ISU Junior Grand Prix Series Wraps Up in Armenia
Yerevan, Armenia (October 7, 2023) – The last event in the 2023 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating wrapped up Saturday in Yerevan, Armenia with six young Canadian skaters gaining valuable international experience for the rest of the season.
In ice dance, Alisa Korneva and Kieran MacDonald of Waterloo, Ont., who were making their international debut as a team, finished fifth overall with a total score of 133.26, while Auréa Cinçon-Debout of Montreal and Earl Jesse Celestino of Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., finished eighth with a total score of 113.97.
“I think we were a bit nervous at the beginning, but I think today we pulled it back together. Today we were more calm because the first program was done,” said MacDonald following the free skate. “Our goal was to just skate together at this competition. In training we’ve really been working on moving together and not forcing things.”
Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov of Israel won gold with a total score of 170.33, while Elliana and Ethan Peal of the USA took silver with a total score of 155.83 and Noemi Maria Tali and Noah Lafornara of Italy took bronze with a total score of 146.04.
In the men’s competition, David Li of Richmond, B.C., who was skating in his second Junior Grand Prix event this season after finishing 8th in Austria, had the top Canadian result, finishing seventh with a total score of 168.54. Li has struggled a bit with his short program so far this season – he was sitting in 11th place heading into the free skate, but a strong free skate where he placed sixth, bumped him up to finish seventh.
“I came to Armenia a little later than I expected, so I had a little bit less time to prepare, but overall, I gained some good experience with how I can progress and how I can improve,” said Li who arrived a day later than expected due to travel delays. “The short wasn’t ideal, but after practice the next day, I decided to come into the free skate with more attack.”
Shohei Law of Vancouver, B.C., who was skating in his first Junior Grand Prix event, finished 10th with a total score of 155.67.
Danel Martynov of the USA won gold with a total score of 220.09, while Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan took silver with a total score of 214.67, and Fedir Kulish of Latvia took bronze with a total score of 205.23.
This event sees the conclusion of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Next up will be the Grand Prix finals which will be held in Beijing, China from December 7th to 10th.
For full results please click here: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season2324/jgparm2023/
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