What a field we have in the ice dance event at 2023 Skate America this week. Not only do we have the reigning World champions competing, but we also have two others who finished in the top eight from Worlds here. It’s a group of ten teams with a lot of talent across the board. But the thing is—the results we’ve seen early in the season are likely not indicative of what we are going to see here, that’s just been the trend over the past couple of seasons.
Skate America predictions
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GOLD Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - Last year at this time, Chock/Bates were surprisingly underprepared coming off the post-Olympics off-season. But they cleaned up, made adjustments, and found the path to their first World title. As with some of the other veteran teams, they have made this a season-by-season decision on whether or not to compete, but so far, they are already looking stronger than they did at Skate America last season.
SILVER Natalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler CZE - With two medals in their two Challenger events already, Taschlerova/Taschler have made a solid entrance into their season. They have made some huge leaps over the past few seasons - from 22nd at Worlds just three years ago to eighth last year. They are ready for their first Grand Prix medal.
BRONZE Caroline Green/Michael Parsons USA - You wonder if this is a carbon copy of last season, when Green/Parsons started their season off slowly and then ended up with a phenomenal sixth at Worlds. Their first event at Lombardia Trophy was subpar, and they went back to the drawing board and came to Skate America with new material.
4. Evgeniia Lopareva/Geoffrey Brissaud FRA - The top French team had a somewhat disappointing Worlds, finishing outside the top 10 after making a few errors. But they have started this season very strongly, with silver medals at both Autumn Classic and Shanghai Trophy. It’ll be a tightly clustered pack of teams among the top five, and they have a shot at the podium.
5. Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha CAN - They didn’t miss a podium at any of their events last season, but because Canadian ice dance has stacked at the top (and Canada unfortunately only had two spots), they missed making it to Worlds earlier this year. Like Green/Parsons, their season debut was not up to their standards, taking fifth at Nepela Memorial.
6. Katerina Mrazkova/Daniel Mrazek CZE - The World junior champions are making their senior season debut and were the talk of the junior circuit last year. Their potential is all there, and this could be the start of something very special over the next few seasons leading to the Olympics.
7. Olivia Smart/Tim Dieck ESP - Olivia Smart is back! After previous partner Adrian Diaz retired after the 2022 Olympics, she teamed up with Tim Dieck to get back into competition this season. They were fourth at their two events this season and have made a quick debut as a new team.
8. Oona Brown/Gage Brown USA - Seventh at Finlandia Trophy a few weeks back, Brown/Brown are in their second senior season looking to stand out in a crowded field of American dance teams.
9. Hannah Lim/Ye Quan KOR - World junior silver medalists last season, Lim/Quan are looking to make more history for their home country. They were third at Autumn Classic to start their season.
10. Holly Harris/Jason Chan AUS - Like other teams in this field, Harris/Chan have also been making steady improvements internationally. They were 24th at Worlds three years ago and finished 16th earlier this year at 2023 Worlds. They come in after a fourth-place finish at Shanghai Trophy.