After a slow opening to the series last week in Budapest, Hungary, a stronger American team rebounded at the Junior Grand Prix - Lake Placid this weekend.
Reigning U.S. junior champion Ross Miner won gold in his first Junior Grand Prix event by executing flawless triple Axels in his short and long programs. Though he made minor mistakes in both programs, his total competition score of 179.95 was more than enough to secure first place for him. He finished over 11 points higher than silver medalist Kento Nakamura of Japan. A relative unknown going in, Nakamura surprised many with effortless triple Axels and fantastic style and presentation. His overall score of 168.03 crushed his previous personal best by more than 40 points, and both Miner and Nakamura appear to be among the favorites to make the Junior Grand Prix Final in December.
There were no surprises in the ice dance event, as the brother/sister duo of Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani easily skated off with the gold medal. Their margin of victory? An astonishing 21.53 points over Canadian silver medalists Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill. The Shibutani's recorded personal best scores in all three phases of the competition in Lake Placid, and their Japanese folk dance (original dance) and tango free dance are the perfect vehicles to show off their maturity and technical prowess. Their total score of 175.95 would have placed them 10th at the senior World Championships last season.
The other two American teams in the event, Lauri Bonacorsi and Travis Mager, and Rachel Tibbetts and Collin Brubaker finished 3rd and 7th, respectively. For Bonacorsi and Mager, a bronze medal in their first JGP event sets them up as legitimate contenders for a Junior Grand Prix Final berth, as well as a junior National medal come January.
The story of the ladies event was without a doubt Kristine Musademba. In her third season of JGP competition, Musademba has acquired a newfound grace and maturity. Her "Claire de Lune" short program was a 54.48 point personal best for her, and put her nearly six points ahead of the rest of the field. A solid free skate to Saint-Saen's "Africa: Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra" was marred only by a fall on her second triple Salchow attempt. However, five completed triple jumps and level 3 and 4 footwork and spins contributed to her 92.91 point free skate (Technical Elements: 49.15, Program Components: 44.76). Musademba's overall score of 147.39 points was more than 10 points higher than silver medalist Ksenia Makarova of Russia, and marks her as a favorite for the JGP Final title and a top 6 finish at the U.S. Championships in Spokane in January.
The other American women in the event didn't fare as well. Taylor Firth finished third in the short program but dropped to eighth in the free skate en route to a 5th place finish overall. Junior National champion DeeDee Leng ended the event in 7th place, and a second Junior Grand Prix assignment for both girls now seems unlikely.
The Lake Placid JGP was home to the first pairs competition of the series. Canadians Kaleigh Hole and Adam Johnson took first in both the short and long programs by displaying secure throw triple and side-by-side triple jumps. Russia's Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov hung on to the silver medal despite a fifth-place free skate, while Japan's Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran fought back after a fifth-place short program to capture the bronze medal overall. Britney Simpson and Nathan Miller of the U.S. recorded the third best free skate but had to settle for 4th place overall. Still, they received some of the top Program Component Scores in both programs and could still make the JGP Final if they medal in their second event.
The Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series moves to Torun, Poland next week. American Christina Gao is among the top ladies competing there, but she will face tough competition from Japan's Kanako Murakami and Russia's Polina Agafonova. Minnesota-native Kate Charbonneau, the 2009 Canadian junior champion, will represent that country in her Junior Grand Prix debut.
7 comments:
While I generally agree with most of this post, I don't agree that Musademba is the favorite for the JGPF title - not yet. She's artistically much more pleasing than Shelepen is, but Musademba doesn't go clean very often (and didn't in LP) and Polina scored 10 more points in Budapest than Kristine did in Lake Placid. And there's still 5 more events to go in the series, so I'm not sure if you can say Kristine is the favorite for the JGP Final title yet.
I said "marks her as a favorite" for the title, not that she is the favorite. I think it will be her, Shelepen and Gao (if she makes it) battling it out for gold at the JGP Final.
Ah, I must have misread! ;)
I'm rooting for Polina Agafonova. I don't know if she'll even make it there, but she's got gorgeous basics, Caroline Zhang style spins, speed and tons of drama to her. I doubt she'll win and she might not even make it to the final, but she has tons of potential.
I think she has a great shot at a medal in Poland next week! Her spins are truly excellent and her jumps seem solid! The only thing I'm worried about with her is growth spurts...
I hope you are right.
Growth spurts are the main reason I try not to get too attached to any Junior skater...
Shelepen is stronger than Kristine. She's scored 10 more points higher than Kristine I believe has ever scored. And Shelepen is capable of doing more technically to boast her score. She'll be attempting her 3/3 in Estonia, and I have no doubt will be attempting one in the short.
Yes Kristine is more artistic but Polina is a way better jumper and is also better at making sure her levels are high.
Based on this weeks results it's very clear that the title is between Murakami and Shelepen. They have scored by far the highest on the JGP. This was not a fluke from Murakami. According to a youtube clip of a recent exhibition a month ago. apparently Shizuka Arakawa mentioned that Murakami's jump rotations are secure again.
I think it's a bit premature to say that the title is only between Shelepen and Murakami.
Shelepen is new to international competition, having only competed in one JGP event. Who's to say she won't succumb to pressure at her second event or the final? Remember Fujisawa last year? She was "supposed" to win the JGPF, but instead was upset by Becky Bereswill.
Ditto for Murakami. Yes, she was very strong in Poland, but, like Fujisawa last year, she was expected to medal at or win the Final, but then failed to medal at all.
I think most skaters would rather start without being completely perfect and then slowly build to peak at the bigger events like the Final and Junior Worlds.
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