The fifth stop in the Grand Prix series, Espoo in Finland, proved to be another messy mid-season competition with some big comebacks, a few surprises, and a stellar dance-off that left us wanting more from every team in the top 5!
Women’s Competition - Queen Kaori and Amber Glenn’s amazing comeback
As we’d hoped (and expected), Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto took her second Grand Prix title of the season - clinching her spot at the top of the standings going into the Grand Prix Final this December. Kaori’s programs weren’t flawless, but showed her signature style, power, and grit that reflect the champion she’s proven to be.
Also from Japan, Rion Sumiyoshi held on after a solid short program and a rather hot-and-cold free skate to capture the silver. Rion has definitely put herself in the running for a spot at the Grand Prix Final.
In third, with perhaps the skate of the competition, Amber Glenn from the United States skated a personal best in her free program and climbed from 11th place to bronze! Her short program was a heartbreaker, so to see her shine as brightly as she did in the long and find redemption in the most spectacular way was a joy.
Ice Dance Competition - Chock & Bates win again
The top five teams in the competition made us feel things. Good to great things. They were all superb, but the reigning World Champions, Madison Chock & Evan Bates from the U.S. did just enough to grab the gold - and their ticket to the Grand Prix Final.
In the silver spot, the impeccably smoldering “Cana-danes” - Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Soerensen - brought two glorious performances to Finland and walked away with their spot at the final.
In the third spot, the rising Finnish team of Turkkila & Versluis made quite an impression, with their free dance especially - creating something wholly unique on ice and setting themselves up as “ones to watch”.
Off the podium but equally impressive, Carreria & Ponomarenko from the U.S. were possibly the best we’ve ever seen - looking incredible in their free skate.
Men’s Competition - Kao Miura clinches while Kevin Aymoz rallies
The men definitely “men’d” in the short program with quite a few messy programs. However, rising to the top, were both Kao Miura and Shun Sato of Japan.
The two friends and rivals both skated stunning free programs, with Kao bringing on just enough extra power and emotional commitment to nudge him above Shun’s more subdued performance.
In another big comeback, after a somewhat disastrous short program, France’s Kevin Aymoz skated for the fans and won himself a bronze medal. The emotion and fire that Aymoz brings is almost unmatched by any other man skating competitively today - making this moment a very special one to witness.
Pairs Competition - A surprise win for Hase & Volodin
Finally, in the Pairs competition, we saw quite a bit of change from the short to the long - with Germany’s Hase & Volodin doing just enough to take a closely fought battle for gold.
Italy’s Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii continued to perform at a slightly lower level than we saw last season, placing second here with two nice but imperfect skates.
The third spot, by just a few hundredths of a point, went to the Hungarian team of Maria Pavlova & Alexei Sviatchenko over China’s Cheng Peng & Lei Wang. However we would have had the result flipped.
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