Texas, a state known for its cattle ranches, barbecue and football, will once again host many of the world’s top figure skaters at Skate America. The competition will kick off the 30th year for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, which combines six prestigious international compet- itions as a unified point-earning series that awards prize money and points to eligible figure skaters. At the conclusion of the series, athletes’ points are totaled, and the top six point-earners in each discipline earn a spot at the ISU Grand Prix Final, Dec. 5–8, in Grenoble, France. In 2023, the United States secured 11 medals during the six Grand Prix events, including a medal in each discipline at Skate America. At the 2023 Grand Prix Final, Team USA earned two gold medals. 7 THINGS TO WATCH FOR IN ALLEN
THE COMPLETE LIST OF ATHLETE SELECTIONS FOR THE 2024 ISU GRAND PRIX SERIES IS AVAILABLE ON ISU.ORG.
1) World champion Ilia Malinin amazed the skating world the past two seasons at Skate America. In 2022, the Virginia native, at age 17, became the first skater ever to land a quad Axel at a Grand Prix Series event. Last year, he crushed the competition by 30 points with an event record-breaking short program he called “one of the best I’ve had in my career.” What fireworks can we expect this time around from the self-proclaimed quadg0d? 2) Newlyweds and two-time and reigning World ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates look to clinch their record-tying fifth Skate America title. The Montreal-based team has won eight consecutive competitions, stretching back to the 2022 Grand Prix Final. Should they prevail in Allen, Chock and Bates would tie the Hall of Fame team of Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto for the most Skate America golds. 3) Will the third time be the charm at Skate America for Isabeau Levito? The New Jersey native earned the silver medal at the last two Skate Americas but arrives with momentum as the reigning World silver medalist. She can expect strong competition from the three-deep Japanese team. 4) The top pairs teams from the 2024 U.S. Championships, gold medalists Ellie Kam
and Danny O’Shea, and silver medalists Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, look to get off to a fast start in Allen. Their toughest competition figures to come from reigning and two-time World silver medalists Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan, and Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko, who placed fourth at the 2024 World Championships. 5) Like Chock and Bates, ice dancers Leah Neset and Artem Markelov got married in June. The Colorado Springs-based team will make their senior Grand Prix Series debut after winning the U.S. junior title for three consecutive years and the 2024 World Junior title. How they will fare in
Lucas Broussard
Bradie Tennell
Allen is one of the main storylines of the event. 6) Two-time U.S. champion Bradie Tennell plans to mount her Grand Prix comeback at Skate America, after injuries caused her to miss most of last season. The 2018 Olympian would love to cap her career with a second trip to the Games in 2026, and the fight starts here. 7) Seattle’s Lucas Broussard, the 2023 U.S. junior champion, earned his Skate America berth with a victory at the Cran- berry Cup in Boston in August. The Col- orado Springs ice dance team of Isabella Flores and Ivan Desyatov finished fifth at Lake Placid International and was added to the event’s roster. Elyce Lin-Gracey was chosen to fill the final U.S. women's spot, while the last pairs berth went to Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman. — TROY SCHWINDT
HOW TO WATCH FROM HOME: GO TO USFIGURESKATINGFANZONE.COM
CLICK ON “TEAM USA” AND “TELEVISION SCHEDULE”
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2024 SKATE AMERICA
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