Jacob Sanchez put himself into strong medal contention on Wednesday by placing fifth in the short program at the ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 in Tallinn, Estonia. Meanwhile, the pairs team of Olivia Flores and Luke Wang is just out of third place after the short program.

Sanchez, the reigning U.S. senior pewter medalist, is a half point behind the third-place skater entering the men's free skate on Friday.

Fourth in this event in 2025, Sanchez performed to Michel Legrand's melancholic ballad "Les parapluies de Cherbourg" at the Tondiraba Ice Hall.

Sanchez opened with a soaring triple Axel and earned Level 4 credit for two spins. He received a slight deduction on his triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination. He posted a score of 81.03.

Sanchez is the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and competed on the junior international circuit from 2021 through 2024. He is competing for the third time at the World Junior Championships.

His teammate, Lucius Kazanecki, delivered a personal-best international score of 74.89 and sits 11th after the short program.
Skating to the intense piano piece "Interstellar," Kazanecki performed a clean program. He earned Level 4s for his step sequence and on one spin. His triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination generated a program-high 12.12 points.

Kazanecki arrived in Estonia having earned the bronze medal at the 2025 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. He's the 2024 U.S. junior champion and has competed as a junior internationally since 2022.

Flores and Wang, competing for the third time at the World Junior Championships, placed fourth in the short program with a score of 57.96.

The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based team performed to a pair of songs by powerhouse vocalist Jennifer Hudson. They earned Level 4s for their step sequence, back inside death spiral, reverse lasso lift and change-foot combination spin.

They are .38 points out of third place entering Thursday's free skate.

Flores and Wang captured the silver medal at this event in 2024 and are the 2024 U.S. junior pairs champions as well as the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists. They competed internationally in the junior ranks in 2023 and 2024, winning a total of five Junior Grand Prix medals.

Two-time and reigning U.S. junior pairs champions Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy placed seventh in the segment with 53.25 points.

The Minnesota-based team performed to the feel-good tune "Fly Me to the Moon/Lucky" (mash-up) by Rick Hale.
Moss and Galbavy received Level 4 credit for their change-foot spin and reverse lasso lift. They suffered a fall on their double Axels.

The duo teamed up in 2023 and this past season became the first U.S. pairs team to win consecutive U.S. junior championships.
They placed 17th at this event in 2025.

Competition resumes Thursday when the junior women take the ice for the first time for the short program followed by the junior pairs free skate. On Friday, the rhythm dance kicks things off, followed by the junior men's free skate.

The event wraps up on Saturday with the free dance followed by the junior women's free skate.

Fans can watch all the action from the ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 live on the ISU YouTube channel.

For more information about the ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026, including results and how to watch information, visit the event's competition central on the U.S. Figure Skating website.