Taking place next week in Vancouver, the 2018 ISU Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating is sure to be a treat for skating fans from around the world. With a sold out venue, and demand and excitement high, this event is sure to be a treat on the winter event calendar here on the West Coast.
As always, the road to the Grand Prix Final was paved with highs and lows, elation and disappointment. New and returning champions were crowned while some former skating stars were unable to find their competitive legs during the Series.
The 2018 senior Grand Prix Final will have a very different look than the past few seasons with just nine skaters/teams from the 2017campaign competing in Vancouver.
Jun-Hwan Cha, 17, of South Korea is the only new face in the men′s discipline. He earned a place courtesy of his training mate Jason Brown who defeated Russia′s Alexander Samarin at the French Grand Prix, which gaveCha the sixth spot. (Samarin needed a second-place finish to qualify but ended up third).
Cha will make history when he takes to the ice in Vancouver.He is the first man from South Korea to ever earn a berth at a Grand PrixFinal. Canada’s Keegan Messing is the first alternate.
The ladies event will be a Russia-Japan showdown with three athletes from each nation qualifying. Japan′s Rika Kihira and Russia′s Sofia Samodurova qualified in their first year in the senior ranks. Kaori Sakamoto ofJapan will also make her debut.
Russia′s Alina Zagitova, the reigning Grand Prix Final champion, and Kihira, fourth at the 2017 Junior Grand Prix Final, were the only two ladies to win both their events. Mai Mihara of Japan is the first alternate.
In pairs, three teams qualified for the Final for the first time: Vanessa James and Morgan Ciprès of France, Italy′s Nicole Della Monica and Matteo Guarise and reigning World junior pairs champions, Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin of Russia. Their teammates, Alisa Efimova andAlexander Korovin, are the first alternates.
Five ice dance teams will make their Final debuts inVancouver with Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue the only returning duo. This will mark the team′s fourth appearance in as many years. Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain are the first alternates.
Full entries here: http://www.isuresults.com/events/fsevent03111639.htm
LADIES
(In order of qualification)
1 Alina ZAGITOVA RUS
2 Rika KIHIRA JPN
3 Satoko MIYAHARA JPN
4 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS
5 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN
6 Sofia SAMODUROVA RUS
Substitutes
7 Mai MIHARA JPN
8 Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA RUS
9 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS
MEN
(In order of qualification)
1 Yuzuru HANYU JPN
2 Shoma UNO JPN
3 Nathan CHEN USA
4 Michal BREZINA CZE
5 Sergei VORONOV RUS
6 Junhwan CHA KOR
Substitutes
7 Keegan MESSING CAN
8 Alexander SAMARIN RUS
9 Matteo RIZZO ITA
PAIRS
(In order of qualification)
1 Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES FRA
2 Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV RUS
3 Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT RUS
4 Cheng PENG / Yang JIN CHN
5 Nicole DELLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE ITA
6 Daria PAVLIUCHENKO / Denis KHODYKIN RUS
Substitutes
7 Alisa EFIMOVA / Alexander KOROVIN RUS
8 Tarah KAYNE / Danny O'SHEA USA
9 Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO CAN
ICE DANCE
(In order of qualification)
1 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA
2 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS
3 Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV RUS
4 Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI ITA
5 Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA
6 Tiffani ZAGORSKI / Jonathan GUERREIRO RUS
Substitutes
7 Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN ESP
8 Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER CAN
9 Lorraine MCNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA
See you next week at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Arena at UBC!
