The most prestigious title at the junior level – a World Junior Championships gold – is within reach for Leah Neset and Artem Markelov.
The 2023 Junior Grand Prix Final champions soared to the top of the rhythm dance standings Friday at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2024 in Taipei City, Taiwan, taking a lead of more than four points.
Neset and Markelov, who became the first athletes in U.S. Figure Skating history to win three U.S. junior championships, will look to finish the 2023-24 season undefeated on Saturday and become the 12th U.S. ice dance team to win the World Junior gold.
The only team to break 70 points with a score of 70.16, Neset and Markelov showed off their strong execution throughout their world-class performance as they were the only team to be awarded a GOE above 2.5 on any element – which they did twice.
Skating to "Still Loving You" by Scorpions and “I Hate Myself For Loving You” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the team that trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, ended with their two strongest elements, receiving 9.94 points for their sequential twizzles with a GOE of 2.97, before racking up more than 10 points for their midline step sequence, which tallied a GOE of 3.14.
Also representing Team USA in the ice dance event, Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal and Yahli Pedersen and Jeffrey Chen both made their Junior Worlds debut.
The Peals, who won two Junior Grand Prix medals this season, placed fifth, tallying 61.65 points, which is less than one point away from their international personal best.
Their performance to "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson secured Level 4 marks for their sequential twizzles and rotational lift.
Two-time silver medalists at the Junior Grand Prix Series, Pedersen and Chen finished 13th with a rhythm dance score of 56.81.
The women’s event also wrapped up Friday. Sherry Zhang led Team USA with an eighth-place result.
Beginning the day in 11th, Zhang jumped up in the standings with a seventh-place finish in the free skate, recording 115.47 points for a two-day total of 174.04.
Zhang began her skate to "A Beautiful Storm" by Jennifer Thomas with four triple jumps, including a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, before taking her highest marks on a triple flip-double Axel-double Axel sequence in the second half of her program worth 14.30 points.
2024 U.S. silver medalist Josephine Lee finished 20th in her second appearance at the World Junior Championships.
Competition at the World Junior Championships concludes Saturday with the free dance and men’s free skate. Click here for live results. All events can be livestreamed on the ISU YouTube channel.
