If you’ve followed ice dance at Four Continents, then you won’t be surprised to hear that it will be primarily a battle between the American and Canadian teams for the top. Since the first Four Continents in 1999, only one non-North American team has won a medal in ice dance - Kana Muramoto/Chris Reed in 2018. And there will be a lot of excitement because the top teams from both countries will be competing in Seoul this week.
Four Continents predictions
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GOLD Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - The two-time US champs have not had a season like this in four years. They took silver at the Grand Prix Final in December and then won the US title two weeks ago, and everything about them and their skating has been shouting confidence for the past few months. It will not be an easy task for them to win this title for the second time, but they certainly have the best shot at it.
SILVER Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue USA - An errant pair spin exit kept them from being their strongest in the free dance at Nationals. They were a surprise fourth here last season after an error in their stationary lift took them out of the running for a second career Four Continents title. But we saw in Greensboro that they are starting to round into form, and they will look to build some momentum this week going into Worlds.
BRONZE Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier CAN - They can finally call themselves Canadian champions. Gilles/Poirier won Canadians in spectacular fashion last month. They have beaten Hubbell/Donohue before this season, and it may be a close one among these top three this week. For them to have a chance at the title, they will need to be lights out in their rhythm dance, where they have been strong but not spectacular this season.
4. Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker USA - It was a very successful US Nationals for Hawayek/Baker, who weren’t skating to their potential during the first half of the season. Their rhythm dance in Greensboro was a highlight, and they will want to repeat some of that magic at Four Continents. They have an outside shot at the podium, but will need some help from the top teams for that to happen.
5. Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu CHN - Fifth here two years ago, Wang/Liu have been having their best season yet, finishing in the top five at both of their Grand Prix events for the first time in their careers. They won’t crack into the top four, but they are the best of the next batch of teams here.
6. Carolane Soucisse/Shane Firus CAN - After finishing third at Canadians, Soucisse/Firus are looking to make a case for themselves for the World team. Canada has three spots at Worlds, and Gilles/Poirier and Lajoie/Lagha have already snapped up two of the spots. Soucisse/Firus are hoping that a strong showing here will help them get the spot over Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen, who have been out after Sorensen’s surgery in late December. It’s not in their hands, though, as it’s very much dependent on Sorensen’s recovery timetable.
7. Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN - Last year’s World junior champions were the somewhat surprise silver medalist at Canadians earlier this year. They have shown a lot of promise in their first senior season, with top seven finishes at both of their Grand Prix events.
8. Yura Min/Daniel Eaton KOR - In their first season together, Min/Eaton have been vacuuming up international experience, already having competed six times abroad and then at Korean Nationals. They come from previous successful partnerships and have strong ice dance foundations to work with.
9. Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto JPN - They have been on the recovery trail all season after Komatsubara’s concussions that took them away from training for a good chunk o the season. They won their second Japanese title in December.
10. Holly Harris/Jason Chan AUS - The new Australian champions are skating in their first Four Continents in their first season competing together. They were ninth at Warsaw Cup a couple months back.