Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihang Huang (CHN) brought China back on top of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final after 11 years by winning the title Saturday in Grenoble (FRA). 

Zhang/Huang (CHN) win runaway gold in Grenoble

Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihang Huang of China continued the Pairs Skating tradition of their country and scored a runaway victory with 21 points to spare in the Junior Grand Prix Final in Grenoble. Olivia Flores/Luke Wang (USA) earned the silver medal while Canada’s Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher repeated as bronze medalists.  

Skating to “All For One” by Hael, Zhang/Huang produced a triple twist, triple Salchow, throw triple loop and a level-four lift to post a personal best of 113.15 points. Overall the JPG Riga Champions accumulated 176.09 points.

Jiaxuan Zhang/Yihang Huang (CHN) achieved a personal best in the Free Skate to win gold by a clear 21 points from their nearest rivals  © ISU

“I feel very good. I feel very honored to be at this final and we want to keep up the good work in the future. This audience is very enthusiastic and they cheered a lot for us,” Zhang noted.

“First of all I'm very proud to represent China in this event and then to come here to participate in this competition,” Huang shared. 

“I'm also very honored to be able to give my best in this competition and on this ice. The people here are very welcoming and it's great to see how much they like the sport and how much they like us athletes”. 

Flores/Wang gave an emotional performance to “The Lion King” that featured a triple twist, triple Salchow and throw triple loop. The 2024 ISU World Junior silver medalists improved their season's best by 11 points with a score of 103.78 which added up to 155.82 points overall. They overtook the Canadian team to earn the silver.

Olivia Flores/Luke Wang (USA) overcame nerves and illness to give an emotional performance of their Lion King routine and earn the silver medal with a season's best © ISU

“I came into the competition honestly really nervous, I had some butterflies in my stomach. It was so much fun to be out there and to perform that program with Luke. We both love it so much,” Flores noted. 

“It [the medal] means so much especially because we came here last year and we had hopes to medal last year, too.” 

Wang revealed that it wasn’t an easy competition for him. 

“The last two weeks had been really tough. I came to France and my body was not 100% in terms of stomach things and aches in my body. This is why I feel so relieved to have finished this with happiness.” 

Desrochers/Thrasher had chosen the sensual blues of “Since I’ve Been Loving You” for their Free Skating. Their lifts and the triple twist were the highlights of the program, but Desrochers missed the two throw jumps. The Canadians scored 97.54 points for a total of 152.82 points and slipped to third place. 

Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher (CAN) had mixed feelings about their Free Skate but still stepped onto the podium to collect a Grand Prix Final bronze medal © ISU

“We have mixed feelings,” Thrasher admitted. 

“We showed some good quality elements and some elements we could have performed better. Overall it was still a good competition for us.”

Asked about their learning experience, Thrasher answered: “Applying what we do every day at practice into competition. We are not changing what we do day to day at competitions – that’s the biggest takeaway from this event.” 

Romane Telemaque/Lucas Coulon (FRA) excited the home crowd with their personal best performance and finished fourth at 146.38 points.  Shae Shimizu/Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda (JPN) ranked fifth (145.66 points) followed by  Julia Quattrocchi/Simon Demarais (CAN) on 139.13 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.