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Anna Shcherbakova (RUS), Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha (CAN) and Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov have secured their spot in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final by winning the fourth event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Richmond, BC (CAN) this weekend.
Shcherbakova (RUS) bags second gold on the circuit
Russia’s Anna Shcherbakova claimed her second gold medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating and booked her ticket for the Final in Vancouver (CAN) in December. The 14-year-old took the lead in the Short Program “A Comme Amour” even though she fell on her triple Lutz-triple loop combination. The Muscovite risked a quad Lutz in her Free Skating to “Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso”, but she under rotated and fell. Unfazed, she went on to complete the remaining seven jumps, including two triple-triple combinations and level-four spins to win with 195.56 points. “I tried to approach the second (Junior Grand Prix) event the same way like the first one. But I made a serious mistake in the short program as I fell on the jump combination,” Shcherbakova said. “After the first Grand Prix we’ve worked a lot on the quad Lutz and it became much more consistent so that we included it into the program. I don’t have time to relax now, because there is still a lot of work left to do,” she added. Watch the interview for the ISU youtube channel with the champion here.
Her teammate Anastasia Tarakanova (RUS) came second, trailing the winner by almost five points (190.69). The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist made no major mistake, but she reduced her combination in the Short Program to a triple Lutz-double toe and included “only” one triple-triple combo in the free. Bronze medalist Rion Sumiyoshi (JPN) ranked seventh in the Short program as she fell on her triple toe-triple toe and on connecting steps, but she rallied back in the Free Skating with six clean triples to earn a medal in her debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix.
Gummenik (RUS) vaults from fourth on top of the podium
Petr Gummenik (RUS) vaulted from fourth place in the Short Program to take his first Junior Grand Prix medal and it was golden right away. The 16-year-old had missed the triple Axel in his Czardas Short Program, but then delivered a clean Free Skating to “Romeo and Juliet” that featured a rarely seen triple Axel-triple loop combination and a triple Lutz-triple toe combination. He scored 220.04 points. “I didn’t do a good Axel in the short program, but in the long it was good,” Gummenik commented. “It is very nice (to have won my first medal) and I am happy. I plan to include the quad Salchow into the program and to go to the (Junior) Grand Prix in Slovenia,” he added.
Tomoki Hiwatashi (USA) led after the Short Program and went for a quad toe-triple toe in the Free Skating, but he under rotated the quad and also struggled with a triple Axel to slip to second at 213.24 points. Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa moved up from fifth to take the bronze, his first medal on the circuit. He landed a quad toe-triple toe combination in the Free Skating (199.14 points). Stephen Gogolev (CAN), who won in Bratislava and was considered a favorite, made some errors in both programs and finished fifth.
Mishina/Galliamov (RUS) dominate Junior Pairs
Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov (RUS) added the second Junior Grand Prix gold medal to their resumé with strong performances and led the Russian Pairs to another podium sweep. The reigning World Junior bronze medalists made no mistake in their Short Program to “Party Like A Russian” and the only glitch in their Free Skating to “The Master and Margarita” was an under rotated triple Salchow. The team from St. Petersburg scored highly especially for their excellent triple throw jumps and totaled 187.71 points. "We skated quite well in both programs, but you can't say that the free was absolutely clean, because there was a mistake in the (jump) combination," Mishina said. "Compared to the event in Bratislava the competition in Canada was harder. There was big time difference and a long flight. Nevertheless, the short program was cleaner than in the first event. To have qualiied for the (Junior) Final is a motivation for us to improve the level of our skating. The competition in the Final will be much tougher", she continued.
Apollinariia Panfilova/Dmitry Rylov (RUS) came second behind Mishina/Galliamov like in the first event in Bratislava three weeks ago. Their Short Program was clean and the throws and lifts stood out in their Free Skating, but she fell on a double Salchow (178.18 points). Dariia Kvartalova/ Alexander Sviatchenko from St. Petersburg, took their first Junior Grand Prix medal with bronze on 144.32 points.
Lajoie/Lagha (CAN) golden on home ice
Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha of Canada struck gold on home ice and qualify for their second consecutive Junior Final with their gold from Richmond and their silver from the Cup of Austria in Linz. The team from Montreal danced to a confident lead in the Rhythm Dance set to three different Tango pieces and collecting a level four for the twizzles and the rotational lift as well as a level three for the Argentine Tango pattern and the midline step sequence. Lajoie/Lagha’s Free Dance to “Warsaw Concerto” featured four level-four elements as well as two level-three elements and the Canadians won with 17 points to spare at 166.52 points. “We enjoy every moment and move of it. It’s really nice to do,” Lajoie said about their Free Dance. You find the whole winners’ interview here.
Two Russian couples earned the silver and bronze medals and for both it was their first Junior Grand Prix podium finish. Polina Ivanenko/Daniil Karpov finished third in the Rhythm Dance but then overtook their teammates Ksenia Konkina/Alexander Vakhnov in the Free Dance as they got higher levels. They accumulated 149.39 points. Konkina/Vakhnov, who have been skating together only since spring, had 147.92 points.
Overall, 92 skaters and couples from 24 ISU members competed in Richmond 2018: 21 Junior Men, 28 Junior Ladies, 10 Junior Pairs and 11 Junior Ice Dance couples. The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series continues in two weeks in Ostrava (CZE). Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series are available on isu.org.
Junior Grand Prix livestream
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are live streamed on the official ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel. Additionally, all performances since 2011 are available on demand.
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