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36 skaters/couples from six ISU members have qualified for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Six skaters/couples per discipline qualified in the seven events of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Australia, Austria, Latvia, Belarus, Croatia, Poland and Italy.
Overview of the participants
Alexey Erokhov (RUS) and Alexei Krasnozhon (USA) top the standings in the Junior Men with two victories on the Junior circuit. Erokhov, who has a season’s best of 232.79 points, debuts in the Final while Krasnozhon (season’s best 225.48) was fifth in the 2016 Junior Final and is the only Junior man to return this season. The other qualifiers are Camden Pulkinen (USA), Mitsuki Sumoto (JPN), Makar Ignatov (RUS) and Andrew Torgashev (USA).
Russia dominated the Junior Ladies this season and qualified five entries for the Final. Alexandra Trusova and Sofia Samodurova won their two events and have a season’s best of 197.69 and 192.19 points respectively. They are joined by Alena Kostornaia, Daria Panenkova and Anastasia Tarankova. The sixth qualifier and the only one to return to the Junior Final this season is Rika Kihira (JPN).
World Junior Champions Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya/Harley Windsor (AUS/season’s best 190.31 points) and World Junior silver medalists Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii (RUS/191.58) return to the Junior Final. However, the top qualifiers are Daria Pavliuchenko/Denis Khodykin (RUS) and Apollinariia/Dmitry Rylov (RUS), who will debut in the Junior Final. Anastasia Poluianova/Dmitry Sopot (RUS) competed in the Junior Final before, albeit with different partners. World Junior bronze medalists Yumeng Gao/Zhong Xie (CHN) qualified for their first Junior Final.
The Junior Ice Dance event features 2017 World Junior bronze medalists Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA/season’s best 150.05 points), who are the only team to win their two Junior Grand Prix events as well as Anastasia Skoptcova/Kirill Aleshin (RUS/season’s best 150.78), who return to the Final after missing it last year. The other couples are all newcomers to the Final: Sofia Polishchuk/Alexander Vakhnov (RUS), Majorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN), Sofia Shevchenko/Igor Eremenko (RUS) and Arina Ushakova/Maxim Nekrasov (RUS).
The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (Junior & Senior) is as follows:
Thursday, Dec 7: Junior Pairs, Junior Men, Junior Ladies, Pairs & Men’s Short Programs, Short Dance
Friday, Dec 8: Junior Short Dance, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Ladies Short Program, Men’s Free Skating
Saturday, Dec 9: Junior Free Dance, Junior Ladies Free Skating, Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance, Ladies Free Skating
Sunday, Dec 10: Exhibition Gala
All relevant information such as entry lists and results, biographies, planned program content, quick quotes of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final are available on the ISU website here. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final is streamed live on the ISU Junior Grand Prix channel. Follow the discussion on social media by using #JGPFigure #FigureSkating.