Teams Elite Junior skated straight into history at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships, claiming the first title in this event for the USA in Gothenburg (SWE) Saturday. It was an incredible final full of fantastic performances, close scoring and surprises. 

Teams Elite Junior (USA) shines golden in Sweden

 Teams Elite Junior (USA) struck gold and made history by becoming the first US team to win the title at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. Fintastic Junior of Finland continued the great tradition of their country in the sport, climbing from fifth place to earn the silver. The Skyliners Junior  (USA) repeated as bronze medalist, completing a successful showing of the US teams.

Teams Elite Junior (USA) skated to their first title at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Championships in Gothenburg (SWE) © ISU

Teams Elite Junior ranked third with a solid Short Program to an epic version of “Lacrimosa”, but the difference between the top five teams was small. The Americans came as “Black Swans” on to the ice, dressed in elegant black costumes dotted with rhinestones. The 2022 ISU World Synchronized Junior bronze medalists gave a powerful performance to music from “Swan Lake” and “Black Swan”, cruising through their difficult elements with ease and high speed, showing off excellent unison. They picked up the highest level of difficulty for six elements and scored 132.43 points. Overall the team accumulated 205.28 points to win the title after coming fourth a year ago.

“We put it all out there and had no regrets which was our goal for the season,” said team captain Emma Chung. “We have worked so hard this entire season for this. It means everything to us, and it was very rewarding.

“It [winning gold] is a dream come true we work so hard for this opportunity and could not be more proud of our preparation and performances this entire season.”

Chung was proud that two US teams are on the podium. “It is such an incredible accomplishment and really shows the hard work everyone and every team has put into the season.”

Fintastic Junior (FIN) won the silver, their eighth medal at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Championships in Gothenburg (SWE) © ISU

Fintastic Junior is the most successful team in the history of the event that was introduced in 2013, having already collected seven medals. The Finns added the eighth medal in Gothenburg with a spectacular performance of their Asian inspired routine set to “Drums of Battle”, “Marco Polo” and “Tsunami”. The program was filled with high-quality intersections and moves. The multiple ISU World Junior Champions achieved a seasons best of 130.76 points and totaled 201.87 points to rise from fifth place after the Short Program on to the podium. Fintastic Junior had won the silver medal a year ago as well. 

“It was an amazing feeling on the ice today and how we stepped up after yesterday’s little disappointment [in the Short Program]”, commented team captain Edith Hamström.

The Skyliners Junior (USA) earned the bronze medal at the ISU World Junior Synchronized Championships in Gothenburg (SWE) © ISU

The Skyliners Junior  turned in an intriguing program to music from the “Interstellar” soundtrack and from “Ascendance”, completing smooth footwork, steps and moves. The team from Connecticut posted a seasons best of 127.76 points for a total of 201.27 points.  They slipped from second place after the Short Program to repeat as bronze medalists. 

“Coming third and being the second to last team to skate, to be honest, we were a little disappointed,” team captain Emily Duarte shared.

"We had goals coming into this competition and those goals weren’t met with our free skate. But we are still very proud of the journey that we went through throughout the season. It’s been definitely a roller coaster and I’m just glad that we finished out strong. We just showed our connection and our love for each other and the sport on the ice,” she added.

Defending champions Les Suprêmes Junior (CAN) led after the Short Program and their Free Skating went well but a fall in the synchronized spin cost them dearly and they slipped to fourth place at 200.01 points. 

Valley Bay Synchro (FIN) came fifth on 195.72 points. To the delight of the home crowd, Seaside Junior (SWE) placed sixth (177.10 points) followed by Nova Junior (CAN) on 174.34 points. 

Originally called Precision Skating, Synchronized Skating was introduced in the 1950s. It is a highly technical form of Figure Skating characterized by speed, precisions, unison, intricate formations, synchro elements, difficult footwork, spectacular lifts and exciting transitions. A synchronized team consists of 16 skaters (plus up to four alternates). 

A total of 24 teams with 552 Skaters representing 19 ISU Members participated in the Championships. It was the tenth edition of the event that started in 2013. The ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships were originally held biennially and are held annually since 2017. Sweden hosted the event for the first time.  

For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official event page. Follow the event on social media using the hashtag: #SynchroSkating.

 Where to watch the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships 2025:

The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships was live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here. 

 Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.