Team USA is bringing home two medals from the 2023 Neuchatel Trophy, the first stop on the 2023 ISU Challenger Series Synchronized Skating, which took place Jan. 13-15 in Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Teams Elite junior clinched Team USA's best result of the competition with silver in the junior event while the Skyliners earned bronze in the senior event.
The podium finishes mark the first international medals for both teams this season.
In the senior competition, the Skyliners won their second-ever Challenger Series medal with bronze.
The three-time U.S. silver medalists finished fourth in the short program with a score of 69.72. Performing to "Crazy" by Britney Spears, the Skyliners began with a Level 4 intersection with a Level 3 point of intersection before earning Level 4s for their move element and twizzle element.
The Skyliners kicked off their free skate the following day with music from
SIX The Musical, beginning with a Level 4 pivoting block and group lift. The team from Stamford, Connecticut, also earned Level 4s for their pair element, move element and synchronized spin element en route to a free skate score of 132.27.
Overall, the Skyliners earned a total score of 201.99.
Team Elite also represented Team USA in Switzerland. In their first-ever international competition after the team was founded this season, Teams Elite finished just off the podium in fourth place.
In the team's hypnosis-themed short program, which received 71.04 points and was third-best, Teams Elite opened with a Level 4 twizzle element and then received more than 10 points for their Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection, their highest-scoring element.
Teams Elite concluded the competition with 125.07 points in the free skate and 196.11 points overall. Their skate to a Britney Spears medley secured Level 4s on five elements.
Finland clinched the top two spots on the podium as the Helsinki Rockettes won gold and Marigold Ice Unity earned silver with overall scores of 234.06 and 218.27, respectively.
In the junior event, Teams Elite junior – the 2022 World Junior bronze medalists – kept their winning streak alive as the team has medaled at every competition they've competed in since the Spring Cup in 2020. This is also the team's fourth-ever Challenger Series medal.
Teams Elite junior's short program, which has a dangerous theme, included a Level 4 twizzle element and Level 4 move element, and earned 66.26 points.
Third going into the free skate, the team from Northbrook, Illinois, jumped up to second place by securing Level 4s on all but three of their elements. The team opened with a Level 4 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection that received more than 10 points from the judges. The performance to a medley of Black Eyed Peas songs also included a Level 4 synchronized spin, a Level 4 move element and a Level 4 traveling element, receiving 125.62 points for 191.88 points overall.
The reigning U.S. junior champions, Team Image, finished fourth with 153.12 points. The team scored 55.11 for their short program to "Scream" by Michael Jackson, receiving a Level 4 designation for their twizzle element and ending with a strong Level 3 intersection with a Level 4 point of intersection.
Skating to music from the
Running Out of Time movie soundtrack in the free skate, Team Image earned Level 4s on their intersection, traveling element and line element, totaling 98.01 points in the segment.
Finland secured the other two spots on the podium with Team Fintastic winning the gold with 193.57 points and Dream Edges claiming bronze with 188.77 points.
The Challenger Series continues next weekend with the Mozart Cup in Salzburg, Austria. To follow the competition, as well as the Challenger Series, visit the
2023 ISU Challenger Series Synchronized Skating Competition Central.
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