This weekend saw the first titles decided in the 2017/2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating with a whole host of new talent vying for top honours in Brisbane, Australia.

Alexandra Trusova is the latest in a seemingly endless line of Russian female skaters to emerge on the world scene. In her first ever major international competition, she was not in the least bit fazed by the pressure and won both segments of the event comfortable. In a sign of things to come in terms of technical progression, Trusova attempted a quadruple Salchow in her free skating programme which she landed, albeit with an under rotation call from the technical panel.

Anastasiia Guliakova from Russia finished a distant second to her teammate and Japan’s Riko Takino took home the bronze. Like Trusova, this was the Junior Grand Prix debut for both women.

In comparison, the men’s event in Brisbane was dominated by veterans. Despite two falls in his free routine, Alexei Krasnozhon from the United States was a comfortable winner in the end. This was his second Junior Grand Prix title of his career and fourth medal on the circuit.

Roman Savosin from Russia finished third in both the short and the free to claim the silver medal overall. This was his third Junior Grand Prix medal after winning gold and bronze last season. His compatriot Egor Rukhin rose from seventh place after the short to third and took his first ever international medal.

In their third season competition on the Junior Grand Prix series, Sofia Polishchuk and Alexander Vakhnov from Russia finally won their first title with a personal best total of 145.86. Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha from Canada grabbed their first Junior Grand Prix medal by coming second in both portions of the competition. Russia’s Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Nikita Nazarova were in fourth after the short dance, but moved up to third overall after the free dance to also take their first Junior Grand Prix medal.

The Junior Grand Prix moves to Salzburg, Austria next weekend.

Detailed Results ISU Junior Grand Prix (Brisbane, Australia)