Team USA Wraps up Challenger Series with Seven Medals at Golden Spin of Zagreb

Team USA ended the Challenger Series season with an impressive seven medals at the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia, winning gold in all four disciplines.

Starting out strong for Team USA, Anastasiia Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia and Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea earned gold and silver, respectively, in the pairs competition.

Smirnova and Siianytsia secured their first senior international win and a personal best for their total score, earning 179.26 points. In the short program, they began their performance with strong triple Salchows and a triple twist lift with positive grades of execution for both to score 62.44 ponts.

Finishing in second after the short program, they improved their standing following the free skate and earned gold with a personal best free skate score of 116.82.

Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea finished close behind in second place with a total score of 178.83.

The pair who has only been competing together since September of this year ended the short program in third with 62.07 points. They opened their program with a triple twist lift and concluded with a Level 4 lift and Level 4 death spiral.

Following the free skate, in which they scored 116.76 points, they moved up to second due to Level 4 distinctions on all of their spins and lifts. Kam and O'Shea have now medaled at both their international events after they won gold at IceChallenge last month.

Katie McBeath and Nathan Bartholomay finished in sixth place. Their short program to "You Heart is as Black as Night" by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa started with a triple twist lift and ended with two Level 4 spins as well as a Level 4 step sequence, receiving 60.68 points from the judges.

In the free skate, McBeath and Bartholomay's lifts stood out as they accounted for their two highest-scoring elements. They skated to "The Blowers Daughter" by Christina Aguilera and Chris Mann, scoring 102.13. 

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada took home bronze with a score of 176.88.

In the women's competition, Lindsay Thorngren earned her first Challenger Series gold medal. Her short program to "Concierto de Aranjuez - en Vivo" by Guadalupe Pineda earned 60.49 points after she completed a triple loop and three Level 4 spins.

In the free skate, Thorngren overtook the top spot, winning the free skate with a score of 135.99, for an overall score of 196.48. She successfully executed a triple loop-double Axel sequence and a triple Lutz-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.

After missing out all of last season due to a foot injury, 2018 Olympian Bradie Tennell earned silver, her first time back on the podium this season.

Tennell opened her short program with a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and a double Axel. Tennell also earned Level 4s on all of her spins. She ended the short program in first place with a score of 68.84.

Her she came out of the gates strong in the free skate, beginning with a high-scoring a triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple loop and a triple Salchow. After a triple loop-Euler-double Salchow in the second half of the routine, Tennell was awarded 124.47 points for a total of 193.31.

Canada's Madeline Schizas finished in third place with a score of 183.28.

Team USA put out strong performances in the ice dance competition to take two of the three podium spots.

Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko started off strong in their rhythm dance with a midline step sequence and sequential twizzles for a score of 76.54.

Skating to "Summertime" by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald in the free dance, they completed a combination lift and a set of synchronized twizzles that earned Level 4s, jumping from second to first in the free dance to clinch gold.

Also medaling for Team USA with bronze was Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, who finished the short program with 73.14 skating to music from composer Philip Glass.

The new team as of March 2022 maintained their position in third place to win their first Challenger Series medal with their combination lift earning their highest score of the program.

After Eva Pate and Logan Bye finished the short program in seventh, performing to "Reel Around The Sun" by Bill Whelan, they improved their overall standing with a fourth-place finish in the free dance, earning more than 13 points for their combination lift and securing Level 4s on their one foot turns sequence and twizzles. As a result, they received 108.80 points and finished fourth with a score of 174.44.

Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania took silver with a score of 189.47.

Rounding out the competition for Team USA in the men's competition was Camden Pulkinen. Skating to "Fly Me to the Moon" by Chris Mann, Pulkinen finished the short program in first place with a score of 85.45. His performance included a triple Axel and triple Lutz–triple toe combination. He also earned level 4 marks on all his spins and his step sequence.

In the free skate, Pulkinen executed a quad toe loop, a triple Axel-Euler-double Salchow and triple Lutz-double Axel sequence. He maintained his spot at the top of the leaderboard to win his first Challenger Series gold with a free skate score of 156.64 and an overall score of 242.09.

Italy's Mateo Rizzo finished second, scoring 228.86, and Mihhail Selevko of Estonia won bronze with 217.51 points.

For more information, including full results, streaming information, news and more, visit the Challenger Series Competition Central on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.