Team USA Travels to Turkey for Fourth Stop of ISU Junior Grand Prix Series | U.S. Figure Skating

September 17, 2024 admin-dominor

Photo Credit: Getty Images
By Kristen Henneman

Team USA will send its biggest delegation to a Junior Grand Prix thus far this season as 12 U.S. skaters head to Ankara, Turkey, for the fourth stop of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series Sept. 18-21.

Representing the red, white and blue will be one woman, one man, three pairs teams and two ice dance teams.

Partners for less than a year, Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin are making a name for themselves as one of Team USA’s top junior ice dance teams this season.

Aboian and Veselukhin have medaled at each of their international events together, securing gold in the junior event at the 2024 Lake Placid Ice Dance International before earning silver last weekend in their Junior Grand Prix debut in Thailand.

Their teammates in Ankara, Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain, commence their second season in the Grand Prix Series. The 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games silver medalists finished in the top 10 at both their JGP appearances last season and started out season with a sixth-place result in the junior event at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International.

In the pairs event, Team USA is led by Olivia Flores and Luke Wang, who have their eyes on the Junior Grand Prix Final for the second straight year. The 2024 U.S. junior champions and World Junior silver medalists, Flores and Wang have medaled at each of their three Junior Grand Prix events, including bronze at the opening JGP of the season in Latvia.

Elizabeth Hansen and William Church and Addyson McDanold and Aaron Felberbaum both will make their international debut in Turkey after teaming up in the spring.

Skating for Team USA in the men’s event will be Jacob Sanchez, the 2023 U.S. junior silver medalist. Sanchez placed in the top five at both his JGP events last season and is looking to crack into the top three for the first time in Turkey.

The 2024 World Junior Team member started his season strong with a podium finish in the junior event at 2024 Cranberry Cup International, claiming silver.

Emilia Nemirovsky will make her Junior Grand Prix debut in the women’s competition. After winning the novice event at the 2024 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final, Nemirovsky earned her spot in the junior event at U.S. Championships. She then made the most of the opportunity, bringing home the pewter medal.

Competition starts Thursday with the women’s, pairs and men’s short programs. The action continues Friday with the rhythm dance, pairs free skate and women’s free skate before the final medals of the competition are awarded Saturday with the men’s free skate and free dance.

Fans can watch all the action from JGP Turkey, as well as the entire Junior Grand Prix Series, live on the ISU YouTube channel.

Now in its 27th season, the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series consists of seven international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete is eligible to score points in two of the seven scheduled events (pairs can compete in two of four designated events). The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2024, taking place Dec. 5-8 in Grenoble, France.

For more information on the Junior Grand Prix Series, including full results, news and more, visit the Junior Grand Prix Competition Central on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.

U.S. ENTRIES AT JGP TURKEY
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town

Women
Emilia Nemirovsky | Birmingham, Mich. | Bloomfield Township, Mich.

Men
Jacob Sanchez | Montgomery, N.Y. | Newburgh, N.Y.

Ice Dance
Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin | Woodbridge, Conn.; Wethersfield, Conn. | Newington, Conn.
Olivia Ilin and Dylan Cain | Gaithersburg, Md.; North Bethesda, Md. | Rockville, Md.

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