Skaters grab six last tickets for the Junior Final at ISU Junior Grand Prix Wuxi (CHN)

Wuxi, China

 

 

Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal (USA) compete during the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024 in Wuxi (CHN). @ISU

Five Single Skaters and one Ice Dance couple grabbed the last available tickets for the ISU Junior Final at the seventh and last event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series 2024/25 in Wuxi (CHN).  It was an exciting competition highlighted by spectacular performances and emotions. Winners Ami Nakai (JPN), Rio Nakata (JPN) and Elliana Peal/Ethan Peal (USA) left China not only with the gold medal but with their spot in the Junior Final.  

“Cinderella” Ami Nakai (JPN) shines golden  

It was an exciting battle in the Junior Women’s with five medalists from previous events competing that all had a good shot to make the Junior Final. In the end, 2023 ISU World Junior bronze medalist Ami Nakai (JPN) came out on top, followed by Yuseong Kim (KOR) and Yihan Wang (CHN) and all three medalists reached the Junior Final.

Nakai won the Short Program with a strong performance to “Les parapluies de Cherbourg”. Putting out a delightful performance to “Cinderella” in the Free Skating, the JGP Ankara silver medalist went for two triple Axels that were slightly underrotated and landed four more clean triple jumps to defend her lead (204.88 points).

“I tried so much in practice before I came here, so I had confidence throughout my program. I did all the program perfectly, so I’m happy,” Nakai noted. For the Junior Final, she especially wants to work on her triple Axel “to do it more easily to try and get the highest points in the Junior Grand Prix Final.”

Kim, the JGP Ankara gold medalist, landed the best triple Axel in the Junior Women’s Free Skating that night. The Korean ranked fourth in the segment but overall remained in second place at 192.23 points. Wang, the first Chinese Junior Woman to win an ISU JGP event earlier this season in Bangkok (THA), moved up from fourth in the Short Program to earn the bronze (192.11 points).

Sophie Joline von Felten (USA), the surprise winner of JGP Ljubljana the week before, struggled with her triple Axel and some other jumps in Wuxi and finished 13th losing her chance to make the Junior Final (150.25 points). JGP Bangkok silver medalist Yo Tagaki (JPN) placed fifth (185.45 points).

Ami Nakai (JPN) Yuseong Kim (KOR) Yihan Wang (CHN) ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024 Wuxi (CHN) 77327565

Ami Nakai (JPN), Yuseong Kim (KOR) and Yihan Wang (CHN) pose during the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024 in Wuxi (CHN) @ISU

Nakai, Kim and Wang will be joined in the Junior Final by Mao Shimada (JPN), Kaoruko Wada (JPN) and Stefania Gladki (FRA). Three-time ISU World Junior silver medalist Jia Shin (KOR) is the first substitute.

 

“Pirate” Rio Nakata (JPN) sails off with gold 

Rio Nakata (JPN) not only sail off with gold, but he did so with 25 points to spare. The reigning ISU World Junior silver medalist took the lead with a crisp Flamenco themed Short Program to “Aroul” and “Uccen”. Nakata built on this performance in his “Pirates of the Caribbean” Free Skating, reeling off a quad toe, two triple Axels as well as four more strong triple jumps to accumulate 233.53 points, a new personal best score. The defending ISU Junior Grand Prix Champion secured his spot in the Junior Final now with his gold from Wuxi and a silver from Bangkok.

“I was disappointed after Bangkok but that experience made me stronger and made me to want to practice a lot,” Nakata said. “I came here for my country and I wanted everybody to be happy after my program.”

For sure he succeeded with this and made his father and coach Makoto proud.

Rio shared another little story about his program:

“My dad skated to Pirates of the Caribbean and that made me want to skate to this music.”

Nakata junior had even secretly brought his dad’s “Pirate” costume and put it on for the awards ceremony.

Tonghe Tian (CHN) pulled up from fourth to take the silver medal, his second medal on the circuit this season after a bronze in Bangkok (207.95 points). The bronze in Wuxi went to Yanhao Li (NZL), who became the first Skater from New Zealand to win an ISU JGP event when he ranked first in Bangkok (where he had also beaten Nakata). Li now made a little bit of history again as the first Skater from New Zealand to qualify for an ISU Grand Prix Final, junior or senior.

Rio Nakata (JPN) , Tonghe Tian (CHN) and Yanhao Li (NZL) ISU Junior 2024 Wuxi (CHN) GettyImages 2177169937

Rio Nakata (JPN), Tonghe Tian (CHN) and Yanhao Li (NZL) pose during the ISU Junior Grand Prix 2024 in Wuxi (CHN). @ISU

In addition to Nakata and Li, the other Junior Men finalists are Jacob Sanchez (USA), Sena Takahashi (JPN), ISU World Junior Champion Minkyu Seo (KOR) and Lukas Vaclavik (SVK).

 

Elliana Peal/Ethan Peal (USA) celebrate first JGP victory

A year ago, Elliana and Ethan Peal missed the ISU Junior Final narrowly and it was a big goal for them to make it this season. And they did! The brother and sister team had to wait for the last event to make it happen. They danced to the gold and to the Junior Final with two excellent performances to “Boogie Shoes” and “Dance to the Music” in the Rhythm Dance and to the “Pearl Harbor” soundtrack in the Free Skating. The U.S. couple also celebrated their first ISU JGP victory and to top it off, they set new personal best scores in both segments (160.50 points).

The siblings shed tears of joy when they saw they had won.

“Leading up to this competition, we put so much effort and time into really working after Thailand and to see our work finally pay off not just internationally but also to show everyone in the US that we can do it and we can go far has really just been very emotional,” Elliana Peal shared.

The “Pearl Harbor” Free Dance is very meaningful for the young couple. “

We really wanted to portray a story again. We’ve always done a more theatrical program and we tried shifting away from that for a few years and we really found the love and came back to doing theatrical-ish programs. So it was kind of an emotional piece and we wanted to tell the story of Pearl Harbor,” Elliana Peal explained.

“For us, there is a family tie to the Pearl Harbor,” Ethan Peal pointed out. “We wanted to do something more serious and take that next step as we prepare for senior.”

Ambre Perrier Gianesini/Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) were third in the Rhythm Dance but then won the Free Skating segment with their smooth dance to “Beau Soir” by Claude Debussy and “La Bohème” to come second overall. It was the first medal on the JGP circuit for the French team. Chloe Nguyen/Brendan Giang (CAN) claimed the bronze, the second JGP medal of their career after a silver at JGP Linz in 2023.

Peal/Peal will meet the following couples in the Junior Final: Noemi Maria Tali/Noah Lafornara (ITA),  Iryna Pidgaina/Artem Koval (UKR), Celina Fradji/Jean-Hans Fourneaux (FRA), Katarina Wolfkostin/Dimitry Tsarevski (USA) and Darya Grimm/Mikhail Savitskiy (GER).

Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal (USA) ,Ambre Perrier Gianesini and Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) and Chloe Nguyen and Brendan Giang (CAN) ISU Junior Grand Prix Wuxi (CHN) 2177327619

Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal (USA), Ambre Perrier Gianesini and Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) and Chloe Nguyen and Brendan Giang (CAN) pose during the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Wuxi (CHN). @ISU

All results for the Junior Final qualification are currently unofficial.

A total of 88 Skaters/Couples from 30 countries competed in Wuxi. You can re-live all the action and the winners’ interviews at the ISU YouTube channel. Tune in again when the best Skaters and Couples of the ISU Junior Grand Prix series will compete in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final a few weeks!

 

Follow the ISU Junior Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

 

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:

 

Where to Watch?

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube channel in most countries.

 

How do skaters qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final?

Skaters compete in a maximum of two events and collect points. The top six Single Skaters, Pairs and Ice Dance Couples will then qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Grenoble (FRA) December 5-8, 2024, where they will be competing for the final JGP title.

Check out the ISU Junior Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:

Men      Women            Pair Skating      Ice Dance

 

More information

Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

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