JGP Latvia Dance Preview

The Russians dominated the dance events on the JGP last season and I expect them to do just as well this season.  Their dance field is very deep and some of the top contenders from last season will be returning.  Kosigina and Moroshkin finished 6th at Junior Worlds after claiming two medals on the JGP.  With some of their competition moving up to seniors, they'll have their eyes on the podium at all of their events this season.  There will likely be three teams fighting for the remaining podium slots.  Poulin/Servant of Canada impressed at their lone event last season and just missed the podium.  Prochazkova and Ceska from the Czech Republic scored well in their two events but didn't make the medal stand.  Aldridge and Eaton from the United States finished off the podium in both their events but have done very well in summer competitions.  

One of the advantages the older competitors will have this season is that the short dance is a combination of Latin patterns.  The rhythm, feel and performance quality of Latin dances will be easier to understand and execute by the older skaters as they'll be able to grasp more of the nuances of the movement and show the sexy side that is essential to Latin styles.  One team to watch for is the young team of Tkachenka/Gulitski from Belarus.  At just 13 and 15, they have 5-6 more seasons of JGP eligibility and really have a chance to develop their skating and earn world ranking points.

My podium predictions:

Gold: Kosigina/Moroshkin

Silver: Poulin/Servant

Bronze: Aldridge/Eaton

Bios of the competitors are below.

Tkachenka/Gulitski, BLR: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 15.  

Poulin/Servant, CAN: They finished 4^th at JGP Germany last season.  Their personal best is 118.00.  She is 16 and he is 20.

Prochazkova/Ceska, CZE: They finished 9^th at JGP Germany and 6^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 116.32.  She is 17 and he is 18.  

Gassoumi/Le Molaire, FRA: They finished 9^th at JGP Japan.  Their personal best is 96.89.  She is 17 and he is 16.

Leininger/Caurel, FRA: They finished 12^th at JGP France last season.  Their personal best is 80.98.  She is 16 and he is 16.  

Muller/Gerke, GER: This is their JGP debut.  She is 15 and he is 20.  

Bagnall/Shanahan, GBR: This is their JGP debut.  She is 16 and he is 17.  

Bugrov/Rogov, ISR: They finished 15^th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  They placed 18^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 68.99.  She is 15 and he is 19.  

Uzurova/Ali, KAZ: They finished 17^th at Junior Worlds.  They placed 11^th at JGP Romania and 12^th at JGP Japan last season.  Their personal best is 101.98.  She is 14 and he is 16.  

Jakusina/Grishins TBC, LAT: This is their international debut.  She is 14 and he is 17. 

Pecherkina/Jakushin, LAT: They finished 17^th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  They placed 13^th at JGP Austria and 17^th at JGP Germany last season.  Their personal best is 86.93.  She is 18 and he is 20.

Carroll/Gerber, POL: They finished 22^nd at Junior Worlds.  They placed 10^th at JGP Romania last season.  Their personal best is 90.74.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Kosigina/Moroshkin, RUS: They finished 6^th at Junior Worlds.  They won bronze at JGP France and gold at JGP Germany last season to qualify for the JGPF where they finished 6^th.  Their personal best is 126.92.  She is 16 and he is 17.  

Morozova/Zhirnov, RUS: This is their JGP debut.  She is 14 and he is 16.

Demirsal/Akalin, TUR: They finished 16^th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  This is their JGP debut.  She is 16 and he is 16.

Nosulia/Kholoniuk, UKR: They finished 19^th at Junior Worlds.  They placed 5^th at JGP Austria and 10^th at JGP Germany last season.  Their personal best is 109.17.  She is 16 and he is 21.  

Aldridge/Eaton, USA: They placed 6^th at JGP France and 4^th at JGP Great Britain last season.  Their personal best is 110.00.  She is 17 and he is 19.

Gamelin/Gamelin, USA: They finished 16^th at JGP Germany last season.  Their personal best is 83.94.  They are twins and both 18.

JGP Latvia Pairs Preview

This is Sui and Han of China's event to lose.  They competed as juniors and seniors last season and medaled at the Grand Prix Final in addition to defending their Junior Worlds title.  They have throw quads in their arsenal and impressive lifts.  They should have an easy time winning here and preparing for their Grand Prix season.  Yu/Jin took home the bronze from the JGPF to add to their two JGP medals from the season and should also put up a strong showing here. A trio of veteran teams could be fighting it out for the last spot on the podium: Purdy/Marinaro from Canada, Petaikina/Kurduykov from Russia and Duarte/Grafton from the USA.  Young teams from China, Russia and the USA are also making their debuts and could snatch a medal.  The competition is tight for the last spot on the podium with so many teams looking to make their mark.

Podium predictions:

Gold: Sui/Han, CHN

Silver: Yu/Jin, CHN

Bronze: Petaikina/Kurduykov, RUS

Bios of the competitors:

Martini/Kiefer, AUT: They finished 21^st at Worlds, 15^th at Europeans and 16^th at Junior Worlds.  Their personal best is 100.87.  She is 18 years old and he is 20 years old. 

Purdy/Marinaro, CAN: The finished 10^th at JGP Great Britain and 9^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 129.29.  She is 16 and he is 19.

Li/Jiang, CHN: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 19.

Sui/Han, CHN: They are the 2010 and 2011 World Junior Champions.  They won silver at Cup of China and bronze at Skate America last season to qualify for the GPF where they won bronze.  They won silver at JGP Austria and gold at JGP Germany last season to qualify for the JGPF but they withdrew to focus on the senior competition.  Their personal best is 179.04.  She is 16 years old and he is 19.

Yu/Jin, CHN: The won bronze at JGP Austria and gold at JGP Czech Republic last season to qualify for the JGPF where they won bronze.  Their personal best is 140.58.  She is 15 and he is 17.

Krutskinkh/Morozov, RUS: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 18.  

Petaikina/Kurduykov, RUS: They finished 5^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 131.94.  She is 16 and he is 20.  

Tudvaseva/Lisiev, RUS: This is their international debut.  She is 13 and he is 18. 

Lundberg/Lundberg, SWE: They placed 12^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 95.15.  She is 16 and he is 19. 

Denney/Frazier, USA: This is their first season together since last competing as a team in 2008.  She is 15 and he is 18. 

Duarte/Grafton, USA: They placed 5^th at JGP Great Britain and 7^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Their personal best is 123.45.  She is 18 and he is 19. 

Oltmanns/Santillan, USA: They placed 11^th at JGP Austria last season.  She is 14 and he is 19.

JGP Latvia Ladies Preview

A third of these skaters (fourteen) are making their JGP debuts.  There are a few veterans who will be eyeing the top of the podium, however.  Zijun Li of China won a medal last season to earn a berth in the JGPF where she won bronze.  Polina Shelepen of Russia won two medals to join Li in the Final as did Yasmin Siraj of the United States.  Other contenders include Polina Agafonova of Russia who won the bronze medal at Junior Worlds back in 2010 and Miyabi Oba of Japan who impressed with an 8th place finish at Worlds in her international debut and will make her JGP debut here.  This is one of the most competitive ladies fields so far on the JGP and for many of these skaters, how they perform here will determine if they will qualify for a second competition.  With this tough of a field, it will be hard for a newcomer to sneak in and snag a medal.  

Podium predictions:

Gold: Polina Shelepen, RUS

Silver: Miyabi Oba, JPN

Bronze: Yasmin Siraj, USA


Bios of the competitors:

Taylor Dean, AUS: This is her international debut.  She is 15 years old.

Natascha Zangl, AUT: This is her JGP debut.  She is 16 years old.

Kristina Zakharanka, BLR: This is her JGP debut.  She is 14 years old.

Anais Claes, BEL: This is her JGP debut.  She is 16 years old.

Arijana Tirak, BIH: She placed 32^nd at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Her personal best is 45.49.  She is 15 years old.

Zijun Li, CHN: She placed 9^th at the World Junior Championships.  She won the bronze medal at JGP Austria and finished 4^th at JGP Czech Republic to earn a berth to the JGPF where she won the bronze medal.  Her personal best is 149.82.  She is 14 years old.  

Corinna Lijun Lin, TPE: This is her JGP debut.  She is 16 years old.

Gerli Liinamae, EST: She placed 13^th at Europeans and 15^th at Junior Worlds.  She finished 10^th at JGP France and 9^th at JGP Germany last season.  Her personal best is 133.73.  She is 16 years old.

Nea Viiri, FIN: This is her JGP debut.  She is 15 years old.

Lenaelle Gilleron-Gorry, FRA: She finished 7th at JGP France and 14th at JGP Austria.  Her personal best is 120.78.  She is 16 years old.

Christina Erdel, GER: This is her JGP debut.  She is 16 years old.

Heidbjort Arney Hoskuldsdottir, ISL: This is her JGP debut.  She is 15 years old. 

Margot Krisberg, ISR: She finished 26^th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She placed 26^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Her personal best is 88.00.  She is 16 years old.

Riona Kato, JPN: This is her international debut.  She is 13 years old.

Miyabi Oba, JPN: She finished 8^th at Junior Worlds.  This is her JGP debut.  Her personal best is 148.62.  She is 16 years old.

Regina Glazman, KAZ: This is her JGP debut.  She is 14 years old.

Alina Fjodorova, LAT: She placed 28^th at Junior Worlds.  She finished 15^th at JGP France and 12^th at JGP Germany last season.  Her personal best is 113.95.  She is 16 years old.

Ieva Gaile, LAT: This is her international debut.  She is 14 years old.

Karina Rutlauka, LAT: This is her JGP debut.  She is 15 years old.

Rimgaile Meskaite, LTU: She finished 14^th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  She placed 27^th at JGP Great Britain and 19^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Her personal best is 97.27.  She is 15 years old. 

Anine Rabe, NOR: She finished 15^th at JGP Great Britain last season.  Her personal best is 99.60.  She is 18 years old. 

Alexandra Kamieniecki, POL: She finished 27^th at Junior Worlds.  She placed 26^th at JGP Austria and 16^th at JGP Czech Republic.  Her personal best is 100.87.  She is 14 years old.

Ho Jung Lee, KOR: She placed 23^rd at Junior Worlds.  She finished 9^th at JGP Romania and 6^th at JGP Japan last season.  Her personal best is 122.86.  She is 14 years old.

Polina Agafonova, RUS: She is the 2010 World Junior bronze medalist.  She placed 7^th at JGP Austria and 4^th at JGP Germany last season.  Her personal best is 154.27.  She is 15 years old.

Polina Shelepen, RUS: She placed 7^th at Junior Worlds.  She won gold at JGP France and bronze at JGP Czech Republic to qualify for the JGPF last season where she placed 5^th.  Her personal best is 159.29.  She is 16 years old.

Sandra Ristivojevic, SRB: She finished 33^rd in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  This is her JGP debut.  She is 15 years old.

Dominika Murckova, SVK: She finished 25^th at JGP Germany last season.  Her personal best is 82.77.  She is 15 years old.

Patricia Glescic, SLO: She finished 20^th at Junior Worlds.  She placed 6^th at JGP Austria and 17^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Her personal best is 125.46.  She is 17 years old.

Josefine Taljegard, SWE: She placed 20^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  Her personal best is 104.63.  She is 16 years old.

Tina Sturzinger, SUI: She finished 22^nd at JGP France and 9^th at JGP Great Britain last season.  Her personal best is 110.23.  She is 15 years old.

Sila Saygi, TUR: She finished 26^th at Junior Worlds.  She placed 13^th at JGP France and 12^th at JGP Romania last season.  Her personal best is 118.94.  She is 15 years old.

Ashley Cain, USA: This is her JGP debut.  She also competes in pairs and finished 4th at Junior Worlds.  She is 16 years old.

Yasmin Siraj, USA: She won silver medals at JGP France and Great Britain last season to qualify for the JGPF where she finished 7^th.  Her personal best is 161.75.  She is 15 years old.

JGP Latvia Mens Preview

This is a relatively young field as 11 of the skaters are making their debut on the Junior Grand Prix.  None of the skaters here medaled last season on the JGP.  The big contendors will be Jiaxing Liu of China, Stanislav Pertsov of Ukraine and Viktor Romanenkov of Estonia.  Liu has competed in 4 JGP events and his best finish was 4th place.  Romanenkov has competed in 8 JGP events and his best finish was 8th place.  Pertsov has competed in 6 JGP events and his best finish was 6th place.  This experience should help them against the youngsters to earn their first medals.

Two new skaters to the JGP circuit could pull off the upset here.  Canada's Nam Nguyen and Emmanuel Savary of the USA are both 13 and newly eligible to compete on the Grand Prix.  Both competed as juniors nationally last season and have impressed with their skills at their young age.  Savary has one international event under his belt which he won in the novice division.  Nguyen has gained a lot of national fame which could cause him to rise to the occasion or feel the pressure.  If either of them skate clean, they could find themselves in medal contention.

Medal Predictions:

Gold: Jiaxing Liu, CHN

Silver: Stanislav Pertsov, UKR

Bronze: Viktor Romanenkov, EST

Bios of the competitors can be found below.   

Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He finished 21^st in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  He finished 17^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  His personal best is 125.77.  He is 15 years old.

Pavel Ignatenko, BLR: He finished 21^st at the JGP Dresden last season.  His personal best is 111.18.  He is 16 years old.

Nam Nguyen, CAN:  This is his international debut.  He is the reigning national junior champion.  He is 13 years old.

Jiaxing Liu, CHN: He finished 16^th at the World Junior Championships.  He placed 10^th at JGP Germany and 5^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  His personal best is 168.65.  He is 18 years old.

He Zhang, CHN: He finished 10^th at JGP Japan and 9^th at JGP Germany last season.  His personal best is 161.01.  He is 14 years old. 

Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 18^th at the World Junior Championships.  He placed 8^th at JGP Romania and 11^th at JGP Germany last season.  His personal best is 150.06.  He is 17 years old.  

Matthias Versluis, FIN: He placed 11^th at JGP Great Britain last season.  His personal best is 122.09.  He is 17 years old.

Charles Tetar, FRA: This is his JGP debut.  He is 16 years old.

Martin Rappe, GER: He finished 13^th at JGP Germany and 9^th at JGP Czech Republic last season.  His personal best is 145.95.  He is 18 years old.

Ryuju Hino, JPN: He placed 6^th at JGP France and 12^th at JGP Japan last season.  His personal best is 153.55.  He is 16 years old.

Sei Kawahara, JPN: He placed 10^th at JGP Romania last season.  His personal best is 135.51.  He is 15 years old. 

Abish Baytkanov, KAZ: This is his JGP debut.  He is 16 years old.

Maksims Kirilovs, LAT: This is his international debut.  He is 16 years old.

Devidas Kizala, LTU: This is his international debut.  He is 13 years old. 

June-Hyung Lee, KOR: This is his international debut.  He is 14 years old.  

Feodosiy Efremenkov, RUS: This is his international debut.  He is 15 years old.

Ilia Petrov, RUS: This is his international debut.  He is 15 years old.

Carlo Rothlisberger, SUI: This is his JGP debut.  He is 17 years old.

Osman Akgun, TUR: This is his JGP debut.  15 years old.

Stanislav Pertsov, UKR: He finished 15^th at World Juniors.  He placed 13^th at JGP Austria and 6^th at JGP Czech Republic.  His personal best is 161.92.  He is 18 years old. 

Timothy Dolensky, USA: This is his international debut.  He is 19 years old.

Emmanuel Savary, USA: This is his JGP debut.  He is 13 years old.