The JGP made its sixth stop in Ljubljana, Slovenia this past weekend where 24 men, 36 ladies, and 15 ice dance teams looked to capture a spot in the JGP Final in December. The ISU livestreamed the entirety of the competition and uploaded select skaters’ videos to YouTube; additionally, the ITL YouTube channel now features playlists of the medalists’ and special shoutouts’ performances, which can be found here.
As the JGP series draws to a close, we have been able to see the tremendous progress skaters have made in both their programs, and their scores. Detailed protocols and complete results can be found here.
Men
🥇Petr Gumennik secured his spot in the JGP Final after winning his second gold medal in Ljubljana. His Short Program, skated to “Czardas”, showcased his impressive spins and strong technical ability, earning him a new personal best. His “Romeo and Juliet” Free Skate displayed a more dramatic side to his skating, and featured an impressive triple Axel-triple Loop combination. Petr’s next stop will be in Vancouver for the Final, where he will surely be a top contender for the podium.
🥈 Tomoki Hiwatashi followed up his second place finish at JGP Canada with another silver medal this weekend, and has guaranteed himself a place in the Final. Tomoki has great speed and flexibility, as shown in his Short Program. Although he struggled with under rotations in both programs, Tomoki’s Free Skate included a beautiful quadruple toe-triple toe and variety of intricate steps and transitions, which helped earn him a spot on the podium.
🥉 It was a tough battle for third, but a .01 difference in scores was enough for Koshiro Shimada to capture the bronze medal. His medal here, combined with his previous silver medal from the JGP Cup of Austria, means Koshiro is still in the fight to secure a spot in the JGP Final. His two programs demonstrated not only his versatility as a skater, but also his wonderful musicality. Koshiro has shown impressive growth this season, and we hope this continues in the remainder of the season.
Ice Dance
🥇 Avonley Nguyen/Vadym Kolesnik placed first in both segments, thereby winning the event and securing a ticket for the Final. This is only their second year on the JGP circuit, however they have shown significant improvement from last season. Their high quality elements all performed effortlessly, garnering positive GOE on each and every one, gave them the edge over their competitors at this event. They skated two very captivating programs, including their Free Dance which was set to a remix of "Demons" by Imagine Dragons and "Experience" by Ludovico Einaudi. They scored a total of 165.63, a personal best that is over 40 points clear of their PB from last season. We will be cheering them on in the final in Vancouver.
🥈Sofia Shevchenko/Igor Eremenko started off their season with a gold at the Cup of Austria, and secured a silver here which grants them a ticket to Vancouver in December. The medal they earned here is their seventh JGP medal, which is impressive considering it is only their third year on the circuit. While their Free Dance had an extended lift deduction, their dramatic performance to a medley of "Intro," "Witchdoctor," and "Lijo" was successful in captivating the audience’s attention. We wish this team best of luck in the Final.
🥉Polina Ivanenko/Daniil Karpov rounded off the podium, leaving the door open on the possibility of making the Final. They scored a total of 151.69, which is 25 points higher than their Personal Best of last season. Their Free Skate was set to a fun remix of “Peter Gunn”, and they delivered it well - their energy as well as the energy of the crowd was very much palpable. Best of luck to this team for the remainder of the season.
Ladies
🥇 This was Anastasia Tarakanova’s second JGP event, and was the determining factor to whether she could secure a spot on the Final. She delivered well, capturing gold, and combined with the silver she got in Richmond she has earned a ticket to the Final for the second year in a row to the Final. She skated an almost clean Short Program to "Querer," doubling what was supposed to be a triple Toe loop combination. In order to win she needed a clean Free Skate, and that was enough motivation for her to pull through to first place with a score of 190.05, very close to her Personal Best of 190.69 - the sixth highest total score of any junior lady. As the JGP Final draws closer, she will face pressure to defend her Bronze medal finish from last year.
🥈 Anna Tarusina captured a silver medal to match her other medal in Bratislava. She skated both programs clean, save for an underrotation and an edge call in her Free. Her Free Skate was set to an energetic and fun remix of "En Aranjuez con tu amor," and her fantastic expression and sharp movements conveyed the momentum of the music well. She earned a total score of 188.24, a Season’s Best for her. Despite having two second place finishes, her ticket to the JGPF is not yet certain - we will have to wait for the sixth and final JGP event to finish. There will be strong competitors for the remaining tickets (namely, Kanysheva and Trusova) at that event.
🥉 Rounding up the podium, we have Haein Lee who had an incredible showing for her first year on the circuit with this being her first JGP medal already. She also beat her personal best in both segments, skating a clean Short Program to "Never Enough," and an engaging Free Skate to “West Side Story,” which was clean save for a Flip edge call. Unfortunately, her placements are not sufficient for a spot to compete in the Final, however this 13 year old skater is already a promising talent and we cannot wait to see her in future competitions.
The JGP series will conclude next week with the JGP Armenian Cup. The JGP ISU YouTube channel will livestream the event beginning October 11th.
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