Leah Neset and Artem Markelov (USA) win Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) came first in the Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance as the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final continued Friday in Beijing (CHN). The Final features the top six Skaters/Couples per discipline from the seven events of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.
Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) lead Junior Rhythm Dance
Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) danced to the lead in the Junior Rhythm Dance with Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov of Israel and Germany’s Darya Grimm/Michail Savitskiy coming second and third.
Top seeds Neset/Markelov confirmed their role as the favorites and put out a smooth dance to “Still Loving You” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You”, picking up a level four for the Rocker Foxtrot Pattern Dance, the straight line lift and the twizzles. The midline steps garnered a level three for her and a level two for him. The two-time ISU JGP Champions improved their personal best by almost four points with a score of 72.48 points.
“We've been working really hard on improving our performance especially, and the technical aspect, too,” Neset commented.
“I think it was nice to have a break (after the two JGP events) so we had more time to really work through the things we needed to improve. We just kept our normal training schedule and steadily prepared for the event,” she added.
Dressed in sunshine-bright yellow and hot pink costumes and portraying racing car drivers, Tkachenko/Kiliakov produced level-four twizzles, a level-four lift and level-four Rocker Foxtrot pattern sequence to score 68.14 points.
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov (ISR) in the Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
“We are very happy with our skate today. It’s amazing to have reached the final, it’s a new great accomplishment in our career,” Tkachenko noted.
“We worked really hard in getting more into character,” Kiliakov said about their car-racing themed program.
Grimm/Savitskiy’s dance to “Ticket to the Moon” included three level-four elements and the German Junior Champions set a new personal best score with 66.49 points. However, Savitskiy’s part of the midline step sequence was rated a level one.
Darya Grimm and Michail Savitskiy (GER) in the Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
“Overall we feel quite good about our skate today. After checking the protocol, I am definitely not pleased with getting level one on my step. I felt that it wasn’t a level four step, but I am a bit surprised to see level one,” Savitskiy said.
Celina Fradji/Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA) placed fourth at 61.60 points while Mariia Pinchuk/Mykyta Pogorielov (UKR) came fifth on 60.20 points. Yahli Pedersen/Jeffrey Chen (USA) were sixth after she fell during the Rocker Foxtrot pattern sequence that received no value (54.30 points).
Full results are available here.
Schedule of the event
Friday, December 8: Junior Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Women’s Short Program & Rhythm Dance
Saturday, December 9: Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Women’s & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consisted of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN).
A total of 154 Skaters/Couples competed in the series: 46 Men, 43 Women, 29 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2023/24 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.
ISU Grand Prix Standings
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.
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Selection Criteria
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).
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