Nine athletes will represent the United States at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2019 and the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2019 from Dec. 5-8 in Torino, Italy. Additionally, 22 senior and junior athletes will also compete at 2019 Golden Spin in Zagreb, Croatia, this weekend.
The senior and junior competition in Torino will take place simultaneously throughout the weekend, beginning on Thursday, Dec. 5 with the junior men’s, pairs and ladies short programs, and the senior pairs and men’s short programs. The Figure Skating Pass on NBC Sports Gold will stream the senior competition live to subscribers beginning at 1:50 p.m. ET on Dec. 5. NBCSN will air a recap the day after each competition beginning on Friday, Dec. 6 at 11:30 p.m. ET. NBC will air a recap show on Sunday, Dec. 22. The junior competition will be available on the International Skating Union’s YouTube page.
Bradie Tennell is the first American to qualify in the ladies competition since 2015. The 2018 U.S. champion earned the silver medal at Skate America and finished fourth at Skate Canada International to qualify for her first Final.
Nathan Chen will represent Team USA in the senior men’s competition. The two-time reigning World Champion claimed gold at Skate America and Internationaux de France this season. He will look to defend his 2018 and 2017 Grand Prix Final titles, competing in the event for the fourth straight year.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were the top U.S. qualifier in the ice dance field, taking home gold at Skate America and silver at Skate Canada International. The Montreal-based couple is competing in their fifth consecutive Grand Prix Final and will look to defend their 2018 title.
Also representing the United States in senior ice dance, Madison Chock and Evan Bates will compete in their fifth Grand Prix Final. After sitting out the 2018 Series due to injury, the duo claimed silver at Internationaux de France and Cup of China to qualify.
In the Junior Grand Prix Final, Alysa Liu will make her debut at the event in her first JGP season. The 2019 U.S. champion claimed gold at the JGP events in the United States and Poland. Liu is the first U.S. lady to qualify for the event since 2014.
Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik are the top qualifiers in the junior ice dance competition. The tandem won gold in the U.S. and Poland to qualify for their second consecutive Final.
The Grand Prix Series, now in its 25th season, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Approximately 300 athletes from 30 countries are expected to participate in the series. Each athlete 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 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, set for Dec. 5-8, in Torino, Italy.
In Croatia, 22 athletes will skate in the junior and senior competition at 2019 Golden Spin, the 10th and final Challenger Series event of the season.
The U.S. will send two competitors in the junior ladies competition. Starr Andrews will compete in her first junior competition of the season and will be joined by Elsa Cheng who is making her international debut.
Headlining the U.S. field in the men’s competition, Jason Brown will head to Croatia fresh off a fifth-place finish at NHK Trophy. He will be joined by Camden Pulkinen and Alex Krasnozhon. Lucas Altieri is the sole U.S. competitor in the junior men’s competition.
In the senior pairs field, reigning U.S. champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc will be joined by Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea, and Olivia Serafini and Mervin Tran. Winter Deardorff and Mikhail Johnson will represent the United States in the junior pairs field along with Anastasiia Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia.
Fresh off their first international medal at Warsaw Cup, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons will return to Challenger Series ice in Zagreb. They are joined by Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter who recently competed at NHK Trophy. Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffery Chen are the lone U.S. team in the junior ice dance competition.
The ISU Challenger Series is a group of 10 senior-level international figure skating competitions held each year to help skaters prepare and qualify for ISU Championship events.
