Ladies Ready to Make Their Mark

A large group of women are making Senior Grand Prix debuts this fall. While many of the names will likely be lost in the mix, five from the U.S. and Japan have an opportunity to possibly shine. Who you ask...

Haruka Imai (Japan) - One of Japan's up and coming stars, over the past couple of seasons she's managed to medal in a few Junior Grand Prix events. Her biggest achievement came last season with a top five finish in her first major ISU Championship (Four Continents Cup). She has lovely qualities as a skater and will certainly add to the strength of the deep Japanese Team. She needs to increase her jump difficulty (i.e. add a Triple Lutz) to really be on par with the top women but she is well on her way.



Kristine Musademba (USA) - Kristine is a very powerful skater who has had good results over the last two years on the Junior Grand Prix. Injury kept her from competing in the back half of last season but she is most certainly poised to make her Senior Grand Prix debut this season. She seems destined for greatness but has often been plagued with unusual inconsistency. One competition she'll be solid and the next filled with mistakes. She's a gorgeous skater and if she can fix her head and and produce solid, consistent skates, she'll be one to beat.

Amanda Dobbs (USA) - Amanda keeps super busy competing not only as a singles skater but as a pairs skater too! She had a dream U.S. Nationals where she was top seven in Senior Pairs and then finished in the top six in Senior Ladies. She capped her season off with a 4th place finish at her first major Senior International Championship (Four Continents Cup). She's currently working on developing a full repertoire of triple jumps but the overall quality of her skating shines through on the other aspects of her skating. My favorite quality of Amanda's is she fully commits to everything. She's isn't the skater that is going to single or double a jump. Make it or miss it, she's going to do a triple. She's proven that she has an innate ability to compete, if she can increase her jump difficulty she'll be one to watch for sure.



Agnes Zawadzki (USA) - I had no prior knowledge of Agnes until she showed up at Nationals last season and ripped it, winning the Junior National title. That win earned her a spot on the Junior World Team where she again skated well and took the silver (ripping it again!). I do pray she isn't a one hit wonder because this girl has the goods. Unlike her Dobbs her jumping repertoire is complete (unless we start talking triple axels but not everyone can be Mao Asada) and she seems super consistent. She has a little personality on the ice too which helps bring an audience in. I'm very curious to see how Agnes stacks up with the top women in the world because I think she can go toe-to-toe with some of these ladies. Stay tuned!



Kanako Murakami (Japan) - The biggest threat coming out of the Junior ranks this upcoming season is likely Kanako Murakami. She did a clean sweep last season, winning everything. In a word, she's magnificent. She reminds me of Sasha Cohen the way she moves across the ice. She looks so trained and prepared at every competition she enters. Pressure doesn't seem to get to her and she just powers through her programs with enough energy at the end to keep going another 4 minutes. I think she is another skater that I predict will hit the Senior Ranks and likely be one of the top competitors.



*Lena Marrocco and Mae Berenice Meite of France as well as Kwak Min-Jung of Korea and Sonia Lafuente of Spain are also making Senior Grand Prix debuts.

Junior Grand Prix: USA

I'm a little slow to post my Junior Grand Prix Lake Placid update this week. I was out of town until today and thanks to Ice Network which showed the event live and on demand I was able to catch up on all the performances. A big thanks to Ice Network for showing the competition.

So beginning with the pairs, I must tell you I was really impressed with Canadians Hole and Johnson. For having been together for such a short period of time, there skating was impressive. Their gold medal was well deserved. Russians Stolbova and Klimov barely held on to the silver after a program that was ranked only fifth best. The bronze went to the Japanese team of Takahashi and Tran after a program as equally impressive as the Canadians. Americans Simpson and Miller made a valiant push to get on the podium with a top three free skate but came in just short in fourth place.

Amongst the ladies, Kristine Musademba was the clear class of the field with a strong free skate that showed excellent jumps, intricate steps, solid spins, and good speed. Kristine will be competing as a senior in Spokane and I wont be shocked at all if she is in the final group of skaters. The silver went to Russia's Ksenia Makarova who also skated well to pull up from fourth place. Her program had excellent tension and powerful, clear lines. The bronze went to Sweden's Isabelle Olsson who pulled all the way up from eighth place. The younger of two Olsson sisters' competing, her music was a bit odd but her jumping was solid. Americans Taylor Firth and DeeDee Leng self-imploded to finish fifth and seventh respectively.

For the men, Ross Miner easily took his first Junior Grand Prix Title besting his competitors. Ross showed complex choreography and good skating skills along with some solid jumping to take the title. Kento Nakamura of Japan and Russian Mark Shakhmatov's performances paled in comparison to Miner's as they took the silver and bronze respectively. American Joshua Farris had the comeback of the night with (what I thought) was the best program of the night. It included a gorgeous triple axel, a new jump for him, and he pulled all the way up from 10th to finish just off the podium in fourth.

Of all the Americans competing in Lake Placid, I think Maia and Alex Shibutani looked the most refined. Their Tango themed Free Dance looked polished well beyond their years and the team danced to a victory more than 20 points higher than their closest competitors. Canadians Ralph and Hill looked solid in winning the silver while the reigning U.S. Novice Champions Bonacorsi and Mager impressed their way to a bronze medal. Americans Tibbetts and Brubaker, who had a solid OD, ran into problems in the free dance when the duo tumbled on footwork, they had to settle for seventh place.

Full results can be seen here. Next week the Junior Grand Prix stops in Torun, Poland.

Junior Grand Prix: Spain

This past week the Junior Grand Prix concluded in Madrid, Spain with the U.S. winning four medals, two gold and two silver.

Kristine Musademba took home her second Gold of the Junior Grand Prix while Armin Mahbanoozadeh bettered his Silver from France and captured Gold.

Silver Medals went to Becky Bereswill and Ice Dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani.

These results clinch spots at the Junior Grand Prix Final for Musademba, Bereswill, and the Shibutani's.

Full results can be seen here.

This week the Junior Grand Prix moves to Gomel, Belarus.

Pic of the Week

So often we focus all of our attention on the big skating names that grace our sports. I like the beginning of the figure skating season because it allows some of the amazing talent that exists in the Junior ranks to shine a bit!

This past week, the very talented Kristine Musademba got her season started the right way with a win at Junior Grand Prix, France in Courchevel. Skating to Handel's "The Queen of Sheba," she easily defeated her teammate Becky Bereswill who took silver.

Last year, Kristine won the Pewter Medal at U.S. Nationals in Junior Ladies and has her sights set on an even higher podium finish this year.

Coincidentally, her favorite foreign city is Vancouver (wouldn't a trip in 2010 be fun!), she loves America's Top Model, and would most like to meet Nelson Mandela because he keeps his dreams alive in the face of adversity. What a wonderful person!

Junior Grand Prix: France

The results of the Junior Grand Prix in Courchevel, France can be found here.

U.S. Ladies competitor Kristine Musademba and Ice Dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani each skated away with Gold. Becky Bereswill and Armin Mabanoozadeh each took silver in ladies and men's single for the U.S.

This week, the Junior Grand Prix moves to Merano, Italy.