Canadian Pairs Place Sixth at ISU Junior Grand Prix

GDANSK, Poland – The new Canadian pairs combo of Chloe Panetta and Kieran Thrasher took sixth spot on Friday at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

It was a Russian medal sweep in the event led by Ekaterina Chikmareva and Matvei Ianchenkov who roared from fourth after the short program to take the gold with 171.97 points. It was their second victory this season.

Panetta and Thrasher, in their first season together and at their first Grand Prix, finished with 129.75 points. Although they were also sixth after their short program, there was no doubt in their minds the free skate was vastly superior.

‘’This was almost an exact replica of what we’ve been doing in training the past two weeks so we are very proud of what we’ve done,’’ said Panetta, 18 from Oakville, Ont., about the free skate. ‘’We were happy to bounce back from a more tentative short program.’’

‘’That nervousness left after that first program and it really showed,’’ added Thrasher, 17, from Amherstburg, Ont.

The Russians were 1-2 in the women’s event. Sofia Akateva took the gold for her second win this season and Elizaveta Kulikova was second.

Catherine Carle of Georgetown, Ont., climbed from 10^th after the short program to ninth overall.

In ice dancing, two Canadian couples in their first season on the circuit gained more valuable experience. After Friday’s rhythm dance, Chaima Ben Khelifa of Laval, Que., and Everest Zhu of Contestogo, Ont., are 11^th and Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang of Burnaby, B.C., are 12^th.

The free dance is on Saturday. Canada has no entries in the men’s event.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2122/jgppol2021/