Grenoble, France (December 5, 2024) – Jazmine Desrochers and Kieran Thrasher came into the ISU Grand Prix Final ranked second in the world in junior pair skating and maintained that standing after the first day of competition in Grenoble, France.
Bronze medallists at last year’s competition, Desrochers of Mississauga, Ont., and Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., skated a strong program, registering two level four scores, but unfortunately had a fall on one of their throws that left them with a final score of 55.28. The Chinese pair of Jiaxuan Zhang and Yihang Huang finished the day with a score of 62.94 to lead the competition, while the American pair of OIivia Flores and Luke Wang sit in third with a score of 52.04.
“We’re proud of what we did (today). The throw was unfortunate, but it’s became a lot stronger of an element for us this year, so that’s why it’s more unfortunate, but overall, we’re happy with what we did. We did well and we’re proud of that,” said Desrochers following the competition.
Making their Grand Prix Final debut, Julia Quattrocchi of Laval, Que., and Simon Desmarais of Carignan, Que., finished the day in sixth place with a new personal best score of 47.70.
“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t expect to be here, we wanted at least one Grand Prix, and we got two plus a Final so we’re really grateful,” said Quattrocchi of their accomplishment after only starting to skate together last year and making their international debut this season.
Both teams will skate their free programs on the final day of the competition on Saturday. The senior ice dance competition will kick off Friday and feature the Canadian teams of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha.
For full results please click here.