Ice dancers Madison Chock the and Evan Bates After the NHK Trophy ended on Saturday, five U.S. figure skaters headed to the Grand Prix Final in December.
Chock and Bates, three-time world medalists, finished second for the Canadians Laurence Fournier Beaudry the and Nikolai Sorensen On Japan’s NHK, it is the fifth in a series of six Grands Prix that act as qualifiers for the Finals, which take the top six in each discipline from the season.
The final is often a preview of the World Cup in March.
Chock and Bates combined their victory at Skate America in October with a runner-up finish on NHK to qualify for the finals.
They became the first U.S. skaters in any discipline to reach seven Grand Prix finals (including last year, when the final was canceled after qualifying rounds). They will break the 2014 US record for six Grand Prix final appearances held by an Olympic figure skating champion. Meryl Davis the and Charlie White.
Bates, 33, broke the record for the oldest American to compete in a pairs final Todd Sand From the 1996-97 season. Bates is the only U.S. figure skater to have competed in four Winter Olympics and is the oldest (by team) to win a medal.
Chock and Bates will be looking for their first Grand Prix final title and the biggest international title of their careers after silver medals in 2014, 2015 and 2019.
They ranked fifth in the world for the best total score this season (209.13 points). Canadians Piper Gilles the and Paul PoirierChock and Bates, who have yet to face each other this season, finished first with 215.70 points.
None of February’s Olympic medalists will compete this fall: the French Gabriella Papadakis the and Guillaume Cizeron at least they are resting this season. Victoria Sinitsina the and Nikita Katsalapov Along with all Russian skaters, he was banned indefinitely due to the war in Ukraine. Americans Madison Hubbell the and Zachary Donohue pensioner.
The NHK Trophy will air Sunday on NBC, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.
MORE: NHK Trophy Results | Seasonal broadcast schedule
Also on Saturday, the world champion Shoma Uno Team Japan won the men’s event with the world’s second-best total score this season (279.76). American only Ilya Malinin highest score this season (280.37 to win Skate America).
Uno and Maliny will meet for the first time in the Grand Prix final this fall, if Maliny can get a decent result in the second Grand Prix starting next week in Finland.
Also on NHK My country is Kim became the world champion Kaori Sakamoto Japan became the second South Korean to win the Grand Prix after the 2010 Olympic champion Yuna Kim.
The result of NHK was also the world champion among youth Isabo Levito He qualified for the Finals by taking second place in the previous two Grand Prix competitions. Levito, 15, is the youngest American to qualify for the finals since then Caroline Zhang In 2007.
Fellow Americans Starr Andrews the and Amber Glenn Ninth and 11th on NHK followed their first Grand Prix podiums earlier this season. They needed to finish on the podium to stay in contention for the final.
of Japan Riku Miura the and Ryuichi Kihara They won the doubles title on NHK and improved their world leading score this season. Americans Emily Chan the and Spencer Howe He was the second to join the Japanese in the Grand Prix final. Americans Brandon Fraser the and Alexa Knierimthe world champions and the Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek the and Maxim Deschamps qualified for the final earlier this month.
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