Competition in the pairs event is going to go up another notch this week at Skate Canada. There are some very strong pairs competing in Kelowna, with at least half of this field capable of potentially being in the top 10 at a World Championships. What I am most interested in here is that battle for the top spot, and whether it will be the veterans who stand out or their upstart teammates who could break through for their first Grand Prix title.
Skate Canada International
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GOLD Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii RUS - They narrowly missed making the Grand Prix Final last season, but their sixth-place debut at Worlds shows just how exciting this team is. Everything about them is big and bold - from their pairs elements to their expressiveness and musicality. Given the early season struggles, albeit in altitude, that we saw from Tarasova/Morozov, this could be a great chance for them to establish themselves right from the start. We are two years away from the next Olympics, and this is a pair team to watch out for.
SILVER Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov RUS - The World silver medalists started their season off unexpectedly with a silver medal at US Classic behind Ashley Cain-Gribble/Timothy LeDuc. They made too many mistakes at that event, particularly in the free skate, and just couldn’t figure out a way to work through their inconsistency there. That said, altitude at Salt Lake City could have been the major factor, and we will see this week if we see the Tarasova/Morozov that we are used to.
BRONZE Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro CAN - Gold at Nebelhorn Trophy to start their season, the Canadian champs are looking to find ways to be more competitive with the very best in the world. And so it was promising when they hit a personal best free skate score right off the bat in their first competition of the season. Where they lack in some of the explosiveness of the other pairs here they make up for in the strong execution of the elements.
4. Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim USA - This season is really all about rebuilding for the Knierims. After starting from scratch and then starting from scratch again last year, they have gotten themselves in a much more stable environment and mindset, and looked much stronger already with their silver medal debut at Nebelhorn Trophy last month. At their best, they are very much podium-worthy.
5. Liubov Ilyushechkina/Charlie Bilodeau CAN - The brand new Canadian pair got off to a very promising start earlier this month with a bronze medal at Finlandia Trophy, skating very solidly in both programs. Perhaps most exciting to see is that Ilyushechkina’s solo jumps look better than they have in the past, which bodes well for them going into this season.
6. Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson USA - It’s a back-to-back kind of Grand Prix for Calalang/Johnson, who just came off a fourth-place finish at Skate America last week. They were 180+ even with a number of errors in both programs, which speaks volumes to the quality of their skating. If they clean those errors up, they can really be competitive for the top four again here.
7. Feiyao Tang/Yongchao Yang CHN - Third at Chinese Nationals last season, Tang/Yang are an up-and-coming Chinese pair that is trying to find its place in a pairs landscape that has been dominated by three pairs over the past few years.
8. Evelyn Walsh/Trennt Michaud CAN - After a strong end to their season, where they were silver medalists at Canadians and then 12th at Worlds, Walsh/Michaud have gotten off to a rocky start, similar to how they opened their season last year. They were sixth at Finlandia a few weeks ago.