Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier haven't skipped a beat after becoming the reigning World champions in April.
After picking up right where they left off at Skate America – standing atop the podium in their season debut – the 2022 Olympic team event silver medalists have now won their second straight Grand Prix gold, dominating the field in Sheffield, Great Britain, at the MK John Wilson Trophy.
Their fourth Grand Prix medal as a team, Knierim and Frazier become the first U.S. pairs figure skating team to win multiple Grand Prix events in one season (since the series started in 1995), guaranteeing a place in the Grand Prix final next month in Torino, Italy. There, they will become the first U.S. pairs team since 2015 to compete at the Grand Prix Final when Knierim competed with her husband Chris Knierim.
On Saturday in Sheffield, Knierim and Frazier opened their free skate to Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times" with a triple twist and then earned Level 4s on their three lifts and pairs combination spin. They were rewarded with 129.97 points, winning the free skate for a total score of 205.85.
Knierim and Frazier won the competition by more than 20 points. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy secured the silver with 184.19 points (115.50 in the free skate) and Letizia Roscher and Luis Schuster of Germany stood on the podium with bronze with a score of 167.37 (107.13 in the free skate).
Katie McBeath and Nathan Bartholomay completed their season debut. Their skate to "The Blowers Daughter" by Christina Aguilera and Chris Mann secured 90.08 points and they finished in sixth with a two-day total of 147.29.
In the men's competition,
Jimmy Ma led Team USA with a seventh-place finish, his best result at his two Grand Prix events this season. He claimed high marks on his triple Axel and triple Axel-double toe loop combination to take 136.75 points in the free skate and 214.47 points overall.
Tomoki Hiwatashi received 122.05 points for his free skate in his first Grand Prix of the season. He finished with 188.73 points overall and ninth place.
Daniel Grassl of Italy won the gold, scoring 264.35 total points (177.50 in the free skate). Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia brought home silver with a total score of 254.56 (171.55 in the free skate) while Shun Sato earned bronze with 249.03 (166.35 in the free skate).
Earlier in the day, the women's and ice dance competitions got underway.
The reigning World Junior champion,
Isabeau Levito, picked up right where she left off at Skate America. After winning silver in Norwood, Massachusetts, she once again earned second in the short program. With a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination that received 12.37 points, Levito went on to score 72.06 for her performance to "Una Noche Mas."
Skating at her first Grand Prix of the season, a triple flip-double toe and triple Lutz jumps propelled
Gabriella Izzo into fifth place as her routine to "Punga" received a score of 62.92.
In her first appearance back on the ice in competition since 2021,
Bradie Tennell placed 10th with a score of 56.50.
Mai Mihara of Japan holds a lead of .17 over Levito with a score of 72.23 while Anastasiia Gubanova of Gorgia rounds out the top three with 66.82 points.
After the rhythm dance,
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko and
Oona Brown and Gage Brown rank fourth and seventh, respectively.
In their season debut, Carreira and Ponomarenko performed their rhythm dance set to "Kind of Latin Rhythm," "Where do I Begin" and "Samba" in front of an audience for the first time. The 2022 Four Continents bronze medalists earned Level 4s for their pattern dance type step sequence and curve lift as well as high marks for their midline step sequence for a total score of 75.00.
The reigning World Junior champions, the Brown siblings made an impressive Grand Prix debut, setting a new personal best by more than three points, scoring 70.34. Their rhythm dance was highlighted by their pattern dance type step sequence, which received more than 10 points from the judges.
Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy sit atop the standings (86.30), followed by Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain (85.37) and Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada (81.09).
Competition concludes Sunday with the women's free skate and free dance. Follow all the action on the
Grand Prix Competition Central on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
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