The first Grand Prix event starts on Friday! I will be going through each of the four disciplines, detailing any withdrawals, additions after the initial entries, giving my opinion on each skater and an overall guess of how the competitors will end up.
Next up, the Pairs!
First up, the only change to the original roster was that Gretchan Donlan / Nathan Bartholomay were added as host picks. I considered them, but they were third on my list of possible choices. However, they were replaced yesterday with new pair Jessica Pfund / Joshua Santillian. I am not sure why. They were not even on my radar.
Now, for the pairs, again done by name and country:
There are definetely seperate battles going here.
Julianne Seguin / Charlie Bilodeau - Canada - A promising young pair, they had a great senior debut season last year, culminating in a silver medal at Junior Worlds and an eigth place finish at Worlds. They're not podium worthy here, but a top-five finish is certainly in the cards for them. They will need to do better than their last competition this season, though. This is their second season on the GP circuit.
Sui Wenjing / Han Cong - China - This pair found a newfound maturity to add to their tricks, and boy did it pay off - with a World Silver Medal. (It's also worth noting that they nearly beat the World Champs, Duhamel/Radford of Canada, and actually did beat them at the World Team Trophy later.) The gold medal should be theirs, but they'll have to watch their backs. This is their fourth season on the GP circuit.
Wang Xuehan / Wang Lei - China - Unknown prior to last season, they medalled in both of their GP events last year and have the classic Chinese tricks. They might be a bit low this week, but they can certainly be fourth or fifth here, and they'll be up against Seguin/Bilodeau and an American pair to do so. I don't see them medalling, though. This is their second season on the circuit.
Kristina Astakhova / Alexei Rogovov - Russia - A very talented Russian pair, they were new last year. Everyone knows them now, with a tenth place finish at Worlds. They are certainly podium worthy, but they'll need to fend off an American team to do so. This is their second season on the circuit.
Ksenia Stolbova / Fedor Klimov - Russia - The reigning Olympic silver medalists decided that a silver medal at Europeans isn't good enough for them, and took the rest of the season off. They can win here, but it won't be easy to beat Sui /Han and all their tricks. Gold will be determined on if that was worth it and they can skate clean. This is their sixth season on the GP circuit.
Tarah Kayne / Daniel O'Shea - USA - The reigning US Bronze Medalists are talented, but not quite at the level of the top paris here. They could be top five, but doing so will mean defeating Seguin / Bilodeau and Wang /Wang. This wil be their GP debut.
Jessica Pfund / Joshua Santillan - USA - A new pair, they'll be last here. They've got potential, but they're not at the level of the other pairs. This is for experience for them. This will be their GP debut.
Alexa Scimeca / Chris Knierim - USA - Last year, they were the de facto leaders of US pairs after a shakeup in US pairs. And boy did they arrive. After two fourth place finishes on the GP circuit, they added a quad twist at Nationals for their first US title. They followed that up with a seventh place finish at Worlds - respectable, and good for a US pair. The podium at Worlds is not out of reach for them this year. A good start would be their first GP medal. This is their fourth season on the circuit. They will need to go up against Astakhova / Rogonov.
So the battles are: Sui / Han vs. Stolbova / Klimov for Gold, Astakhova / Rogonov vs. Scimeca / Knierim for Bronze, Seguin / Bilodeau vs. Wang / Wang vs. Kayne / O'Shea for fifth.
And now for the predictions:
GOLD - Sui / Han - They should come out on top.
SILVER - Stolbova / Klimov - I don't think they'll beat the Chinese.
BRONZE - Scimeca / Knierim
4th - Astakova / Rogonov
5th - Seguin / Bilodeau
6th - Kayne / O'Shea
7th - Wang / Wang - They could be much higher.
8th - Pfund / Santillan
And there you go! I ran out of time for dance, but a quick rundown - Chock / Bates of the US for the win, followed by Gilles / Poirer of Canada for silver, and reinging Junior World Champs from Russia Yanovskaya / Mozgov in their debut for bronze.
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