Above: Photo credit Getty Images
By Abby Farrell
Team USA had another successful weekend on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, taking home two gold and one bronze from Junior Grand Prix Slovenia held in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Jacob Sanchez and Sophie Joline von Felten captured gold in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, while Caroline Mullen and Brendan Mullen secured bronze in ice dance. Every U.S. athlete competing earned personal best scores in all three segments of competition.
Winning his second Junior Grand Prix gold this season in a dominant fashion, Sanchez secured his spot at the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2024 in France this December. He came out strong in the short program, opening his program to a John Miles medley with a triple Axel worth 10.29 points. He went on to earn positive grades of execution on every element, and tallied more than 12 points for his triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination in the second half of the performance as well as level 4 marks for all three spins and his step sequence for a score of 85.09.
Going to the free skate, Sanchez led the pack by more than four points, and continued to build on his lead with a segment score of 144.37.The stars of his program to "Io Ci Saro" by Andrea Bocelli were a triple Axel-triple toe to start the routine and a triple Lutz-double Axel-double Axel sequence in the second half of his program that were awarded 14.37 and awarded 15.35 points, respectively.
Sanchez secured gold and his first trip to the Junior Grand Prix Final with an overall score of 229.46. He is the only junior man to win two Junior Grand Prix golds so far this season.
Also standing on top of the podium for the United States was von Felten. Von Felten smashed all three previous personal best scores to make her first Junior Grand Prix medal a gold.
In the short program, von Felten claimed 66.65 points, surpassing her previous best by 17.73 points. Her program set to "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics opened with a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination worth 13.34 points, the highest-scoring element of the women’s short program. All of her spins and her step sequence received Level 4 marks.
In fourth after the short, the 15-year-old came back to win the free skate and gold overall. Skating to music from Romeo and Juliet, von Felten executed a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination and a triple Lutz-double Axel-double Axel sequence which contributed a combined 41.45 points to her total score of 130.76, which is 26.96 points above her previous personal best.
During her free skate, Von Felten also became the first junior woman to land a triple Axel and a triple Axel-triple toe loop in one program at an international competition.
In total, von Felten received an overall score of 197.41, an impressive 44.69 points above her previous personal best.
Mullen and Mullen represented the stars and stripes in the ice dance competition, clinching their second Junior Grand Prix medal – a bronze – after securing silver at JGP Latvia earlier this season.
The Mullens’ rhythm dance to "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever" and "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees kicked off with their highest scoring element, a midline step sequence worth nearly 10 points. Their sequential twizzles and rotational lift were each given Level 4 distinctions to earn a score of 63.73.
In their free skate set to "La Terre vue du ciel" by Armand Amar, the brother and sister duo scored 97.43 points thanks to Level 4 marks on both their lifts and their synchronized twizzles. They tallied a two-day total of 161.16 to claim bronze.
Fellow U.S. ice dancers Yahli Pedersen and Benjamin Starr earned their highest-ever finish at a Junior Grand Prix event, placing seventh.
Their rhythm dance to "Blame It on the Boogie" and "Dancing Machine - Polow Remix" by the Jackson Five featured a 6.41-point Level 4 rotational lift, earning the team out of Canton, Michigan, a score of 55.19.
In the free dance, Pedersen and Starr moved up from eighth after the short program to seventh with a second personal best score, grabbing 86.39 points in their free dance. Both lifts and their synchronized twizzles in their skate to "The Labor of Creation" and "Creative Freedom is Power" by Lady Gaga and Dom Pérignon captured Level 4 marks. Overall, the team scored 141.58 in total, beating their previous personal best by nearly eight points.
For full results from JGP Slovenia, visit the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Competition Central.
