Last week at Gran Premio d’Italia, three of the dance teams who are part of the Olympic medal conversation went up against each other. This week at 2021 NHK Trophy, two more of those teams will battle it out. But beyond that, there are other ramifications that will come of the results of this event. How will the Japanese teams fare against each other? What will the Spanish team do in light of their teammates’ recent strong showings? There is a lot to look forward to in the ice dance event this week.
2021 NHK Trophy predictions
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GOLD Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov RUS - It’s a different narrative this season than it’s been in the past for Sinitsina/Katsalapov. They are likely coming in brimming with confidence after their win at Worlds last season, but there are some question marks for them as Katsalapov has been having back issues this season that led to their withdrawal from a Russian Cup event domestically and then from Denis Ten Memorial a couple weeks ago. If they aren’t 100%, they can be vulnerable against a seasoned Chock/Bates.
SILVER Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - Much like at Skate America, Chock/Bates enter NHK as the underdogs - this time to Sinitsina/Katsalapov. They were right there with Hubbell/Donohue at Skate America, and it will be interesting to see how they compare side-by-side against the current World Champions.
BRONZE Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson GBR - After a fast start to their season with bronze at Finlandia Trophy, Fear/Gibson finished a very disappointing seventh at Skate Canada after making errors in both the rhythm dance and the free dance. At their best, they are absolutely the third strongest team in this field, but they will want to be skating cleaner here than they did two weeks ago.
4. Sara Hurtado/Kirill Khaliavin ESP - The sole Spanish ice dance spot for Beijing is being determined by the results of three head-to-head competitions between Hurtado/Khaliavin and Smart/Diaz. Smart/Diaz took the first competition at Finlandia Trophy by a fraction of a point. And they have since completed their two Grand Prix assignments. Less is at stake here for Hurtado/Khaliavin than at Finlandia, but eyes will be on how confident they look, what scores they receive, and how ready they seem heading into Spanish Nationals.
5. Alexandra Nazarova/Maxim Nikitin UKR - Silver at Denis Ten Memorial two weeks ago, Nazarova/Nikitin come into this event having posted some strong numbers. Their highest career finish at a Garand Prix is sixth, and they can best that at NHK this week.
6. Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN - It’s been a busy season already for Lajoie/Lagha - this will be their fourth international already. They took sixth most recently at Skate Canada two weeks ago.
7. Sofia Shevchenko/Egor Evermenko RUS - Fourth at Russian Nationals last season, we haven’t seen much of the 2019 World junior bronze medalists yet this season, as they withdrew from the Russian test skates earlier in the season and this is their international debut for this season. Two years ago, they took seventh at NHK Trophy. They will try to do better than that here.
8. Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto JPN - After a sixth-place finish at Skate America, three-time Japanese champs Komatsubara/Koleto are going up against Takahashi/Muramoto for the first time in a fully international competition. Expect it to be a close one, and whoever goes in front at NHK will be favored for that Olympic spot next month at Nationals.
9. Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi JPN - The last time we saw Takahashi at a fully international Grand Prix event was right here at NHK eight years ago, when he won the men’s singles title. Muramoto/Takahashi have been able to devote more focused time to train, and based on a US club competition during the off-season, it looks like their improvements will help them close the gap against Komatsubara/Koleto. They still come in as the underdogs, but the head-to-head will be intriguing.