Mao Shimada (JPN) leads five last ISU Junior Final qualifiers at JGP Abu Dhabi (UAE)

FIGURE SKATING

Mao Shimada (JPN) leads five last ISU Junior Final qualifiers at JGP Abu Dhabi (UAE)

11 Oct 2025

What an exciting seventh and last event it was at the historic first ISU Junior Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi (UAE)! Three-time ISU World Junior Champion Mao Shimada (JPN) qualified for her fourth consecutive Junior Final and led four more qualifiers from Abu Dhabi as the JGP series 2025/26 wrapped up at the Zayed Sports City Ice Rink. The qualifiers include Men’s Champion Lucius Kazanecki (USA) and Ice Dance Champions Hana Maria Aboian/Danil Veselukhin (USA).

Relive all the action and catch the winners’ interviews on the ISU YouTube channel.

Mao Shimada (JPN) claims eighth JGP title

She did it again: Junior Queen Mao Shimada of Japan skated off with her eighth ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medal and right into her fourth ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Shimada celebrated another confident victory with nine points to spare. Her upbeat Short Program to “Get Happy” and “Sing Sing Sing” put her into the lead but two jumps were not perfectly rotated. Shimada pulled off a great triple Axel and six more clean triples as well as exquisite spins in her Free Skating to “Miracle” to achieve a new seasons best score in the segment and overall at 201.17 points. She now is aiming to close out her ISU JGP journey with a fourth consecutive gold in the Final.

Mao Shimada (JPN) skated to her eighth JGP title at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Abu Dhabi Photo ©ISU

“One of the programs didn’t go as planned and after the Short Program, I was a little bit upset but I knew I could not finish like this,” Shimada said. ”So I gave it my all, especially in the choreo sequence.”

The 16-year-old is not only looking forward to the Junior Final but also to the Japanese National Championships where she will compete as a senior.

“I want to be able to compete with the seniors,” the Junior World Champion noted. “A lot of seniors will be retiring this year, so I am really excited to skate with them once again.”

Australian Hana Bath continues to make headlines: Sitting in third following the Short Program, the 15-year-old hit a triple Axel in her Free Skating to “Fountain of Eternity” to move up to second place with a new personal best of 192.72 points. Bath’s silver is the first medal for an Australian Single Skater on the ISU Junior Grand Prix since Stephanie Zhang won a bronze in 2000.

Sophia Shifrin of Israel took the bronze like she had two weeks ago in Baku. She set new personal best scores for herself and totaled 181.90 points. However, two bronze medals were not enough to get into the Junior Final.

The other qualifiers are the Kim twins Yujae Kim (KOR) and Yuseong Kim (KOR), Mayuko Oka (JPN), Mei Okada (JPN) and Sumika Kanazawa (JPN). The substitutes are Hana Bath (AUS), Seojin Youn (KOR) and Sophie Joline von Felten (USA).

Lucius Kazanecki (USA) jumps to gold and into the Final

The suspense who is going to make the Final in the Junior Men lasted until the very last skater and the outcome was unpredictable. Lucius Kazanecki (USA) rose from fourth to first to earn not only his first JGP gold but also a ticket to the Final in Nagoya. Denis Krouglov of Belgium claimed the silver and is the first Belgian skater to qualify for the Junior Final since Kevin van der Perren back in the 2001/02 season. Sena Takahashi of Japan slipped from first to third and his bronze from Abu Dhabi was not enough to make the Junior Final.

Lucius Kazanecki (USA) won his first ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medal in Abu Dhabi (UAE) and qualified for the Junior Final Photo ©ISU

Kazanecki had 73.01 points from his solid Short Program to “Interstellar” and was eight points behind leader Takahashi, who shone in his performance to “You Will Be Found”. The American had nothing to lose but all to win in the Free Skating and he delivered a strong performance to “Adios Nonino” that featured a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination and five clean triple jumps. Only the second quad toe was slightly under-rotated and he stepped out of his triple Axel. Kazanecki, who trains with two-time ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA), netted a new personal best in the Free Skating and jumped to first place at 219.63 points, another personal best.

“I was really hoping for like a one percent chance placements of skaters to make somehow mathematically the Final because I didn’t really think winning was going to happen,” the 17-year old shared. “When I saw that I won I first didn’t believe it. So much emotion. I was flabbergasted. It’s just something I’ve been dreaming about. Dreams come true, I guess.

“I want to win, I want to be up there. That’s what comes first, really”, he added.

Now Kazanecki wants to use the time before the Final in December. “I’m really glad that there is a break so I can go back to the basics of my program. I really want to work on that, look more at the judges and maybe up my technical content so that I have a chance of having a super high placement at the Grand Prix Final. I want to spend that long time to make everything perfect.”

Krouglov continued his ascent this season with two excellent performances. Ranked third in the Short Program he stepped it up in his Free Skating to “Seven Years in Tibet” that included eight triples and pulled up to second at 218.19 points, a personal best score. Just a few days after his 16^th birthday, Krouglov presented himself with silver and the trip to the Final.

Takahashi dropped from first to third after popping two jumps (216.72 points) and was edged out of the Final. He is the first substitute.

The other qualifiers for the Junior Final are Rio Nakata (JPN), Minkyu Seo (KOR), Habin Choi (KOR), Taiga Nishino (JPN). The substitutes are Takahashi, Patrick Blackwell (USA) and Genrikh Gartung (GER).

Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin USA golden and in the Final

JGP Bangkok Champions Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) secured their second gold medal on the circuit this season and their place in the Junior Final. Dania Mouaden/Theo Bigot of France danced to the silver medal and clinched the last spot in the Junior Final. Both teams qualified for the first time.

Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) danced their way to gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi (UAE) Photo ©ISU

Aboian/Veselukhin were the favorites and did not disappoint. The couple from Newington, CT, started with a high-energy Rhythm Dance to “Vogue” by Madonna and a personal best score into the competition. The ISU World Junior competitors followed up with their captivating Free Dance that tells the story of Nike and her sculptor, showing off great speed, unison and difficult elements. They collected a level four for their twizzles, combo lift and dance spin to score 100.41 points, which is the highest Free Dance score on the JGP this season. It was also a personal best for them as was their total of 167.11 points.

Mouaden/Bigot entertained the crowd at the Zayed Sports City Ice Rink with their energetic performances, especially in their Free Dance to “Nature Boy” and “Bad Guy”. The JGP Riga silver medalists collected 157.68 points.

JGP Baku silver medalists Zoe Bianchi/Daniel Basile of Italy returned on to the podium and picked up the bronze this time with two strong outings and a new personal best in the Free Dance (146.42 points).

The other qualifiers are Iryina Pidgaina/Artem Koval (UKR), Layla Veillon/Alexander Brandys (CAN), Ambre Perrier Gianesini/Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) and Jasmine Robertson/Chase Rohner (USA). The substitutes are Charlie Anderson/Cayden Dawson (CAN), Bianchi/Basile and Summer Homick/Nicholas Buelow (CAN).

Pairs JGP Final qualifiers

The Pairs qualifiers were determined last week at the ISU JGP in Gdansk (POL): Ava Kemp/Yohnatan Elizarov (CAN), Xuanqi Zhang/Wenqiang Feng (CHN), Rui Guo/Yiwen Zhang (CHN), Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher (CAN), Julia Quattrocchi/Etienne Lacasse (CAN) and Yuxuan Chen/Yinbo Dong (CHN).

A total of 82 young athletes from 35 countries competed in Abu Dhabi. In total, the ISU Junior Grand Prix series 2025/26 gave 183 Junior Women, 108 Junior Men, 34 Junior Pairs and 67 Junior Ice Dance couples from 70 countries and five continents the opportunity to compete at the international stage and develop as athletes and people.

Check out the final ISU Junior Grand Prix Standings (unofficial):

Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance

Full entry lists, results and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

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Information on each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating event is available below: