Photo credit Getty Images
By Troy Schwindt
Amber Glenn leads Team USA after winning the short program on day one of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2024 in Grenoble, France.
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea sit fifth after their pairs short program. At the coinciding Junior Grand Prix Final, the U.S. ice dance team of Katarina Wolfkostin and Dimitry Tsarevski earned a second-place finish in the rhythm dance while pairs team Olivia Flores and Luke Wang ranked third following the short program.
Glenn, the reigning U.S. champion, continued her torrid season by posting a score of 70.04 in her Grand Prix Final debut, taking first place against five Japanese skaters. The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based skater is undefeated at her three international events so far this season. She clinched gold at Grand Prix de France and Cup of China, becoming the fifth U.S. woman to win two Grand Prix events and the first since 2012.
Should Glenn go on to win the event, it would mark the first time since 2010 that a U.S. woman (Alissa Czisny) has claimed the gold medal.
Despite securing the top spot with her performance to Janet Jackson’s song “This Time,” Glenn said things felt “rough, very rough.”
“I felt very tense, especially after the triple Axel,” Glenn said. “I almost fell on my face, so that freaked me out a lot mentally and I even kind of pinched a rib. It didn’t feel good. I’m not hurt. I’m OK, just a little achy. It freaked me out, so I held back on the next two jumps; they were not close to being my best, but I fought through it mentally to stay on my feet.”
Glenn posted the best technical score of 37.02 for the segment. The women’s free skate is set for Saturday.
Reigning U.S. pairs champions Kam and O’Shea walked off the ice feeling good about their overall performance in their Grand Prix Final debut, despite a few hiccups along the way.
The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based team generated a score of 68.91 and sit in fifth place heading into the free skate.
“It was an OK program,” O’Shea said. “There were some levels that we are happy that we got and one that we were confused about. Overall, the throw [loop] was perfect in the warmup, we just missed our timing together a tiny bit in the program. But I thought we performed well.”
Kam and O’Shea skated to “Rain, in Your Black Eyes” by Ezio Bosso. The program started with a Level 4 twist and they were awarded Level 4 marks for their back outside death spiral, combination spin and lift.
The couple’s schedule leading up to the Grand Prix Final has been productive but a little frantic at the same time, they said.
“This whole year has felt like a sprint,” O’Shea said. “I feel like the training we did back home heading into this was good. We went to Canada two weeks ago to work with Bruno [Marcotte] and we did the Scott Hamilton show around then as well. We are just learning how it works for us, enjoying the process.”
O’Shea added that the team’s goal this season is to continue to climb into that top echelon of teams worldwide.
“I feel we’ve been on that path all season,” he said. “Technically, the performance and choreography of the programs, we feel they are the hardest we’ve ever done and that they are pushing the envelope on transitions and connections.”
In the Junior Grand Prix Final, Wolfkostin and Tsarevski put themselves in solid medal contention by placing second in the rhythm dance.
The team from Canton, Michigan, rocked the disco theme to a score of 65.57. They received all positive GOEs on their elements, including a Level 4 program-ending rotational lift.
“It’s fun music and the crowd was amazing,” Tsarevski said.
Both Wolfkostin and Tsarevski qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final previously with different partners, but did not have the opportunity to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they finished ninth last season in the senior division at the U.S. Championships.
“We planned to compete as seniors this season [internationally] until there was a rule change,” Wolfkostin said. “It was like here’s an opportunity, why don’t we do both.”
With the change in age requirement, the team decided to compete as juniors internationally and as seniors domestically.
Making their Junior Grand Prix Final debut, Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal delivered a rhythm dance to a couple of disco hits, "Boogie Shoes" and "Dance to the Music." They posted a score of 60.19 and are sixth heading into the free dance.
“Our main goal was to make it to this event and be here with all of these amazing teams,” Ethan said. “I’m happy that we had a relatively clean skate.”
Sharing practice ice with some of the elite senior teams, Elliana said, has been special.
“It’s cool to see everyone in person,” she said. “Madison [Chock] and Evan [Bates] are a real inspiration for us. Just being with all these high-level teams has been great, and they are so nice, too.”
The Peals, fifth at the 2024 World Junior Championships, finished first at JGP China to secure a berth at this year’s JGP Final.
In the junior pairs short program, Flores and Wang experienced some ups and downs en route to a score of 52.04 and a third-place finish.
The 2024 World Junior silver medalists performed their routine to “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight” by Jennifer Hudson.
“It was one of those performances where it felt like we were fighting through it the whole time,” Wang said. “Just feeling the energy was very different for us, one of the few events in which we could feel the full atmosphere of the arena. The French fans really showed up today. … I think we were just overly excited because we don’t experience that often. This experience will be good for us when we move up to seniors next year.”
A throw-triple Salchow was the team’s top-scoring element.
The Colorado Springs, Colorado-based team finished fifth at last year’s Junior Grand Prix Final.
Competition continues on Friday with the junior men’s short program, the senior rhythm dance, the senior pairs free skate and the senior men’s short program.
To follow Team USA, visit the 2024 Grand Prix Final Competition Central.
