Aldridge and Eaton claimed their first JGP gold medal with a stunning Fiddler on the Roof free skate at JGP Lake Placid. Yanovskaya and Mozgov just missed the podium at Junior Worlds and finished behind Aldridge and Eaton. These two teams will be battling for the top spot with Aldridge and Eaton showing improvement and Yanovskaya and Mozgov needing cleaner performances to top their silver medal finish in Austria.
Several teams will be fighting for the final spot on the podium including JGP USA bronze medalists Poulin and Servant, Evdokimova and Bazin who finished 5th in France, Nagornyuk and Kovalenko who finished 6th in Estonia last season, Korotitskaia and Spodirev who finished 4th in France and Bruser and Lum who finished 5th in Lake Placid.
My podium predictions:
Gold: Aldridge/Eaton
Silver: Yanovskaya/Mozgov
Bronze: Poulin/Servant
Bios of the competitors:
Tkachenka/Gulitski, BLR: They placed 18th at JGP Latvia last season. Their personal best is 74.56. She is 14 and he is 16.
Bruser/Lum, CAN: They placed 5th at JGP USA. Their personal best is 115.56. She is 14 and he is 17.
Poulin/Servant, CAN: They placed 20th at Junior Worlds. They won bronze at JGP USA. Their personal best is 118.00. She is 17 and he is 21.
Konickova/Lang, CZE: They placed 18th at JGP Poland and 13th at JGP Romania. Their personal best is 80.48. She is 16 and he is 17.
Allik/Bellantuono, EST: They finished 12th in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds. They placed 10th at JGP USA. Their personal best is 93.15. She is 18 and he is 19.
Leininger/Caurel, FRA: They placed 9th at JGP Austria. Their personal best is 101.60. She is 17 and he is 17.
Zahklyupana/Flemin, FRA: This is their international debut.
Schiffner/Salatzki, GER: They placed 14th at JGP Estonia last season. Their personal best is 84.23. She is 16 and he is 18.
Smart/Buckland, GBR: They placed 17th at Junior Worlds. They finished 13th at JGP Austria and 12th at JGP Estonia last season. Their personal best is 106.46. She is 15 and he is 19.
Busi/Fabbri, ITA: They placed 12th at JGP Austria. Their personal best is 101.79. She is 18 and he is 19.
Uzurova/Ali, KAZ: They placed 22nd at Junior Worlds. They finished 7th at JGP Latvia and 15th at JGP Poland last season. Their personal best is 102.77. She is 15 and he is 17.
Evdokimova/Bazin, RUS: They finished 5th at JGP France. Their personal best is 116.81. She is 15 and he is 17.
Yankovskaya/Mozgov, RUS: They placed 4th at Junior Worlds. They won silver at JGP Austria. Their personal best is 146.96. She is 15 and he is 17.
Korotitskaia/Spodirev, UKR: They placed 4th at JGP France. Their personal best is 111.23. She is 15 and he is 18.
Aldridge/Eaton, USA: They are the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalists. They won gold at JGP USA. Their personal best is 141.14. She is 18 and he is 20.
Moore/Klaber, USA: They placed 8th at JGP France. Their personal best is 103.04. She is 16 and he is 18.
Nagornyuk/Kovalenko, UZB: They placed 25th at Worlds, 8th at Four Continents and 12th at Junior Worlds. They placed 8th at JGP Romania and 6th at JGP Estonia last season. Their personal best is 114.98. She is 16 and he is 20.
