Team USA brought home four medals from the final stop of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure skating Series in Yerevan, Armenia, the most for the United States from any Junior Grand Prix this season.
Four out of Team USA's five entries stood atop the podium over the weekend with Daniel Martynov clinching a place in the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure skating Final with gold. In the women's event, both U.S. women secured their first career medals in the Junior Grand Prix Series with Elyce Lin-Gracey earning silver and Sherry Zhang claiming bronze. Rounding out the U.S. medal haul, Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal took silver in the ice dance competition, their second JGP medal this season.
Martynov dominated the men's competition, winning the short program and free skate to set a new international personal best total score by more than 12 points.
Achieving a new personal best of 79.24 in the short program, Martynov's skate to "Dawn of Faith" by Eternal Eclipse Martynov opened with his strongest element, a triple Axel. In his free skate to "Iron" by Woodkid, he clinched gold with a segment score of 140.85 and a total score of 220.09. Two of his elements earned more than 10 points, including a triple Lutz-double Axel-double toe loop sequence in the second half of his performance. The gold marks Martynov's second Junior Grand Prix medal this season after winning bronze at JGP Japan.
Making his Junior Grand Prix debut, Aleksandr Fegan, the youngest of all U.S. competitors, displayed promising talent with a fourth-place result. He set a new personal best in the short, free and total score, tallying 185.78 points overall.
In the women's event, both U.S. stood on the podium, which is the first time Team USA has had multiple athletes on a JGP podium in any discipline
Lin-Gracey secured silver, starting out strong with a short program total of 64.50, marking a five-point improvement from her previous international personal best at JGP Turkey earlier this season. Lin-Gracey was awarded positive grades of execution on all elements in her performance to "Someone Like You" by Linda Eder, opening with a triple flip- triple toe combination which earned her more than 10 points. She went on to claim the silver medal with a total score of 176.11, including 111.61 in the free skate.
Standing alongside Lin-Gracey on the podium was Zhang. After finishing third in the short program with a score of 60.52 - a new international personal best- Zhang tallied personal bests for her free skate and total with final marks of 114.66 and 175.18, respectively. Skating to "A Beautiful Storm" by Jennifer Thomas in the free Skate, Zhang earned second in the segment after landing her first four jumping elements and clinched he bronze medal.
Continuing the medal streak, Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal gave a remarkable performance, totaling new personal bests in all three scoring categories to win their second Junior Grand Prix medal this season.
They claimed second place after the rhythm dance with a score of 62.52. Their program, set to a Janet Jackson medley, included Level 4 sequential twizzles and a Level 4 rotational lift, contributing a combined 18.60 points in the rhythm dance. In the free dance, the Peal siblings began strongly with a Level 3 one foot turns sequence, followed by a Level 4 combination lift and a Level 4 dance spin, earning them a score of 93.31. The duo clinched the silver medal with a final score of 155.83.
For complete results, visit the U.S. Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix Competition Central.
