In the lead-up to the World Championships, a lot of eyes will be on one team at Four Continents who want to set themselves up well for their third World title. A lot of eyes will also be on the Canadians, who will be determining their second Worlds spot here in Seoul this week.
Four Continents predictions
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GOLD Wenjing Sui/Cong Han CHN - They have been undefeated this season so far, but their Grand Prix Final performances left some to be desired. On the heels of Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovakii’s performances at Europeans, you have to think that Sui/Han are trying to shore up their spot as the top pair in the world with Worlds coming up in less than two months. The side-by-sides will be most crucial. If they win here, it will be their sixth career Four Continents title.
SILVER Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro CAN - Fifth at the Grand Prix Final in December, Moore-Towers/Marinaro went on to win their second Canadian title a month later. It’s been a career-best season so far for them, with some really strong programs under their belt. A strong short program will be important for them to repeat as medalists here.
BRONZE Alexa Scimeca Knierim/Chris Knierim USA - There was something about how they skated at the US Championships that instilled more confidence than anything they’ve done over the past couple of seasons. At their best, they are very much on the podium, but they will need to set themselves up well with a clean short program like they had in Greensboro.
4. Peng Cheng/Yang Jin CHN - They had a very solid silver medal finish at the Grand Prix Final, but on the technical side, they may be the ones with the lowest base values this week, especially if they leave out their side-by-side triple salchows again. Either way, the sals will either be a low scorer for them or a risky addition for them.
5. Jessica Calalang/Brian Johnson USA - The surprise US silver medalists proved that their ceiling is pretty high, so long as they can figure out their side-by-sides. They are coming off the high of that fantastic free skate at Nationals - another performance like that could really put them on the map internationally.
6. Evelyn Walsh/Trennt Michaud CAN - They have a way of peaking late in the season, and they once again are showing that this season. They took silver last month at Canadians ahead of Ilyushechkina/Bilodeau, and their consistency in the side-by-sides may be the key to Worlds.
7. Liubov Ilyushechkina/Charlie Bilodeau CAN - Bronze at Canadians, Ilyushechkina/Bilodeau have brought strong pair basics to their new pairing this season. Mistakes kept them from silver at Canadians, and they will need to be a lot cleaner this week to get that second Worlds spot.
8. Tarah Kayne/Danny O’Shea USA - Winners here two years ago, Kayne/O’Shea were third at Nationals two weeks ago.
9. Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara JPN - Fifth at NHK Trophy in their first international, the new Japanese champs have shown a lot of promise already in their first season together.
10. Feiyao Tang/Yongchao Yang CHN - Tang/Yang make their debut this week at Four Continents. They were seventh at both Grand Prix events in the fall.