United States in Podium Position After Day Two at World Team Trophy

The United States sits in second place following the day two of competition at ISU World Team Trophy 2021 in Osaka, Japan.

The United States sits in second place following the day two of competition at ISU World Team Trophy 2021 in Osaka, Japan. The pairs, ice dancers and men earned 36 points to total 83 overall. Russia is in first place with 91 and Japan sits in third with 78 points.

“I’m super proud of my team’s fight today,” said team captain Jason Brown. “It’s day two and we are still in second place and I’m happy about that. I’m looking forward to being in the box all day tomorrow with Nathan (Chen), Kaitlin (Hawayek) and Jean-Luc (Baker) as we cheer on the pairs and ladies. We are going to be cheering loud and proud, and looking forward to the final day of competition.” 

Nathan Chen continued to shine on the second day of competition, winning the free skate with 203.24 points. The three-time World champion’s performance earned 12 points for Team USA. Brown finished eighth in the free skate with 160.33, notching another five points for the United States. Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu was in second (193.76) and Russia’s Mikhail Kolyada was in third (180.72). 

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker earned a third-place finish in the free dance with 110.16 points. In their World Team Trophy debut, the duo earned another 10 points for Team USA. Russia’s Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov (130.15), and Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (124.75) rounded out the top three in first and second, respectively. 

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier finished fourth in the pairs short program with 65.68 points, earning nine points for the United States. The event marks just their fourth competition together as a team. Knierim is making her second appearance (last competed with husband and former partner Chris Knierim in 2015) while Frazier makes his first. Russia’s Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov took the top spot (73.77), Italy’s Nicole Della Monica and Matteo Guarise finished second (66.09) and Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara placed third (65.82). 

Competition concludes on Saturday with the pairs and ladies free skates. Fans can watch World Team Trophy live and in its entirety on Peacock Premium. Additionally, NBCSN will air same-day delayed broadcast of the event.

The event features the six best figure skating teams of the 2020-21 season, which includes Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Each team consists of two ladies, two men, one pairs team and one ice dance team. Each skater/team will receive points based on placements in the short program/rhythm dance and free skate/dance. The points will be combined across the four disciplines with the highest point total winning.

Held every odd year, Team USA has medaled in all six World Team Trophy events. Most recently, Team USA won the 2019 event with 117 points. The United States also won the inaugural 2009 competition, earned silver in 2012 (held in an even year because the 2011 event was postponed due to an earthquake and tsunami in Japan), and won gold in 2013 and 2015.

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