Isabeau Levito and
Ilia Malinin emerged as front runners after the short program of Grand Prix de France, leading a stacked field of skaters at the third stop of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.
Levito kicked off the event in Angers, France with a powerful snake-themed skate to "Yearning" by Raul Ferrando. She earned positive grades of execution on all her elements, opening with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination that vaulted her to a five-point lead over the next competitor, earning 71.83 points. Levito is vying for a Grand Prix Final spot after earning the silver at Skate America earlier this season.
Malinin continued to reign supreme in the men's discipline with a captivating performance choreographed to "Malagueña" by Roni Benise. The Skate America champion wowed the crowd with his performance that included a quadruple Lutz-triple toe combo that earned him 19.64 points and placed him just above the second-place skater, Adam Siao Him Fa of Italy (101.07), with an overall score of 101.58.
Like Levito, Malinin looks to clinch a place in the Grand Prix Final on Saturday.
U.S. teammate
Camden Pulkinen finished sixth overall with a skate to "A Different Kind of Love" by Son Lux, earning 83.44 points.
In ice dance,
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko just missed a top-three spot in the short program with a score of 72.94. Their performance to "Whole Lotta Trouble" and "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks earned them positive grades of execution in every element.
Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov finished ninth with a score of 64.77.
Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez and
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea finished just outside the top three in the pairs event, ending the day in fourth and fifth with scores of 58.46 and 54.75, respectively.
Competition wraps up Saturday with the women's, men's and pairs free skates and the free dance.
For full results, visit the
ISU Grand Prix Series Competition Central.
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