
Romain Ponsart, FRA (D): He finished 5th at both his JGP assignments this season.
Armen Agaian, GEO:
Denis Wieczorek, GER (D): He placed 20th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. He finished 5th and 15th at his two JGP assignments this season.
Harry Mattick, GBR: He finished 11th at JGP France and 9th at JGP Great Britain. He placed 39th at World Juniors last season.
Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: He finished 22nd at JGP Japan. He placed 43rd at World Juniors last season.
Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: He finished 27th at World Juniors last season.
Ryuichi Kihara, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Germany.
Kento Nakamura, JPN (D): He finished 9th at JGP Japan and 8th at JGP Czech Republic.
Keiji Tanaka, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Great Britain.
Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ (D): He finished 26th at the Olympics and 21st at Worlds last season.He placed 13th at Four Continents with a personal best free skate and total score. He won bronze at his first JGP assignment this season and placed 8th at his second assignment. He placed 11th at World Juniors last year.
Girts Jekabsons, LAT: He placed 46th at the World Championships last season. He finished 19th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 38th at World Juniors last season.
Saulius Ambrulevicius, LTU: He finished 38th at the World Championships with a personal best short program last season. He finished 13th and 16th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 32nd at World Juniors last season.
Ryan Zhi Jwen Yee, MAS: He finished 16th at JGP France and 21st at JGP Japan.
Boyito Mulder, NED: He finished 45th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Kamil Bialas, POL (D): He finished 18th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Czech Republic.
Dong-Won Lee, KOR: He finished 4th at JGP Romania and 11th at JGP Japan.
Vlad Ionescu, ROU: He finished 18th at JGP Romania and 12th at JGP Great Britain.
Zhan Bush, RUS (D): He won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and silver at J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 7th.
Artur Dmitriev, RUS: He finished 4th at JGP Germany and won silver at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 7th at World Juniors last season.
Gordei Gorshkov, RUS (D): Gorshkov finished 4th at JGP SBC Cup and won silver at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 8th.
Francesc Palau, ESP (D): He finished 16th at JGP Great Britain.
Alexander Majorov, SWE (D): He finished 5th at JGP Japan and won bronze at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 8th at World Juniors last season.
Ondrej Spiegel, SWE: He finished 9th at JGP Romania and 10th at JGP Great Britain.
Tomi Pulkkinen, SUI: He finished 15th at JGP Japan and 14th at JGP Germany.
Suchet Kongchim, THA: He finished 17th at JGP France.
Engin Ali Artan, TUR: He finished 16th at JGP Romania and 23th at JGP Germany.
Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: He finished 13th at JGP Austria and 6th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 29th at World Juniors last season.
Max Aaron, USA (D): Aaron won bronze at JGP Courcheval and silver at SBC Cup to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where he finished 4th.
Jason Brown, USA (D): He won silver at JGP Courcheval and finished 6th in Japan.
Keegan Messing, USA (D): He won gold at JGP Brasov Cup and placed 4th at Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th. Messing finished 4th at the World Junior Championships last season.
I see eight competitors really fighting for the podium title. Artur Dmitriev just missed qualifying for the JGPF. He then went on to beat out his compatriots at the Russian Junior Nationals. He'll have to earn a spot in the short program by competing at the qualifying round, while many of the other competitors won't and the extra day of competition could affect his final score.
Andrei Rogozine had good scores at his two JGP assignments and qualified for the Final in first position. He had problems at the Final and posted his lowest score of the season. He had a disastrous performance at nationals, scoring over 30 points below his season's best. If this downward trend continues, he could have a problem medaling in this competitive field.
Gordei Gorshkov's scores are almost a virtual tie with Dmitriev's and both were very consistent over the season. He had the lowest score at the JGPF, however, and will be looking to rebound with a better score here.
Han Yan of China won the silver medal at the JGPF and has posted the highest junior international score of this field. His JGPF score gives him a 5 point advantage, but he won't be able to make any mistakes if he wants the Junior World title.
Keegan Messing has put up good scores all season, but his international scores were on a downward trend. He had a solid nationals performance as a senior. If he can put out programs like he did there he should have a good shot at a medal. He is not the most artistic skater and his strength is really in his jumping abilities which could be a factor. If all the skaters go clean, he doesn't have the artistic points to keep him on pace with everyone else. He finished 4th at this competition last season and is the highest placed returning competitor.
Max Aaron's scores have been trending upward all season, with minor improvements between each competition. He won the junior title at nationals but his score was no where near that of Messing, even taking into account the higher points possible in a senior program. He went for the triple axel in both of his programs at nationals but struggled. If he lands them, this could give him a big boost technically, but could put him out of contention if the rest of the field is clean.
Zhan Bush's scores have also been slightly trending upward over the season. His scores though are at the lower end of the top skaters. He kept pace with the Russians at their nationals and it will be interesting to see if the international judges do the same.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Han Yan
Silver: Artur Dmitriev
Bronze: Keegan Messing
The competitors (note: D indicates a direct entry into the short program):
Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He finished 17th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 34th at World Juniors last season.
Brendan Kerry, AUS: He finished 14th and 20th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 18th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.
Vitali Luchanok, BLR:
Jorik Hendrickx, BEL (D): He placed 16th at Europeans with a personal best free skate and total score. He finished 7th and 6th at his two JGP assignments this season. He finished 15th at World Juniors last season.
Manol Atanassov, BUL: He finished 40th at World Juniors last season.
Liam Firus, CAN: He finished 5th at the JGP Brasov Cup and won bronze at J. Curry Memorial.
Andrei Rogozine, CAN (D): He won bronze at the Junior Grand Prix Final after winning gold at both JGP Courchevel and SBC Cup. He placed 6th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Jiaxing Liu, CHN (D): He finished 10th at JGP Poland and 5th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 14th at World Juniors last season.
Han Yan, CHN (D):Yan won JGP Cup of Austria and Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he won silver.
Jordan Ju, TPE: He finished 13th at both his Junior Grand Prix assignments this season. He placed 17th at Four Continents with personal best scores across the board.
Petr Coufal, CZE: He finished 8th at JGP Austria and 7th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 21st at World Juniors last season.
Keiran Araza, DEN: He finished 19th at JGP Austria and 24th at JGP Germany.
Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 36th at the World Championships last season. He finished 8th and 11th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 26th at World Juniors last season.
Bela Papp, FIN: He finished 14th at JGP Romania and 16th at JGP Germany. He placed 24th at World Juniors last season.
Romain Ponsart, FRA (D): He finished 5th at both his JGP assignments this season.
Armen Agaian, GEO:
Denis Wieczorek, GER (D): He placed 20th at Europeans with personal best scores across the board. He finished 5th and 15th at his two JGP assignments this season.
Harry Mattick, GBR: He finished 11th at JGP France and 9th at JGP Great Britain. He placed 39th at World Juniors last season.
Harry Hau Yin Lee, HKG: He finished 22nd at JGP Japan. He placed 43rd at World Juniors last season.
Saverio Giacomelli, ITA: He finished 27th at World Juniors last season.
Ryuichi Kihara, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Austria and won bronze at JGP Germany.
Kento Nakamura, JPN (D): He finished 9th at JGP Japan and 8th at JGP Czech Republic.
Keiji Tanaka, JPN: He finished 10th at JGP Great Britain.
Abzal Rakimgaliev, KAZ (D): He finished 26th at the Olympics and 21st at Worlds last season.He placed 13th at Four Continents with a personal best free skate and total score. He won bronze at his first JGP assignment this season and placed 8th at his second assignment. He placed 11th at World Juniors last year.
Girts Jekabsons, LAT: He placed 46th at the World Championships last season. He finished 19th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 38th at World Juniors last season.
Saulius Ambrulevicius, LTU: He finished 38th at the World Championships with a personal best short program last season. He finished 13th and 16th at his two JGP assignments this season. He placed 32nd at World Juniors last season.
Ryan Zhi Jwen Yee, MAS: He finished 16th at JGP France and 21st at JGP Japan.
Boyito Mulder, NED: He finished 45th at the World Junior Championships last season.
Kamil Bialas, POL (D): He finished 18th at JGP Austria and 11th at JGP Czech Republic.
Dong-Won Lee, KOR: He finished 4th at JGP Romania and 11th at JGP Japan.
Vlad Ionescu, ROU: He finished 18th at JGP Romania and 12th at JGP Great Britain.
Zhan Bush, RUS (D): He won bronze at JGP Cup of Austria and silver at J. Curry Memorial to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 7th.
Artur Dmitriev, RUS: He finished 4th at JGP Germany and won silver at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 7th at World Juniors last season.
Gordei Gorshkov, RUS (D): Gorshkov finished 4th at JGP SBC Cup and won silver at Pokal der Blauen to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he finished 8th.
Francesc Palau, ESP (D): He finished 16th at JGP Great Britain.
Alexander Majorov, SWE (D): He finished 5th at JGP Japan and won bronze at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 8th at World Juniors last season.
Ondrej Spiegel, SWE: He finished 9th at JGP Romania and 10th at JGP Great Britain.
Tomi Pulkkinen, SUI: He finished 15th at JGP Japan and 14th at JGP Germany.
Suchet Kongchim, THA: He finished 17th at JGP France.
Engin Ali Artan, TUR: He finished 16th at JGP Romania and 23th at JGP Germany.
Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: He finished 13th at JGP Austria and 6th at JGP Czech Republic. He placed 29th at World Juniors last season.
Max Aaron, USA (D): Aaron won bronze at JGP Courcheval and silver at SBC Cup to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where he finished 4th.
Jason Brown, USA (D): He won silver at JGP Courcheval and finished 6th in Japan.
Keegan Messing, USA (D): He won gold at JGP Brasov Cup and placed 4th at Czech Skate to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final where he placed 5th. Messing finished 4th at the World Junior Championships last season.
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