Team USA secured three silver medals at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, claiming two individual podium finishes as well as a medal in the team event.
Ice dancers Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain clinched their first medal this season while pairs team Cayla Smith and Jared McPike stood on the podium in their first international competition together.
Ilin and Cain opened their short program to "Neutron Dance," "I Need You" and "I'm so Excited" by The Pointer Sisters with a Level 4 set of sequential twizzles and concluded with a midline step sequence, both of which were their highest scoring elements. Ilin and Cain finished the rhythm dance in second place with a score of 57.46.
The Maryland natives’ free dance to "Fire on Fire" by Sam Smith and "Pink Flames" by Karl Hugo secured their spot in the top three overall with a score of 84.92 thanks to Level 4 marks on their two lifts and one of their spins. In total, Ilin and Cain secured a score of 142.38.
In their international debut, Smith and McPike came out strong in the short program, receiving a Level 4 distinction for their combination spin. Their performance to "All About That Bass" by Postmodern Jukebox earned 36.80 points.
The duo’s free skate to "Heart of Courage" by Nick Phoenix and Thomas J. Bergersen and "Somewhere in Time" by Maksim Mrvica featured double toe loop-Euler-double Salchow side-by-side jumps for a segment score of 61.20 and total score of 98.00.
Jacob Sanchez finished just off the podium in fourth place in the men’s competition. He won the short program portion of the competition, scoring 76.38 points for his performance to "Singin' in the Rain" and "Rain Dance" by Matthew Morrison and Whilk & Misky. Sanchez opened with his highest-scoring element, a strong triple Axel, that was awarded more than 10 points.
However, the 2023 U.S. junior silver medalist couldn’t hold on to his lead after the free skate. After struggling on his jumps to begin the performance, Sanchez rebounded with a triple Lutz-Euler-triple Salchow combination in the second half that earned him over 12 points. He totaled a segment score of 123.90, falling out of podium position.
Sherry Zhang finished sixth overall in the women’s discipline with a total score of 169.45. Zhang placed 14th in the short program, tallying 45.97 points, but made an impressive jump to third place in the free skate standings with an international personal best score of 123.48. She scored positive grades of execution on all but one element to move into the top 10 in the final results. Her final score was 169.45.
To wrap up the competition, Team USA secured the silver medal in the team event, with every U.S. athlete finishing in second place in their respective free skate or free dance.
Each second-place finish awarded the team four points, which added up to a combined 12 points, just one point behind the Republic of Korea.
Ilin and Cain secured a personal best free skate score of 88.63. Sanchez and Zhang received 129.77 and 122.76 points, respectively, while Smith and McPike collected a score of 63.55.
Since for the first time, teams are comprised of a single country, this marks the first medal in the team event for the United States at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
Click here for full results.
