The gold medalists at the last JGP event in Yerevan (ARM), Mao Shimada (JPN), Daniel Martynov (USA) and Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov (ISR) took the last available tickets for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, that will take place on December 7-10, 2023 in Beijing (CHN).
Supreme Shimada (JPN) soars to gold
Reigning ISU World Junior Champion Mao Shimada of Japan once again soared to gold and celebrated another confident victory. Skating to “Americano”, the 14-year-old came first in the Short Program with a clean performance. Shimada opened her Free Skating to “Benedictus” with a triple Axel, but it was under-rotated. The Japanese Skater fell on the quad toe, but rallied back to pull off seven clean triple jumps and excellent spins. At 209.81 points the ISU Junior Grand Prix Champion won with 33 points to spare.
Mao Shimada (JPN) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
“I am happy, but a little bit sad because I made a mistake on the quad toe,” Shimada commented. For the Final her goal is clear: “I want to land the triple Axel and the quad”, she stated.
Silver medalist Elyce Lin-Gracey (USA) and bronze medalist Sherry Zhang (USA) became the only Women’s medalists in the ISU Junior Grand Prix this season who did not represent Korea, Japan or Chinese Taipei. Lin-Gracey turned in a strong Short Program and ranked second. The Skater from California produced five triples in her Free Skating, but missed a triple loop. Nevertheless, she held on to second place (176.11 points). Zhang placed second in the Free Skating, but overall remained in third at 175.18 points. Lin-Gracey and Zhang won their first medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix.
Mao Shimada is now headed for her second ISU Junior Final where she hopes to defend her title. She is joined by Jia Shin (KOR), Ami Nakai (JPN), Rena Uezono (JPN), Yuseong Kim (KOR) and Minsol Kwon (KOR).
Elyce Lin-Gracey (USA), Mao Shimada (JPN), Sherry Zhang (USA) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
Martynov (USA) wins first JGP gold and goes to Final
Daniel Martynov (USA) celebrated his first win on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and secured himself a spot in the ISU Junior Final. Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan claimed the silver and the bronze went to Latvia’s Fedir Kulish.
Daniel Martynov (USA) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
Martynov took the lead with a solid Short Program to “Dawn of Faith” that included a triple Axel. Performing to “Iron” in the Free Skating, the American made sure to take the gold by hitting six triple jumps and level-four spins. The son of former Ukrainian Skater Evgeni Martynov set a new personal best with 220.09 points. “My main focus was honestly not to think about the Final, just to stay focused on the job I needed to do here which was to skate clean”, Martynov junior revealed. He now hopes to upgrade the difficulty. “(My goal is) to get competitions under my belt with a few quads. I want to have that experience and want to see where I can podium this season, maybe try a few competitions in seniors”, the 17-year-old shared.
Nakamura landed the only quadruple jump of the event, a quad toe, in his Free Skating, but lost some points on spins and a popped Axel. The Japanese ranked third in the Free Skating segment but the silver medal was not in danger (214.67 points). Nakamura was a Junior Grand Prix Finalist in the past season, but as he ranked only eighth in his first event, he did not qualify this time.
Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
Kulish, who was born in Ukraine, but now lives in Latvia, took home his first medal from the Junior Grand Prix. Third in the Short Program, he beat Nakamura in the Free Skating segment, but did not move up (205.23 points).
In the Final, Daniel Martynov will meet Rio Nakata (JPN), Juheon Lim (KOR), Francois Pitot (FRA), Hyungyeom Kim (KOR) and Adam Hagara (SVK).
Tkachenko/Kiliakov (ISR) celebrate maiden victory
Israel’s Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov danced off with their first JPG gold medal and dominated the field in Yerevan. The JGP Osaka silver medalists had a strong start with their Rhythm Dance to “Oh Yeah”, “Desire” and “The Race” by Yello, earning level threes and fours for their elements – except for his part on the diagonal step sequence that was rated a level two. The team then turned in a flawless Free Dance to South American music to build their lead. They won with a new personal best score of 170.33 points.
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov (ISR), ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
“We’re very thrilled, very happy that our work is paying off,” Kiliakov commented. The team, that is coached by Kiliakov’s father, posted the highest Free Dance score of the entire JGP this season with 101.81 points and showed a lot of improvement since the ISU World Junior Championships 2023 where they placed 11th. “We’ve just been trying really hard to put something a little new out there, more contemporary programs. Besides that, it’s a lot of work on our own skills like everything being together with certain new elements. There were a lot of moments where it’s all that new stuff and we’re not sure if it’s working out. But then it all came together,” Kiliakov explained.
Elliana and Ethan Peal (USA) had chosen “Lord of the Rings” for the Free Dance and placed second to earn their second JGP medal this season after a bronze in Linz (155.83 points). Italians Noemie Maria Tali/Noah Lafornara pulled up from fourth to take the bronze at 146.04 points in what was their first JGP event of their career.
Noemi Maria Tali and Noah Lafornara (ITA), ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Yerevan (ARM) 2023. @ISU
Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov qualified for the Final with their gold and silver from their two events and are joined in Beijing by Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA), Darya Grimm/Michail Savitskiy (GER), Mariia Pinchuk/Mykyta Pogorielov (UKR), Yahli Pedersen/Jeffrey Chen (USA) and Celina Fradji/Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA).
Three different ISU members took the gold medals in Yerevan with Israel, Japan and the USA. With a total of four medals, the USA was the most successful country. Japan got two medals while Israel, Italy and Latvia had one each.
A total of 77 Skaters/Couples representing 33 ISU Members competed in Armenia.
The ISU Junior Grand Prix features each year about 300 talented young Skaters aged 13 to 19 (21 for the male Ice Dance and Pair Skating partners) from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Oceania as well as Africa. Skaters/Couples earn points according to the results in each event and the top six in each discipline will advance to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, which will take place in Beijing (CHN) on December 7-10.
Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
The 2023/24 season marks the 26th edition of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating which was introduced in 1997. The Series was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020/21 season.
Junior Grand Prix Standings
Men Women Ice Dance Pair Skating
The International Skating Union (ISU) has supported the Skating Federation of Ukraine since the start of the war, implementing ISU Communication 2469, and also granting financial support to assist Ukrainian Skaters. The ISU reiterates its sympathy for and solidarity to all affected by the War in Ukraine. The ISU maintains its condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms.The ISU Council met on June 9-11, 2023 and discussed the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendations of March 28, 2023 for International Federations on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarussian passport in international competitions.The ISU Council decided to explore the feasibility issues with regard to potential pathways to implement the IOC recommendations within ISU Sports.The Council will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and its impact on the ISU activity as well as the decisions and their implementation within the Olympic Movement. In the meantime, ISU Communication 2469 remains in force.
Where to Watch
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries.
Subscribe to the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #JGPFigure.
ISU Junior Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
23 - 26 Aug 2023 Bangkok/THA
30 Aug - 2 Sept 2023 Linz/AUT
6 - 9 Sept 2023 Istanbul/TUR
13 - 16 Sept 2023 Osaka/JPN
20- 23 Sept 2023 Budapest/HUN
27 - 30 Sep 2023 Gdansk/POL
04 - 07 Oct 2023 Yerevan (ARM)
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