Competition for the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2023 concluded today with the free dance and men's free skate.
In the free dance, all three U.S. teams finished their first World Junior Championships in the top 10. Leah Neset and Artem Markelov were the top U.S. finishers in fifth. The 2023 U.S. junior champion's skate to "Hoist the Colours," "Mermaids" and "Drink Up Me Hearties" by Hans Zimmer featured a diagonal step sequence and set of Level 4 synchronized twizzles as their high-scoring elements. Following a solid performance in the free dance which earned them a score of 98.58, the duo moved from seventh after the rhythm dance to fifth in the overall standings achieving a total score of 162.59
Following Neset and Markelov, were U.S. teammates Jenna Hauer and Benjamin Starr who finished eighth. The team opened with synchronized twizzles and executed a diagonal step sequence. They earned positive execution grades for all their elements while skating to music from the Pina soundtrack. After a ninth-place finish in the rhythm dance, Hauer and Starr moved up to eighth overall, with a free dance score of 92.07 and a total score of 154.12
Helena Carhart and Volodymyr Horovyi rounded out the field for Team USA in ninth. A straight line and rotational lift combination highlighted their performance earning them 12.55 points. They beat their previous international personal best score in the free dance by three points with a score of 88.53, as well as their best international overall score which they beat by more than four points to end the competition with 149.87 points.
Katerina Mrazkova and Daniel Mrazek of the Czech Republic took home the ice dance gold (177.36), South Korea's Hannah Lim and Ye Quan earned silver (174.39) and Canada's Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont claimed bronze (169.13).
The men's free skate wrapped the final day of the competition. 2023 U.S. men's junior champion Lucas Broussard was Team USA's top men's performer in seventh place skating to "The Leftovers" by Max Richter and "Compassion" by Ilya Beshevli. He earned his highest points with a triple flip-Euler-triple Salchow combination worth 11.31 points and a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination for which he received 10.18 points for a free skate total of 132.46 and an overall score of 209.47.
Daniel Martynov finished his first World Junior Championships appearance in 10th place. He opened his free skate to "Air" by Jan Werner with a triple Axel and a triple Axel-double toe loop combination which earned him a score of 130.74, and an international personal best overall score of 204.67.
2023 ISU Four Continents champion Kao Miura of Japan won gold (264.74), Switzerland's Naoki Rossi took home silver (220.68) and Nozomu Yoshioka of Japan rounded out the podium with bronze (217.79).
