By Matteo Morelli

Skate America was the fifth Grand Prix event of this year’s series. Lake Placid, New York, welcomed back the competition to its iconic location, which hosted the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the event, earning their second gold medal of the season and securing a spot in the Grand Prix Final. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha finished in second place, followed by Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud.

Event Recap

World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates comfortably won the event, finishing 15 points ahead of second place. With this victory, they add a second gold medal to the one they won at the Cup of China, securing their ninth appearance at the Grand Prix Final.

In seven appearances at Skate America, they have always been on the podium, earning two silver and five gold medals, while enjoying the love they receive from local audiences. Chock said she loved hearing the crowd cheer for all of the competitors before them and that she and Bates appreciated the warm reception they received when they stepped onto the ice, confirming that this competition is very near and dear to their hearts.

Both of their programs have already evolved significantly since their first Grand Prix outing, showing how much work they have put into them. Chock and Bates have worked extensively with their coach, Marie France Dubreuil, and Spanish flamenco superstar Antonio Najarro on their free program to bring out all the details and nuances in the choreography. Showing new costumes, they admitted that they had to put in substantial work to gain confidence using the skirt element in the program, which they now see as an integral part of their dance.

Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha won the silver medal, finishing second in both segments of the event. With the bronze they earned at Skate Canada International, they now have to wait for the last Grand Prix results to know whether they will qualify for the Grand Prix Final. They were both very happy with their results and with what they were able to improve in just a week and a half between their first Grand Prix and this one. They shared that they really enjoy their rhythm dance, with sport inspired costumes that suit their style.

France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud finished on the last step of the podium, earning a second bronze medal after the one they won at the Cup of China. The team presented new blue costumes for their rhythm dance, after skating in red costumes so far this season. Speaking about their free dance, they said that they consider Björk to be a very specific and unique artist, making her music a perfect choice for them to continue presenting something distinctive.

The other French team, Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier, finished just outside the podium, skating confidently and greatly improving on their sixth-place finish from the Cup of China.

Two American teams followed in fifth and sixth place. Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were only about half a point away from fourth, with a result that was likely not what they were hoping for. Oona and Gage Brown finished in sixth place, entertaining the crowd with their Godfather free dance, and will head directly to Finland for the last Grand Prix of the season.

The Czech Republic’s Kateřina Mrázková and Daniel Mrázek finished in seventh place. Despite a very engaging free dance to Malagueña, they paid the price for a fall by Mrázková on the choreographic character step sequence that closes their free dance.

Great Britain’s Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez were finally able to enjoy their Grand Prix debut. During this event, they learned that they had been assigned to take Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis’ place at Finlandia Trophy, giving them a second chance to experience a Grand Prix.

Closing the rankings were Canada’s Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer in ninth place, who competed straight from NHK Trophy, and France’s Célina Fradji and Jean Hans Fourneaux in tenth, completing both of their Grand Prix assignments in their first year as senior ice dancers.

Qualification Standings

After five of the six Grand Prix events of this season, the top qualification standings in the run for the Grand Prix Final are, in order:

30 points: Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA)
28 points: Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (Great Britain)
24 points: Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius (Lithuania), Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha (Canada)
22 points: Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri (Italy), Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud (France)
16 points: Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko (USA)
15 points: Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron (France), Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (Canada)
14 points: Loïcia Demougeot and Théo Le Mercier (France)
13 points: Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik (USA)

Next Grand Prix

Finlandia Trophy will close the Grand Prix series and determine the final qualifiers for the Grand Prix Final in Japan. The battle for gold is expected to be between France’s Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron and Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, both winners of their earlier assignments. USA’s Emilia Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, silver medallists in China, will aim to return to the podium and qualify for their first Grand Prix Final. Other medal contenders include Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck, looking to rebound from costly mistakes in China; Georgia’s Diana Davis and Glen Smolkin, fifth in France; and Natálie Taschlerová and Filip Taschler, fourth at NHK Trophy. USA’s Maia and Alex Shibutani continue their comeback season with their second Grand Prix of the season. With Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis withdrawing, Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen will be Finland’s sole representatives. Back-to-back scheduling for Great Britain’s Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez, who were called in to replace the withdrawing Finnish team, and for the USA’s Oona and Gage Brown.