Leah Neset and Artem Markelov (USA) win the Junior Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) celebrated a confident victory as the Junior Ice Dance event concluded at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Saturday in Beijing (CHN). The Final features the top six Skaters/Couples per discipline from the seven events of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. .
Neset/Markelov’s (USA) golden Junior Final debut
Leah Neset/Artem Markelov (USA) celebrated a confident victory with almost nine points to spare in their debut at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Israel’s Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov took the silver medal, the first one for Israel in the Junior Final. The bronze went to Darya Grimm/Michail Savitskiy of Germany, which is another first for their country.
Neset/Markelov delivered a strong performance to “Anywhere, Anytime”, showing off nice flow and unison. They collected a level four for the twizzles, combination lift and dance spin to set a personal best score of 104.61 points. Overall they accumulated 177.09 points.
“We are very happy and grateful for this experience and that we were able to show a good performance,” Neset said.
“We are thankful for our coaches and parents for always being there for us. We tried to do our best and we are so glad to have put our a skate we are proud of,“ Markelov added.
Tkachenko/Kiliakov’s “Ghost Dance” to South American music was highlighted by a straight line-stationary lift and level-four twizzles. The JGP Armenia Champions picked up 100.64 points for a total of 168.78 points.
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov (ISR) in the Junior Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
“We are extremely grateful that all of our hard work has paid off and we have been able to made this progress for the Israeli Federation,” Kiliakov noted. “At the end, there was a big release of emotion. We really want to work on the small details now.”
Tkachenko added: “It was a goal of mine to compete at the Grand Prix Final and it feels good to have it come true. We take a lot of pride we can represent Israel.”
Performing to a modernized version of “Habanera”, Grimm/Savitskiy impressed with a rotational lift, straight line lift and a level four dance spin. The JGP Austria Champions set a season’s best of 92.92 points which added up to 159.41 points.
Darya Grimm and Michail Savitskiy (GER) in the Junior Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
“We are delighted to have qualified for the Grand Prix Final and to have had two solid performances here.
“It is an honor to have won the bronze medal. We can be proud and hopefully we can set an example for future generations of German skaters and for the German Federation to continue to support the athletes,” Savitskiy said.
“We are proud of ourselves. It is a great experience to be here,” Grimm said.
Celina Fradji/Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA) came fourth with their Tango routine (153.42 points) followed by Mariia Pinchuk/Mykyta Pogorielov (UKR) on 147.23 points and Yahli Pedersen/Jeffrey Chen (USA) with 144.57 points.
Full results are available here.
Schedule of the event
Friday, December 8: Junior Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Women’s Short Program & Rhythm Dance
Saturday, December 9: Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Women’s & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consisted of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN).
A total of 154 Skaters/Couples competed in the series: 46 Men, 43 Women, 29 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2023/24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
ISU Grand Prix Standings
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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Selection Criteria
For a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
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