Kicking off this year’s Grand Prix circuit is Skate America once more, and the event in Allen, Texas saw a host of memorable performances, as well as some surprise medalists – read on for a more detailed look at what went down at the competition!
Results
Men
🥇 Ilia Malinin (USA)
🥈 Kevin Aymoz (France)
🥉 Kao Miura (Japan)
Women
🥇Wakaba Higuchi (Japan)
🥈 Rinka Watanabe (Japan)
🥉 Isabeau Levito (USA)
Ice Dance
🥇 Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson (GBR)
🥈 Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA)
🥉 Olivia Smart / Tim Dieck (Spain)
Pairs
🥇 Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (Japan)
🥈 Ellie Kam / Danny O’Shea (USA)
🥉 Alisa Efimova / Misha Mitrofanov (USA)
Men
Reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the USA won the men’s event with 290.12 points. His SP is to ‘Running’ by NF, and consists of interesting opening choreography which establishes the mood for the program. Although there was a step out from the quad flip, he was secure on the triple axel and came back even stronger for an impeccable quad lutz-triple toe later on. In his free skate to ‘I’m Not a Vampire’, he opened once more with a quad flip following a spread eagle, and pulled off the triple axel and quad lutz which followed. There were jump errors after, however: he popped the loop into a double, and stepped out of the triple lutz. Nonetheless, he produced a quad salchow-triple axel sequence near the end of his program which was enough to secure his win, and his commitment to improving his PCS score is also laudable.
Kevin Aymoz of France won the silver medal with 282.88 points, coming back from his struggles last season. The athleticism and buoyancy of his movements are highlighted in his ‘Everybody’ short program. Although there was a lean from the opening quad toe, he managed to add a double toeloop after it, and received strong grades of execution for his other two jumping passes. The explosive step sequence received a level four and +1.67 GOE, and showcased great projection towards judges and crowd. He is a captivating skater to watch when he manages to put it all together and deliver, and he produced the highest scoring free skate at the men’s event: he was evidently ecstatic about his comeback performances. He nailed two quad toeloops, and demonstrated a wide variety of movement types, integrating pauses with more flowing sections of choreography.
In third place was Kao Miura of Japan. His short program to Woodkid’s music shows his dedication to pushing his musicality and performance skills further which each passing season. He opened the skate with a quad salchow and triple toeloop, followed by a triple axel into spread eagle. He had great momentum into the quad toeloop, which was landed cleanly and was given a +2.99 grade of execution. The dynamic style of his skating was brought to the fore in his step sequence. His ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ free skate pushes him in a new artistic direction. He put out three quad jumping passes, including a quad toe-triple toe which opened the second half of the program. Miura delivered an expressive step sequence to the iconic theme of the film; he is skilled at building up energy and emotion in the concluding sections of his skates, and this works effectively with the composition of his program.
Nika Egadze of Georgia was fourth. He had a clean short program which put out two quad jumps and a triple axel. In the free skate, he fell from the opening quad lutz, but followed up with quad toe and quad salchow-triple toeloop, racking up TES points. He used the step sequence and choreo sequence to build up to the ending of the program. Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia was fifth in both the short and free programs and fifth overall. His SP to ‘Helix’ is energetic with strong beats, which enables him to play with the crowd and foreground his sense of musicality and rhythm. Every moment of the program is filled with choreography, yet in a way that doesn’t make it seem packed. He opened strongly with a triple axel, but had a slight lean on his final jumping pass, the triple flip. His free skate this season is to ‘La Bayadere’, and the ballet style suits his elegant and powerful style well. Vasiljevs is a skater who engages his whole body with every movement, and his use of arms paid homage to the ballet. He attempted a quad salchow, although it was downgraded, but had height on the following triple lutz-triple toe combination. The choreography integrates storytelling between the elements, creating a narrative within his program, and he closed out with a magnificent choreo sequence. Koshiro Shimada of Japan was sixth, and skated with charm in his short program to ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’. He had a strong start with the quad toe, but fell on the triple axel. His ‘Danse Macabre’ free skate has a very different feel and demonstrates his range of artistry, revealing his capacity to perform a darker style. He struggled with the take off for the salchow, earning 0 points for the element, and fell from the quad toe and triple flip. Nevertheless, he emulated the character well in step sequence: he is someone who really shines in character-driven performances.
Women
A surprise win in the women’s event came from Wakaba Higuchi of Japan, who finished in first place with 196.93 points. Her short program to the soundtrack of ‘Dune’ is a powerful program which she embodies with skill, capturing the tonality of Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack. She put out a double axel, and gathered speed into the triple-lutz triple toe combination which followed. She delivered a complex and dynamic step sequence which created a memorable and effective climax to the performance. In her free skate to ‘Nature Boy’ and ‘Running Up That Hill’, she showcased great distance on the opening double axel. The beginning section is musically challenging, with many pauses, but she delivered it convincingly and with attention to detail. She had a slight error coming out of triple lutz in second half of performance, but regathered focus and momentum thereafter to nail the following jumps. Her step sequence was great to watch, and was given a level four and +1.17 GOE: it captured the energy of the second song well.
It was a close second from compatriot Rinka Watanabe, who garnered a total of 195.22 points. Her short program this season is to ‘Moonlight Sonata’, and she puts her own interpretation of the music to the popular music choice. She opened her skate with a double axel, and followed up with a solid triple lutz and triple loop-triple toe combination. She hit the accents of the faster section of the piece well with her step sequence, timing her movement with skill and accuracy. She opened once more with a double axel in the free skate. She was solid on most of her jumps, although two jumps were marked for rotation.
Isabeau Levito of the USA was first after the short program, but fifth in the free skate to win the bronze medal overall with 194.83 points. Her Breakfast at Tiffany’s themed ‘Moon River’ short program sees the elegance and poise of her skating style mesh perfectly with the music choice. She demonstrated a beautiful spiral between her first and second jumping passes. There was a change of energy into the more upbeat section of her program, which accompanied the step sequence. She had greater difficulty in her ‘Liebestraum’ free skate, with four jumps not fully rotated, and a fall from the triple lutz in the second half of the program. Nevertheless, the choreography showcases her wonderful lines in her skating, and she embodied the flowing classical piece with attentiveness.
Nina Pinzaronne of Belgium comes into this season after the success of last season including qualification for the Grand Prix Final and a medal at Europeans. She was fourth at Skate America, but put out the second highest scoring free skate. Her short program had great transitions into and out of the elements, and picked up on the nuances of the music. Her free skate opened with a voiceover, and consists of music from the Handmaid’s tale, as well a nocturne by Eric Christian. She was solid on her jumps, although three were marked for rotation; she secured level fours on all spins and the step sequence.
Bradie Tennell of the USA returned to the Grand Prix stage this season with a fifth place finish. She opened her short program with a triple lutz-triple toe combination, and landed the double axel in time with the music. Her free skate was to ‘Turandot’, and she nailed all the jumps in the first half of the program. She emoted well during the step sequence, and demonstrated a great Ina Bauer in the choreo sequence to the rousing music of Nessun Dorma. Yuna Aoki of Japan was tenth after a difficult short program, but came back very strongly in the free skate to finish seventh.
Ice Dance
Taking what was perhaps a surprise gold medal for many were Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain with 206.38 points. They skated to ‘Le Freak’ and ‘Superstition’ in their rhythm dance, and were clean, although they lost out on some base value points due to lost levels. Their free dance this season is to music by Beyonce, and they opened with a choreo spin move, which was well-timed to the beats of ‘Halo’. They displayed creative and effective choreography into their twizzles, and skilfully switched the mood of the performance going into the second half of the skate. Both skaters thrive in really selling a program to the audience, and the second section to ‘End of Time’ plays to these strengths. They equally got the crowd going in the final few elements of their FD to Crazy in Love to close out a clean performance.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA won the silver medal in front of the home audience. They were second in the rhythm dance but first in the free dance, and had a total of 205.63 points. They had a fall in the rhythm dance which proved a costly error, reducing their TES to 42.49 and placing them behind Fear and Gibson after the first day; they secured level fours in the twizzles, lift, and midline step. In their free dance, they skated to music by Miles Davis, as well as ‘Take Five’: the iconic jazz number is conveyed effectively by the team, who committed to the style in their movements; the curve lift matched the vocals of the piece.
Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck of Spain were the bronze medallists of the event, rising from fifth place after the rhythm dance for a 189.44 point finish. Their free dance was a highlight; skating to the soundtrack of Dune, they capture the atmosphere and feel of the universe with skill, and used the stationary and rotational lifts in the program’s beginning to immerse the audience in their performance. They skated with intensity and focus, and were well-matched in their level-four twizzles. The free dance saw them close out a clean program with an emphatic ending.
Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Georgia were third after the rhythm dance, but dropped to fourth place overall. Their free dance demonstrated a difficult entry into their twizzles, and an acrobatic position in the curve lift. Leah Neset and Artem Markelov of the USA entered the competition as reigning junior world champions in their senior Grand Prix debut, and finished in fifth place, delivering the fifth-highest free dance. Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek finished in sixth place, just 0.04 points behind Neset and Markelov.
Pairs
Winning the pairs event were the 2024 World silver medallists and favourites to win Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, with 214.23 points. Skating to Paint it Black in the short program, they delivered a clean skate, with their signature difficult kneeling exit from their lift. They nailed the throw triple lutz with +1.82 GOE, and displayed an expressive step sequence which demonstrated good synchrony and power, and was given a level four. For their free skate, they performed to Benjamin Clementine’s ‘Adios’, which is an intense, fast-paced piece, and complements the speed with which the two cover the ice. They showcased a well-timed side-by-side jump combination consisting of a 3T-1A-2A; even though there was a fall from the throw triple loop, the throw triple lutz further on in the performance was nailed. Miura and Kihara demonstrated an effective change in mood and tempo of music which opened the second half of their skate, and built back the intensity in the final few moments of the program through their choreo sequence.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea of the USA won the silver medal with 201.73 points. In their ‘Rain, in Your Black Eyes’ short program, they opened with a level-four triple twist, and strong side-by-side triple salchows. There were complex transitions into the throw triple loop, which was however landed slightly off balance and therefore received a GOE of -0.86. Their free skate was to ‘Stand by Me’, and once more they nailed the triple twist, with remarkable flow into and out of the element. They struggled slightly with the two throw jumps and the side-by-side jump combination, but closed out strongly, with great speed and transitions in their group four lift as the penultimate element of their performance.
Fifth after the short program but third in the free skate to win the bronze medal overall were Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov of the USA with 191.51. They pulled off a throw triple loop in the short program, and demonstrated a good connection with the music in the step sequence, marking the accents and percussive beats of the piece in their movement. Their free skate to ‘Je suis malade’ had only one element with a negative GOE, the side-by-side double toeloops. Their throw jumps were strong, and they used the lifts to highlight the emotive swell of music.
In close fourth, with 191.43 points, were Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia, the reigning Junior World champions. In their short program to ‘Why’ by Bronski Beat, they were clean on their triple twist, and nailed the throw triple flip and side-by-side salchows which followed. They had more difficulty in the free skate: though they opened strongly with the triple twist once more, there were errors on both of their side-by-side jumping passes, and slipped on the death spiral, which voided the element and was a costly error that lowered their TES. Regardless of this mistake, they maintained their concentration to deliver a clean rest of the performance thereafter.
To watch the video of our Skate America livestream and a more-in depth recap with Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez, click here.
Photos provided by Naomi Jiang.
