Jimmy Ma and
Eric Sjoberg lead Team USA on the opening night of the 2021 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic at the Skating Club of Boston's facility in Norwood, Massachusetts. The event returns after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ma sits in second place after the men's short program with 84.07 points, a new personal best. The 2018 U.S. International Classic bronze medalist opened his
Swan Lake program with a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination followed by a triple Lutz. He received Level 4 marks on all his non-jumping elements.
"I feel like I have a lot left to offer [this sport]," said Ma. "Every single time I go out on the ice, I want to leave my heart there. Everything out there, nothing held back. After every single competition and when I reflect on things, I realize there are a lot more things that I can give."
Making his senior international debut, Sjoberg also set a personal best in the short program, scoring 78.11 points. He holds the third spot heading into the free skate after nailing a clean triple Axel and triple Lutz to open his program set to "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice.
"I feel happy with [my performance]," Sjoberg said. "This is the first time this season that I really felt emotionally connected to my skate … I train with Michal (Brezina) every day and he is a great role model, so it is great to be competing here with him."
Maxim Naumov placed fifth in the short program with 69.99 points. His performance set to "Run" by Joji included a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination.
Just behind Naumov,
Camden Pulkinen received 66.84 points for his
Moulin Rouge! performance. He is currently in sixth place.
Dinh Tran rounds out the U.S. contingent in eighth place with 65.77 points.
Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic won the short program with 87.48 points.
The U.S. International Figure Skating Classic continues tomorrow night with the rhythm dance, women's short program and men's free skate.
Fans can watch live and on-demand on Peacock Premium.
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