After watching the first two Grand Prix events, we know there is no guarantee when it comes to what to expect from the women’s competition. We had a first-time Grand Prix winner in Wakaba Higuchi at Skate America two weeks ago, and then we had a gigantic leap from 10th to silver in Rino Matsuike at Skate Canada last week. Looking at the field at Grand Prix de France this week, the results could go any which way.
Grand Prix de France predictions
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GOLD Amber Glenn USA - Perhaps the first time Glenn has really come into a Grand Prix event as one of the favorites for gold, this week will be a closely-watched event for her, especially given a very strong start to her season with a win at Lombardia six weeks ago. Last year in practices, Glenn was consistently looking like a podium contender at every event she entered, but she could not put down two clean programs, which kept her from realizing that potential. Lombardia looked like a different Amber Glenn, and a repeat of that this week could give her a first Grand Prix title.
SILVER Chaeyeon Kim KOR - The World bronze medalist hasn’t missed a beat this season so far, winning every event she’s entered, including Trophy Metropole Nice two weeks ago. So far, she seems to have cleaned up her rotations, which starting becoming an issue for her last season. She will very much be in the hunt for the title this week, now firmly established as the top Korean senior women’s skater this season.
BRONZE Wakaba Higuchi JPN - It took eight years for Higuchi to finally win her first Grand Prix title, and now she’s got a chance to make it back to the Final for the first time since 2017. A medal will almost certainly get her there; a fourth-place finish puts her in a pretty good spot depending on how the other competitions shake out. This season, she’s been going for clean, and the combo has been the thing that’s kept her from really hitting bigger scores in the short.
4. Sarah Everhardt USA - Everhardt was one of the big splashes early this season, finishing second behind Glenn and ahead of Kaori Sakamoto at Lombardia Trophy with two superb skates. We saw late last season at US Nationals that she had the big jumps to become a contender, and the important thing for her this week will be how she handles her first Grand Prix event as a legitimate podium contender.
5. Nina Pinzarrone BEL - Fourth at Skate America two weeks ago in her season debut, Pinzarrone delivered two solid programs, but it was underrotations that kept her from getting onto the podium in that very tight race for the medals. She has a chance to make some amends this week at the same competition where she took silver last year and really announced herself as a skater to watch in the women’s field.
6. Anastasiia Gubanova GEO - Gubanova was also among that really exciting field at Lombardia Trophy, where she finished just off the podium in fourth behind Glenn, Everhardt, and Sakamoto. She went on to win Denis Ten Memorial earlier this month. Her history has been strong short programs and variable free skates, and she will need to be strong in both to figure into the podium in Angers.
7. Rion Sumiyoshi JPN - It will be Sumiyoshi’s international debut this season in France, but she has been extremely busy with domestic competitions already, competing in three events in three weeks back in August. She took silver at Regionals, and it looks like her quad toe isn’t quite consistent enough yet for primetime.
8. Livia Kaiser SUI - After a solid start at Nebelhorn Trophy, where she took fifth, Kaiser couldn’t quite find her consistency at Skate America two weeks ago and finished eighth there. She’s proven to be somewhat erratic in her consistency but can deliver when she finds her groove.
9. Mai Mihara JPN - After her injury last season, it’s been somewhat of an arduous road back for Mihara, who was always known for her steady skating. But the triple-triples haven’t come back yet for her, and what used to be routine jumps have become less reliable since last year. She was second at her Regionals event a month ago.
10. Lorine Schild FRA - It was a first for Schild earlier, winning her first Challenger medal with a bronze at Budapest Trophy. It will take clean skating from her and some mistakes from those ahead of her to break into the top nine in this incredibly deep field.
11. Lea Serna FRA - Serna took 11th at Skate America two weeks ago, recovering from a poor short program to skate solidly in the free.
12. Clemence Mayindu FRA - A late replacement for Maia Mazzara, the former French junior silver medalist will be making her senior Grand Prix debut in Angers this week.