Seventeen U.S. Athletes to Compete at Golden Spin of Zagreb

Seventeen Team USA athletes will travel to the Golden Spin of Zagreb this week in Croatia. Set for Dec. 9-11, Golden Spin is the final event of the 2021 Challenger Series.

Amber Glenn will headline the women's event for the United States in Zagreb. Earlier this season, the 2021 U.S. silver medalist finished sixth and seventh at Skate America® and NHK Trophy, respectively. Gabriella Izzo returns to Challenger Series ice after finishing 13th at Warsaw Cup. The Massachusetts native also earned the bronze medal at the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic at her home rink. Hanna Harrell will compete in her first international competition since 2019.

Jimmy Ma and Eric Sjoberg return to the Challenger Series after finishing 16th and 19th, respectively, at Warsaw Cup. Both U.S. men also competed at the 2021 U.S. International Classic, with Ma earning silver and Sjoberg grabbing bronze.

Team USA will send three pairs team to Golden Spin – Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson, and Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov. Knierim and Frazier are the 2021 U.S. champions and are fresh off a bronze-medal finish at Internationaux de France. Calalang and Johnson also medaled at their last appearance, earning silver at Warsaw Cup. Lu and Mitrofanov had top-five finishes at NHK Trophy and Rostelecom Cup earlier this season.

The U.S. will also have a full slate in the ice dance competition. Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker will make their second appearance of the season after finishing fifth at Rostelecom Cup. They are the 2021 U.S. bronze medalists. Molly Cesanek and Yehor Yehorov finished ninth at Skate America® earlier this season and 13th at Lombardia Trophy. Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville will make their second international appearance as a team after placing eighth at Cup of Austria.

The ISU Challenger Series is a group of 10 senior-level international figure skating competitions held each year to help skaters prepare and qualify for ISU Championship events.