ISU Junior Grand Prix in China

ISU Junior Grand Prix in China
Logo of the ISU Junior Grand Prix
StatusActive
GenreISU Junior Grand Prix
FrequencyOccasional
CountryChina China
Inaugurated1998
Most recent
2024
Next event
2026
Organized byChinese Figure Skating Association

The ISU Junior Grand Prix in China is an international figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Chinese Figure Skating Association (Chinese: 中国花样滑冰协会). It is held periodically as an event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP), a series of international competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. Medals may be awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Skaters earn points based on their results at the qualifying competitions each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are invited to then compete at the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

History

The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP) was established by the International Skating Union (ISU) in 1997 and consists of a series of seven international figure skating competitions exclusively for junior-level skaters. The locations of the Junior Grand Prix events change every year. While all seven competitions feature the men's, women's, and ice dance events, only four competitions each season feature the pairs event. Skaters earn points based on their results each season, and the top skaters or teams in each discipline are then invited to compete at the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.[1]

Skaters are eligible to compete on the junior-level circuit if they are at least 13 years old before 1 July of the respective season, but not yet 19 (for single skaters), 21 (for men and women in ice dance and women in pair skating), or 23 (for men in pair skating). The skaters are not allowed an age gap of more than 7 years if they are in pairs.[2] Competitors are chosen by their respective skating federations. The number of entries allotted to each ISU member nation in each discipline is determined by their results at the prior World Junior Figure Skating Championships.[3]

Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao at the 2009 World Championships
Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China, three-time champions in pair skating at the Junior Grand Prix in China

China hosted its first Junior Grand Prix competition in 1998. Guo Zhengxin of China won the men's event, Yoshie Onda of Japan won the women's event, Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao of China won the pairs event, and Flavia Ottaviani and Massimo Scali of Italy won the ice dance event.[4]

China has twice hosted the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, the culminating event of the Junior Grand Prix series. The 2010 Junior Grand Prix Final was held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Richard Dornbush of the United States won the men's event, Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won the women's event, Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran of Japan won the pairs event, and Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin of Russia won the ice dance event.[5] China was scheduled to host the 2020 Junior Grand Prix Final, again in Beijing, but the ISU cancelled all scheduled Junior Grand Prix events for the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing increased travel and entry requirements between countries and potentially excessive sanitary and health care costs for those hosting competitions.[6] China was able to host the 2023 Junior Grand Prix Final at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Rio Nakata and Mao Shimada, both of Japan, won the men's and women's event, respectively; while Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia won the pairs event, and Leah Neset and Artem Markelov of the United States won the ice dance event.[7]

The seventh event of the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Series was originally scheduled to be held in Épinal, France, but the French Federation of Ice Sports withdrew; their spot was re-allocated to the Chinese Figure Skating Association, who held the event in Wuxi.[8] On 30 June 2026, the ISU announced that figure skaters from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at international competitions as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs).[9] Each skater was required to undergo an individual assessment conducted by the ISU Council to determine whether they met the criteria for neutral status. These requirements included having not previously taken active part in the Russian war in Ukraine, as well as having not actively and publicly supported the war. As AINs, Russian and Belarusian skaters were required to compete without items of state recognition such as their national flags or anthems.[10] The 2026 event in Xi'an was the competition's most recent iteration.[11]

Medalists

Rio Nakata at the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final
Ami Nakai at the 2024 Junior Grand Prix Final
The 2024 Grand Prix in China champions: Rio Nakata of Japan (men's singles) and Ami Nakai of Japan (women's singles)
Not pictured: Elliana Peal and Ethan Peal of the United States (ice dance)

Men's singles

Men's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1998 Beijing China Guo Zhengxin China Gao Song China Yu Wang [4]
2000 Harbin China Ma Xiaodong United States Johnny Weir China Ma Yingdi [12]
2002 Beijing Russia Mikhail Magerovski China Rui Yi China Wu Jialiang [13]
2004 Harbin Switzerland Jamal Othman Japan Kazumi Kishimoto [14]
2010 Final Beijing United States Richard Dornbush China Yan Han Canada Andrei Rogozine [5]
2020 Final Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2023 Final Japan Rio Nakata South Korea Kim Hyun-gyeom Slovakia Adam Hagara [7]
2024 Wuxi China Tian Tonghe New Zealand Yanhao Li [15]
2026 Xi'an Individual Neutral Athletes Lev Lazarev (AIN2) New Zealand Yanhao Li Japan Daiya Ebihara [16]

Women's singles

Women's event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1998 Beijing Japan Yoshie Onda France Gwenaëlle Jullien China Wang Huan [4]
2000 Harbin Japan Yukari Nakano Canada Marianne Dubuc Australia Stephanie Zhang [12]
2002 Beijing Japan Miki Ando United States Beatrisa Liang United States Yebin Mok [13]
2004 Harbin Japan Nana Takeda South Korea Yuna Kim Canada Jessica Dubé [14]
2010 Final Beijing Russia Adelina Sotnikova Russia Elizaveta Tuktamysheva China Li Zijun [5]
2020 Final Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2023 Final Japan Mao Shimada South Korea Shin Ji-a Japan Rena Uezono [7]
2024 Wuxi Japan Ami Nakai South Korea Kim Yu-seong China Wang Yihan [15]
2026 Xi'an Individual Neutral Athletes Sofia Dzepka (AIN2) China Yuxuan Liu China Shuxian Jin [16]

Pairs

Pairs event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1998 Beijing
  • China
  • Russia
 [4]
2000 Harbin [12]
2002 Beijing
  • United States
 [13]
2004 Harbin
  • Russia
  • Elena Efaieva
  • Alexei Menshikov
 [14]
2010 Final Beijing [5]
2020 Final Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2023 Final
  • Canada
  • Jazmine Desrochers
  • Kieran Thrasher
 [7]
2024 Wuxi No pairs competition [15]
2026 Xi'an
  • Individual Neutral Athletes
  • Polina Shesheleva
  • Egor Karnaukhov
(AIN2)
  • China
  • Chen Yuxuan
  • Dong Yinbo
  • China
  • Wang Chen Ling
  • Chen Yong Zheng
 [16]

Ice dance

Ice dance event medalists
Year Location Gold Silver Bronze Ref.
1998 Beijing
  • United States
  • France
  • Nelly Gourvest
  • Cédric Pernet
 [4]
2000 Harbin
  • United States
  • Canada
  • Catherine Perreault
  • Charles Perreault
 [12]
2002 Beijing [13]
2004 Harbin [14]
2010 Final Beijing [5]
2020 Final Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2023 Final [7]
2024 Wuxi
  • United States
  • Elliana Peal
  • Ethan Peal
  • France
  • Ambre Perrier Gianesini
  • Samuel Blanc Klaperman
  • Canada
  • Chloe Nguyen
  • Brendan Giang
 [15]
2026 Xi'an
  • Individual Neutral Athletes
  • Mariia Fefelova
  • Artem Valov
(AIN2)
  • Italy
  • Zoe Bianchi
  • Daniel Basile
  • Canada
  • Summer Homick
  • Nicholas Buelow
 [16]

References

  1. ↑ "ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Communication No. 2655: Single & Pair Skating". International Skating Union. 15 July 2024. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2024/25 – Announcement". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "1998/1999 ISU Junior Grand Prix, 7th event". The Figure Skating Corner. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "2010 Jr Grand Prix Final". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 24 June 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "ISU Junior Grand Prix Series 2020/21 cancelled". International Skating Union. 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "2023 Jr Grand Prix Final". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  8. ↑ "Communication No. 2634". International Skating Union. 13 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  9. ↑ "Adaptation to ISU Communication 2469 – Readmission of Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs)". International Skating Union. 30 June 2026. Archived from the original on 3 July 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Questions & Answers: Adaptation of ISU Communication 2469 Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs)" (PDF). International Skating Union. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "JGP China". Skating Scores. Retrieved 22 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. 1 2 3 4 "ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating – Harbin, China". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "2002 JGP China". Tracings. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "2004 JGP Harbin". Tracings. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "2024 JGP China". Skating Scores. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "2026 JGP Xi'An City". Skating Scores. Retrieved 22 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.