The United States earned five medals at Junior Grand Prix France, winning gold in all three disciplines. The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating is taking place for the first time since 2019 after the 2020 series was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the women’s competition, Lindsay Thorngren earned 181.45 total points to claim the gold medal in her Junior Grand Prix debut. Thorngren, who was the 2020 U.S. junior ladies champion, improved on her second-place short program with the competition’s best free skate. Claire Seo, the 2021 U.S. junior bronze medalist, earned the bronze medal in her Junior Grand Prix debut with 174.80 total points.
In the men’s field, the United States stood on the top two steps of the podium. Ilia Malinin won by over 20 points, scoring 214.64 total points. He won both the short program and the free skate to take gold and his first career JGP medal. Lucas Broussard improved from a third-place short program to finish second overall, earning 192.31 total points on the weekend. The competition marked Broussard’s JGP debut
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffery Chen led from start to finish in the ice dance competition. After winning the rhythm dance, the duo won the free dance and the competition with 165.01 points. It’s the team’s first JGP medal.
The Junior Grand Prix Series will continue next week once again in Courchevel, France. Entering its 24th 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). Depending on the developments during the JGP Series, the ISU Council will evaluate if and how the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2021 (scheduled for Dec. 9-12, 2021, in Osaka, Japan) could be held by applying alternative qualification criteria. The ISU will stream all events live on its YouTube page.
