The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2015 continued in Tallinn, Estonia, on Thursday with the Short Dance and the Pairs Free Skating.
Anna Yanovskaya/Sergey Mozgov (RUS) dance to lead in Short Dance
Anna Yanovskaya/Sergey Mozgov of Russia danced to the lead in the Short Dance. Canada’s Mackenzie Bent/Garrett Mackeen came second and Lorraine McNamara/Quinn Carpenter (USA) are ranked third.
Yankovskaya/Mozgov put out an expressive dance to Samba, Rhumba and Samba and earned a level four for the twizzles and the straight line lift as well as a level three for the Silber Samba sequences and the side by side circular footwork. The reigning World Junior silver medalist set a new seasons best with 62.22 points. “We are very satisfied with today’s skate as it was the final short dance in the season. In Tallinn the atmosphere is wonderful, the audience is great and supports us always so much. The performance was emotional and technical”, Yanovskaya said.
Bent/Mackeen’s smooth dance to “Vida Loca” and “Straight to Memphis” was highlighted by precise footwork and a straight line lift. The Candians picked up a level four for the lift, the twizzles and both Samba sequences to score a personal best of 61.09 points. “The skate – we couldn’t have asked for much more”, Bent commented. “For us, this season was just a bunch of different stepping stones. It was our first Junior Grand Prix Final, which was a big learning lesson and as well senior nationals which was a big part of this season”, she continued.
Performing to African themed Samba and Rhumba, McNamara/Carpenter collected a level four for the twizzles and the lift while the Samba merited a level three and the side by side footwork a level two. The U.S. Junior Champions posted a personal best with 59.10 points. “It was everything we could have asked for. It was solid. We’re looking on to improve on how we did earlier this season and I think we did that”, McNamara told the post-event press conference.
Rachel Parsons/Michael Parsons (USA) are within striking distance of the podium in fourth place with 58.39 points. Alexandra Nazarova/Maxim Nikitin (UKR) placed fifth (55.77 points) followed by Madeline Edwards/Zhao Kai Pang (CAN/52.34 points).
27 Junior Ice Dance couples competed in the Short Dance and the top 20 qualified for the Free Dance.
Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin (CHN) repeat as World Junior Champions
Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin of China repeated as World Junior Champions in the Pairs event. Canadians Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau took the silver medal and the bronze went to Russia’s Lina Fedorova/Maxim Miroshkin.
Overnight leaders Yu/Jin completed a side by side triple toe, double Axel-double Axel sequence, triple twist, throw triple loop and throw triple flip as well as level-four lifts in their program to the “Creation” soundtrack. The Universiade Champions earned116.23 points and defended their title with 178.79 points overall. “I think we had a good performance technically, the elements were solid. This was good especially considering that we didn’t have much time to prepare the junior program. We skated in senior competitions all season. So we are pleased that we were able to show a good level today”, Jin explained.
Skating to “In Your Eyes” and “Wallflower” by Peter Gabriel, Seguin/Bilodeau produced a side by side triple Salchow, double Axel-double toe combination, throw triple Salchow and toeloop as well as six level-four elements. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champions scored 115.00 points and totaled 176.32 points to take the silver in their first World Junior Championship. “We really felt great on the ice today. We really focused on the performance and all the elements we did clean. We’re really proud of that. I think it’s a good way to end our last junior competition”, Bilodeau commented.
Fedorova/Miroshkin’s performance to “Khorobushko” was highlighted by a level-four triple twist, a throw triple loop and Salchow as well as difficult lifts, but she missed the triple toe and double Axel. The ISU Grand Prix Final silver medalists collected 96.06 points which added up to 154.33 points. The couple from Moscow won the bronze like they had in 2013. “This was another step towards our senior career. We’ll try our best. We’ll take it one thing at a time”, Miroshkin said. “We have to train more, to work more on the jumps to make them consistent”, Fedorova noted.
Anastasia Gubanova/Alexei Sintsov (RUS) remained in fourth place at 140.39 points. Caitlin Fields/Ernie Utah Stevens (USA) moved up from seventh to fifth place (138.62 points) and Ami Koga/Francis Boudreau Audet (JPN) came sixth (134.97 points).
The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2015 continue Friday with the Junior Men’s Short Program and the Junior Ladies Free Skating.