Ma Earns Silver, Sjoberg Takes Bronze at 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

The United States earned two medals on Friday night at the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Norwood, Massachusetts. Jimmy Ma earned the silver medal while Eric Sjoberg grabbed the bronze in the men’s free skate at the Skating Club of Boston facility. In ice dance, three-time World medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue lead after the rhythm dance.

Ma collected his second career U.S. International Classic medal with 233.58 points. The Skating Club of Boston athlete opened his free skate with a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop followed by a second quadruple toe loop. His Attack on Titan program earned 149.51 points.

“Tonight wasn’t really a reflection of what I usually do in practice, but I’m glad I pushed through the program and stood up on most things,” Ma said. “It’s a good feeling to walk away with a medal. It gets the ball rolling for the season and hopefully I can keep building momentum.”

Sjoberg made a slash in his senior international debut, collecting the bronze medal with 221.12 points. After missing his opening triple Axel, the California-based skater rallied to land seven triple jumps and complete three Level 4 spins, notching 143.01 points for his Interstellar-themed program.

“I’m a little bit disappointed with the free (skate),” Sjoberg said. “After that initial mistake, I did everything I could to keep going and not make it worse. I tried to do everything will good quality. The program really builds, and I was able to get more into it, especially during the step sequence.”

Camden Pulkinen jumped from sixth in the short program to fourth overall, scoring 142.15 for his Spanish-themed free skate, collecting 208.99 total points. He opened with a quadruple toe loop followed by a triple Axel.

Also hailing from the Skating Club of Boston, Maxim Naumov finished sixth with 207.39 points and 137.40 in the free skate. The 2020 U.S. junior champion landed a quadruple Salchow followed by a quadruple Salchow-double toe loop combination.

Dinh Tran placed ninth in the competition with a 110.95-point free skate and 176.72 overall.

Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic won gold with 238.65 overall and a 151.17-point free skate.

Hubbell and Donohue led the way for Team USA in the rhythm dance, securing 84.06 points. Their Janet Jackson medley included a Level 4 stationary lift and closed with Level 4 twizzles. The three-time U.S. champions cleared the field by nearly 10 points in their first skate of the season.

“With the first competition of the season, we are looking to build up our foundation and are lucky to have this opportunity,” Donohue said. “This is a great facility and the ice has been great, so we had a lot of fun with this program and we are just starting to dive into what it can be.”

Just .65 point shy of the top three, Eva Pate and Logan Bye are in fourth place entering the free dance, notching 67.20 points. Their performance to “Cry Me a River” and “Bye Bye Bye” by N’SYNC closed with a Level 4 curve lift.

“It’s great to be back and have fans,” Pate said. “We missed them and are so happy to have them back.”

Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov are in sixth place with 60.06 points. Spiridonov experienced a boot issue midway through the performance and the team was forced to restart.

Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin of Russia hold the second spot with 75.21 points, and the Republic of Korea’s Yura Min and Daniel Eaton are in third with 67.85.

In the women’s short program, Gabriella Izzo had the top placement for the U.S., finishing third with 63.93 points. Her French-themed program included a strong triple Lutz and Level 4s on her three spins and step sequence.

“It was OK, not exactly what I had intended for all my elements, but it was nice to be out there,” Izzo said. “This is my home rink so it’s a little different competing in it, but overall a step in the right direction.”

Sierra Venetta finished just behind Izzo in fourth place. Her skate to "David's Writings" by Christopher Willis earned 61.60 points and opened with a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination.

In fifth place after the short, Paige Rydberg scored 58.24, collecting three Level 4 spins. This summer, Rydberg earned the U.S. Collegiate title.

Maxine Marie Bautista place seventh with 45.71 points.

Russia’s Alexandra Trusova is in first place headed into the free skate with 74.75 points. Yeonjeong Park from the Republic of Korea sits in second with 71.07 points.

The women’s and ice dance competitions conclude tomorrow night. Fans can watch the full competition live and on-demand on Peacock Premium.

Results and event information