CALGARY, ALTA. (March 2, 2023) – Two Canadian teams cracked the top-10 in pairs, while Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., stands second in the men’s competition after the short program on Thursday at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
Sophia Baram and Daniel Tioumentsev of the U.S. won the gold medal in pairs with 184.47 points, followed by Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore of Australia in second at 170.36 and Violetta Sierova and Ivan Khobta of Ukraine in third at 159.39.
First-year partners Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov of Winnipeg placed sixth with 149.03, a personal best by almost 20 points. Chloe Panetta of Laval, Que., and Kieran Thrasher of Amherstburg, Ont., were eighth and Ashlyn Schmitz of Shellbrook, Sask., and Tristan Taylor of Regina, Sask., were 11th.
‘’It’s mixed emotions for us,’’ said Kemp. ‘’There were some things we were working on that could have done better. We were a bit surprised with the score but really happy about it.’’
Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., is in the medal hunt in the men’s competition with a score of 80.56. Kao Miura of Japan is first at 85.11 and Naoko Rossi of Switzerland third at 79.46.
‘’It definitely felt great out there,’’ said Chiu, fourth at last year’s event. ‘’This week I’ve been trying to just stay calm and not let my nerves or adrenaline get in the way and that really showed here. The fight on my triple Lutz, I just had to rely on my training.’’
Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., is 11th and Edward Vasii of Montreal 27th. The top-24 advance to Saturday’s free skate.
‘’It’s my first world juniors and they are in Canada so it was great to have such a supportive crowd,’’ said Rakic. ‘’I’m at the best place I’ve ever been in my career after an up and down season. I have the quad toe in my free program and I hope to land it again like I did at nationals.’’
Competition continues through to Saturday at the WinSport Arena at Canada Olympic Park. Friday, athletes will tackle the women’s free skate and the rhythm dance.
For full competition results, click here.