Jacob Sanchez (USA) soared to gold on his debut in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Grenoble (FRA) on Saturday. It was an interesting competition which saw a lot of movement in the standings.

Jacob Sanchez (USA) strikes Junior Men’s gold 

Jacob Sanchez (USA) soared to gold on what was his first appearance in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. ISU World Junior Champion Minkyu Seo of Korea moved up from fifth place to capture the silver medal while defending Junior Grand Prix Final Champion Rio Nakata of Japan settled for the bronze.

Sanchez, who stood in second following the Short Program, delivered a confident performance to “Io Ci Saro” that was highlighted by six clean triple jumps and level four spins. The JGP Ankara Champion only stepped out of his first triple Axel. Sanchez scored 148.14 points and was ranked second in the Free Skating, but overall pulled up to first place at 227.38 points. 

The consistent and confident Jacob Sanchez (USA) leapt from silver to gold medal position with the second best Free Skate score © ISU

“I was happy to be able to recuperate after the initial jump [triple Axel] and kind of get myself back to my body,”  Sanchez said. 

“I was pretty nervous today even though I am not usually nervous but I am happy the way I controlled myself. 

“I am very happy of how far I’ve got so far, that’s a lot more that I’ve expected. 

“This is a very good season for me and going forward I want to make a strong debut at Nationals this year and I want to improve my placement at Junior Worlds as well.”

Seo put in a delightful performance to “Singing in the Rain”, completing eight triple jumps including two Axels as well as difficult spins and footwork. The JGP Ostrava Champion was fifth in the Short Program after a mistake, but he won the Free Skating segment with a season best of 152.46 points and climbed to second place with 222.14 points. 

Minkyu Seo (KOR) won the Free Skate with a delightful routine to Singing in the Rain, rising to silver medal position after a disappointing Short Program © ISU

“I did several mistakes yesterday and today I tried to cover it up and make a clean program,” a happy Seo shared. 

“I think I did it and I’m very satisfied with my free program today. I’ll be continuing working hard on skating clean and showing good performances to the audience.”

Overnight leader Nakata was last to skate and he felt the pressure. The 2024 ISU World Junior silver medalist landed a quad toe – he was the only competitor in the Junior Men to attempt a quad – but he popped his first planned triple Axel as well as a loop. Nakata placed fourth in the Free Skating at 135.94 points and overall slipped from first to third at 215.33 points. 

Rio Nakata (JPN) led after the Short Program but let the pressure get to him in the Free Skate and placed fourth on Saturday for an overall bronze medal © ISU

“During my training, I was able to land my jumps properly and I was first for the short program, but when I learned the other skaters' scores, I felt a lot of pressure,” Nakata admitted. 

”I thought I could win this competition once again, but today I couldn’t find the right timing for my jumps like the Axel. 

“Even though I made mistakes, if I had worked harder to do my other jumps better, maybe I could’ve gotten a better score.”

Sena Takahashi (JPN) moved up from sixth to fourth with a strong performance in the Free Skating (204.40 points). Yanhao Li (NZL), the first Skater from New Zealand to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final (junior or senior) finished fifth (201.63). Lukas Vaclavik (SVK) was very unlucky when his right skating blade broke in the morning practice and he had to switch to a new blade. He struggled with some jumps and dropped from third to sixth (176.36 points).

For full entries, results and further information visit the ISU Grand Prix Final event site.

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is as follows:

Thursday, December 5: Junior Pairs, Junior Women’s Short Programs, Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, Pairs & Women’s Short Programs
Friday, December 6: Junior Men’s Short Program, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Men’s Short Program    
Saturday, December 7: Women’s & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala

How did Skaters qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final? 

Skaters/Couples competed in two events and collected points towards the qualification for the Final. Check out the complete ISU Grand Prix Standings:

Women             Men     Pair Skating     Ice Dance

For further information see the General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Please visit the ISU Grand Prix page for full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

• 18 - 20 Oct 2024                       Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
• 25 - 27 Oct 2024                       Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
• 01 - 03 Nov 2024                      Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
• 08 - 10 Nov 2024                      NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
• 15- 17 Nov 2024                       Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  
• 22 - 24 Nov 2024                      Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

• 05 - 08 Dec 2024                      Grenoble (FRA)

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.