Withdrawals have, at least one paper, really opened up the women’s event at Finlandia Trophy this week. Loena Hendrickx and Isabeau Levito are both out, though given how their seasons have gone so far, it probably would have been similar in terms of unpredictability anyway. But also as a result of that, the path to the Grand Prix Final for a couple of these skaters look a lot less treacherous than it did just a couple of weeks ago.
Finlandia Trophy predictions
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GOLD Sarah Everhardt USA - Consistency may very well win the week here, and Everhardt has been making quite the splash in her first full senior season, scoring over 196 points in all three of her competitions this season and just happened to be at the most competitive Grand Prix so far this season and finished fifth there in France. That score would have medaled at any of the other GPs. Her chances of a podium finish this week are high, but given her consistency, she’s my surprise pick for gold this week.
SILVER Hana Yoshida JPN - Yoshida has made a name for herself the past two seasons with some of the more choreographically interesting programs that we’ve seen in the women’s discipline. Her free skate this season has become a fan favorite. But her consistency remains head-scratching at times. She’s got a great shot at winning her second career Grand Prix title here, but she will need to be on in both programs.
BRONZE Rino Matsuike JPN - There is so much to love about Matsuike’s basics, particularly her effortless power and glide across the ice. And we saw it all in action at Skate Canada, where she combined that and clean jumping for a huge free skate score that vaulted her from tenth to silver there. It will be crucial for her to keep those jumps clean this week.
4. Ahsun Yun KOR - Yun has been very under the radar but has established herself as one to watch for this season among the Korean women, especially given the current suspensions of Haein Lee and Young You, the former of which just had a new development. Yun just won Nepela Memorial and will be making her return to the Grand Prix for the first time since 2022.
5. Lindsay Thorngren USA - As someone who’s always on the edge of rotation, Thorngren relies on that extra snap or airtime to get those jumps clean. It’s been a bit more of an issue for her this season than in the past, and that’s keeping her from putting up the scores that we saw at this time last year.
6. Niina Petrokina EST - Tenth last week in Tokyo no thanks to a series of decisions in the short program that led both of her triple jumps be basically called as falls, Petrokina is still getting her bearings this season as she continues her comeback from injury late last season.
7. Mai Mihara JPN - Her seventh-place finish at Grand Prix de France may look to be subpar for a skater who’s won the Grand Prix Final in the past, but for Mihara, there were some very promising highlights on her return from injury, including a triple-triple in the short. She’s not quite there yet to challenge for a medal here, but this will be a good test for her as she ramps up for Nationals.
8. Lara Naki Gutmann ITA - Two solid skates at NHK Trophy last week earned her a career-high sixth place at a Grand Prix event. She’s been skating very well so far this season, and can really hit some strong scores if she can deliver. She’s got dark horse status this week in Finland.
9. Lorine Schild FRA - Schild was tenth at her home Grand Prix in Angers two weeks ago. She will look to improve on the consistency in both programs to move up here.
10. Janna Jyrkinen FIN - It’s been another up-and-down season for Jyrkinen, who has the most difficult technical content of the Finnish women here. She was eighth at Nebelhorn Trophy earlier in the season but put down the strongest programs we had seen from her in quite a while there.
11. Olivia Lisko FIN - The Finnish silver medalist from last season has had a solid fall so far, hitting some personal best scores along the way. She was eighth at Trophy Metropole Nice and took silver at Volvo Open two weeks ago.
12. Nella Pelkonen FIN - This will be the reigning Finnish champion’s first competition of the season after withdrawing from Skate Canada due to illness. She’s still recovering from injuries that surfaced late last season, so her status is a bit unknown.