Twenty Team USA athletes are headed to two international events this week – NHK Trophy and Cup of Austria. Set for Nov. 12-14 in Tokyo, NHK Trophy is the fourth stop of the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Cup of Austria will run Nov. 11-14 in Graz and is part of the ISU Challenger Series.
The United States will send 11 athletes to compete at NHK Trophy.
Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn will represent Team USA in the women’s competition. Two-time U.S. champion Liu recently made her Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada International where she finished fifth overall. Glenn competed at 2021 Guaranteed Rate Skate America in October where she placed sixth.
Vincent Zhou headlines the U.S. men’s contingent in Tokyo. The 2018 Olympian earned his first Grand Prix title at Skate America® last month and looks to qualify for the Grand Prix Final this week. Tomoki Hiwatashi and Camden Pulkinen will join Zhou at the event. Hiwatashi placed 11th at Skate Canada International while Pulkinen will kick off his Grand Prix season at NHK Trophy.
In the pairs competition, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc will look to collect their second Grand Prix medal after earning bronze at Skate Canada International. Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov will join them, making their first Grand Prix appearance of the season. The Boston-based team earned the bronze medal at 2020 Skate America.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates are the sole U.S. team competing in the ice dance event at NHK Trophy. Chock and Bates grabbed the silver medal at 2021 Skate America and look to claim their 14th consecutive Grand Prix medal in Tokyo.
Fans can watch the entire event live and on-demand on Peacock Premium. NBC will also broadcast a recap show on Sunday, Nov. 14, from 4-6 p.m. ET. The Grand Prix Series Competition Central is the one-stop shop for fans to follow Team USA, read up on the latest news and access schedules and results.
The Grand Prix Series, now in its 26th season, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete or team is eligible to score points in up to two of the six scheduled events. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the 2021 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, set for Dec. 9-12 in Osaka, Japan.
Nine U.S. athletes will head to Cup of Austria this week.
Starr Andrews and Audrey Shin will represent Team USA in the women’s event. Both athletes competed at 2021 Skate America last month where Andrews finished 10th and Shin placed 12th.
Ilia Malinin is the sole U.S. man heading the Graz. Malinin won the title at his two Junior Grand Prix events this fall, qualifying for the Junior Grand Prix Final. This will mark his first international event at the senior level.
The U.S. will field three ice dance teams in Austria. Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen will make their senior international debut. The 2021 U.S. junior champions earned gold and silver at their two Junior Grand Prix events and also qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final. Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov will return to international ice after placing fifth at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in September. Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville will make their international debut as a team in Austria. The duo won the U.S. Figure Skating Championship Series presented by Toyota event in Blaine, Minnesota.
The ISU Challenger Series is a group of 10 senior-level international figure skating competitions held each year to help skaters prepare and qualify for ISU Championship events.
U.S. ENTRIES AT NHK
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Amber Glenn | Plano, Texas | Euless, Texas
Alysa Liu | Richmond, Calif. | Oakland, Calif.
Men
Tomoki Hiwatashi | Colorado Springs, Colo. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Camden Pulkinen | Scottsdale, Ariz. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Vincent Zhou | Palo Alto, Calif. | Colorado Springs, Colo. & Kyoto, Japan
Pairs
Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc | Coppell, Texas; Cedar Rapids, Iowa | Euless, Texas
Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov | Frisco, Texas; Dallas | Norwood, Mass.
Ice Dance
Madison Chock and Evan Bates | Novi, Michigan; Ann Arbor, Mich. | Montreal
U.S. ENTRIES AT CUP OF AUSTRIA
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Starr Andrews | Los Angeles | Los Angeles
Audrey Shin | Northport, N.Y. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Men
Ilia Malinin | Vienna, Va. | Reston, Va.
Ice Dance
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville | McLean, Va.; Cabin John, Md. | Canton, Mich.
Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov | Germantown, Md.; Novi, Mich. | Leesburg, Va.
Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen | Ann Arbor, Mich.; Fremont, Calif. | Novi, Mich.
PEACOCK PREMIUM STREAMING SCHEDULE – NHK TROPHY
All times Eastern. Subject to change.
Thursday, Nov. 11
Pairs short program | 11:33 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 12
Rhythm dance | 1:20 a.m.
Women’s short program | 3:10 a.m.
Men’s short program | 6:04 a.m.
Pairs free skate | 11:23 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Free dance | 1:40 a.m.
Women’s free skate | 3:40 a.m.
Men’s free skate | 6:35 a.m.
