Photo credit: Getty Images
By Kristen Henneman
A U.S. delegation chock-full of international experience travels north for the second stop of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series – Skate Canada International – held Oct. 25-27 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Of the 12 U.S. skaters set to attend, all have Grand Prix experience and seven of the 12 have represented Team USA at a World Championships.
Team USA’s top two men from the last two seasons both head to Canada.
Ilia Malinin, the reigning World champion, is competing in the Grand Prix Series for the second straight weekend. This past weekend at Skate America, the two-time U.S. champion won his third straight gold at Skate America, becoming the fourth U.S. man to accomplish the feat. With an eye on locking a Grand Prix Final spot, Malinin hopes to keep his winning streak alive. He has not lost in the 2024 calendar year and has medaled at every Grand Prix he’s attended.
In the last two seasons, Jason Brown has secured two silver medals at the U.S. Championships and two top-five finishes at the World Championships. But this marks his return to the Grand Prix Series for the first time since 2021 as Brown starts to gear up toward his run at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The two-time Olympian and nine-time Grand Prix medalist started his season with bronze at Shanghai Trophy earlier this month.
In the women’s event, Alysa Liu makes her comeback to the Grand Prix Series after retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season. In her return to international competition at Budapest Trophy just two weeks ago, the 2022 Olympian and World bronze medalist left no doubts she was in fact back, taking the top step of the podium.
Like Malinin, Elyce Lin-Gracey will compete for the second straight weekend. At Skate America, in her Grand Prix debut, Lin-Gracey placed sixth, but has shown this season she is capable of competing against the world’s top skaters, winning Nebelhorn Trophy with a score that would have placed on the podium at the World Championships last season.
The sole pairs entry for Team USA, Emily Chan and Spencer Howe missed the Grand Prix Series last season as Howe recovered from shoulder surgery. The season before in 2022, they earned a pair of silvers. Looking to return to the podium, the two-time Four Continents silver medalists finished fourth in their season debut at Shanghai Trophy.
Hoping to build on a breakout season in which they claimed bronze in ice dance at the U.S. Championships to earn their place on the 2024 World Team, Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville started their season with silver at Budapest Trophy earlier this month, where they set new international personal best scores for their rhythm dance, free dance and total score.
Also competing for Team USA are Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik and sibling duo Oona Brown and Gage Brown, who both will compete at Skate Canada International for the second straight year.
Last season, the Browns were fourth at this event, their best result in the Grand Prix Series. The 2022 World Junior champions have claimed two silvers to open their season, including at the Denis Ten Memorial.
Zingas and Kolesnik started their season on the podium with bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy. They placed fifth at both their Grand Prix events last season.
Competition begins Friday with the pairs and women’s short programs. Saturday kicks off with the rhythm dance and men’s short program before the first medals are awarded following the pairs and women’s free skates. Competition ends Sunday with the men’s free skate and free dance.
Watch every skater live on Peacock with all events available for 72 hours following their conclusion. Fans can also catch the competition on NBC at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 27. Find the full broadcast schedule on usfigureskatingfanzone.com and the Peacock streaming schedule on peacocktv.com/skating.
The Grand Prix Series, which started in 1995, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete or team is eligible to score points in up to two of the six scheduled events. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, set for Dec. 5-8 in Grenoble, France.
For a full schedule, results, news and more, visit the Grand Prix Series Competition Central.
U.S. ENTRIES AT 2024 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Elyce Lin-Gracey | Arcadia, Calif. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Alysa Liu | Richmond, Calif. | Oakland, Calif. and San Francisco, Calif.
Men
Jason Brown | Highland Park, Ill. | Toronto, Ontario
Ilia Malinin | Vienna, Va. | Reston, Va.
Pairs
Emily Chan and Spencer Howe | Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, Calif. | Norwood, Mass.
Ice Dance
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville | McLean, Va.; Cabin John, Md. | Canton, Mich.
Oona Brown and Gage Brown | Long Island, N.Y.; Long Island, N.Y. | Long Island, N.Y. and Montreal, Quebec
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik | Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.; Kharkiv, Ukraine | Novi, Mich.
