Sheffield, Great Britain

Banner WSTSSC Long

#FigureSkating  

 PAIRS Frazier 1

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier (USA) strike gold in the Pairs Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU

Reigning ISU World Champions Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier (USA) continued their winning ways and skated off with the gold at the MK John Wilson Trophy. Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii of Italy earned the silver medal while Germany’s Letizia Roscher/Luis Schuster took the bronze, the first ISU Grand Prix medal of their career. 

It was not such a smooth ride for overnight leaders Knierim/Frazier. Skating to “Sign of the Times”, the  Champions completed a triple twist, big throw triple flip and difficult lifts. However, Knierim struggled with the side by side jumps toeloop and Salchow. Nevertheless, the couple from California set a season’s best with 129.97 points and won clearly with 205.85 points. With two victories on the circuit, the Americans qualified for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final next month in Torino (ITA).

“I am very proud of how Alexa and I fought this weekend. It was a fight on some of our elements today,” Frazier admitted. “But I feel like we are progressing each time we go out from short to long, from Skate America till where we are this week,” he continued. 

“So that's the goal right now, to get back in competition shape and keep improving. Always so proud of how we fight from the beginning to the end.”

Performing to “Cinema Paradiso”, Conti/Macii started strong with a triple twist, triple Salchow-Euler-double Salchow, triple toe and throw triple loop.

PAIRS2 Conti

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (ITA) take silver in the Pairs Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU

 Their only major error came about when they aborted their last lift. The Skate Canada bronze medalists scored 115.50 points for a total of 184.19, taking their first silver medal at the Grand Prix circuit, and have a good chance to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in their home country. 

“We had a big problem with our last lift, but the other elements were super quality,” Conti said. 

“The last lift angers us, because we can do it so easily. It is a timing entrance - that is where the problem came. We know where we missed and where to work. That is the most important thing,” Macii added. 

“We have a good chance to get to the final. We tried to do our best. We never thought about having one medal and we got two. If we go to the final, it will be even more amazing.” 

However, being on home turf, he feels, will not be to their advantage. 

“We don’t like competing in Italy so much, with so many friends and family around,” he admitted. 

The young team of Roscher/Schuster stood in third in the Short Program at Skate America last month and then dropped to seventh after several errors. This time around, the Germans did not let their medal chance slip away. 

PAIRS3 Roscher

Letizia Roscher and Luis Schuster of Germany take bronze in the Pairs Free Skating in the ISU Grand Prix in Sheffield (GBR) © ISU

 Standing in third again, they delivered a solid performance to “Experience” and “Every Ending Is a Chance” that was highlighted by their lifts, a triple twist and a double Axel-single Axel-double toe combination. The couple posted a personal best of 107.13 points which added up to 167.37 points overall. 

“At Skate America, it was a shock for us that we could reach a medal and we lacked the mental focus. Now it was also a bit shaky, but we held our focus in the free skating. It helped us a lot that we had the same situation as at Skate America,” Schuster said. 

Roscher agreed: “We learned a lot from Skate America, we got a lot of experience. We had a lot of motivation for training to get better - to make the elements cleaner.”

Anastasiia Metelkina/Daniil Parkman (GEO) remained in fourth place at 165.60 points while Irma Caldara/ Riccardo Maglio (ITA) pulled up from sixth to fifth at 160.23 points. 

Schedule of the event

The schedule is as follows:
Friday, November 11:            Pairs & Men’s Short Program
Saturday, November 12:       Women’s Short Program, Rhythm Dance, Pairs & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 13:          Women’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Exhibition Gala

The MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield (GBR) November 10-13, 2022, is the fourth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Great Britain hosts an ISU Grand Prix (senior level) event for the first time.

More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the Series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.

The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

Selection Criteria

In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.

Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).

Grand Prix Standings

Men                  Women             Ice Dance         Pair Skating

Where to Watch

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.

Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #GPFigure.

 

ISU Grand Prix Schedule

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:

21 - 23 Oct, 2022          Skate America, Norwood (USA)

28 – 30 Oct, 2022         Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)

04 - 06 Nov, 2022         Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)

11 - 13 Nov, 2022         MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)

18 - 20 Nov, 2022         NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)

25 - 27 Nov, 2022         Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)

08 - 11 Dec, 2022         Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)

 

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.