Nagoya / Japan

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Russia’s Anastasia Skoptcova/Kirill Aleshin danced off with the gold medal as the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final continued in Nagoya (JPN) on Saturday. Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) claimed the silver medal and Sofia Polishchuk/Alexander Vakhnov, also from Russia, earned the bronze in what was their debut in the Junior Final.

Skoptcova/Aleshin put out a strong Tango, collecting a level four for their lifts, twizzles and the sin while the serpentine step sequence was rated a level three. The Muscovites achieved a season’s best with 87.74 points for a total of 153.61 points.

Carreira/Ponomarenko’s fluid dance to the ‘W.E.’ soundtrack was highlighted by difficult lifts and smooth footwork. The 2017 World Junior bronze medalists earned the same levels as Skoptcova/ Aleshin to set a new season’s best of 87.66 points. Overall, the Americans accumulated 151.76 points.

Performing to ‘Black Swan’, Polishchuk/Vakhnov produced a flawless dance as well and had a level four for four elements. They scored a season’s best as well with 85.87 points which added up to 149.04 points overall.

Sofia Shevchenko/Igor Eremenko (RUS) finished fourth on 144.38 points followed by Arina Ushakova/Maxim Nekrasov (RUS) on 141.88 points while Majorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) slipped from fourth to sixth on 141.28 points.