An errant fall in the rhythm dance took World champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates off the top of the podium there. They are back this week at NHK Trophy to bounce back from that event and right the ship heading into the second half of the season. There is potential for an American sweep of the podium as well, as the US brings a very strong contingent to this event.
NHK Trophy predictions
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GOLD Madison Chock/Evan Bates USA - The two-time World champions made a fluke but incredibly costly error at Skate America that lost them at least eight points and the title there. But they are, by far, the biggest favorites here in Tokyo. A win will get them back to the Grand Prix Final for an eighth time, and they want to shake off that mistake from last month and move forward.
SILVER Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko USA - Last year was a revelation for Carreira/Ponomarenko, whose hard work over the past few years seemed to finally have clicked, and they hit some of the biggest highs of their career. Their season has started off very strongly, with silver at Nebelhorn Trophy and then gold at Budapest Trophy. They haven’t been on the podium on the Grand Prix since 2020, but this is very much the time for them to get back on.
BRONZE Caroline Green/Michael Parsons USA - After last season’s disappointments, Green/Parsons are back this year with renewed energy, and working with Jean-Luc Baker on their programs hoping to reignite some of the magic they had a few years back. Their silver at Trophy Metropole Nice in October was a promising start. And they are looking to get back on the Grand Prix podium this week to build some momentum.
4. Allison Reed/Saulius Ambrulevicius LTU - They’ve notched one win this season so far, and that was over Green/Parsons at Trophy Metropole Nice a few weeks ago by a couple of points. Their free dance hasn’t quite clicked with audiences as much as last year’s did, and that was evident last week when they were off the podium at Grand Prix de France. It will likely be a close one for bronze here.
5. Yuka Orihara/Juho Pirinen FIN - The Finnish number two dance team continue to make steady improvements season after season, and they have already put down two solid competitions in the past month. They were fourth at Trophy Metropole Nice in mid-October, with some of the best scores of their career there.
6. Loicia Demougeot/Theo le Mercier FRA - Last year was a solid year for the French silver medalists—two fifth-place finishes on the Grand Prix and then a career-best 11th at Worlds. They were fifth at Nepela Memorial a few weeks ago and make their season Grand Prix debut this week.
7. Jennifer Janse van Rensburg/Benjamin Steffan GER - It’s the German champions’ first competition of the season. They ended their last season not the way they had hoped, finishing outside the top 20 in the rhythm dance at Worlds and not qualifying for the free dance.
8. Utana Yoshida/Masaya Morita JPN - Fifth at Nebelhorn Trophy, the Japanese bronze medalists head into their first Grand Prix event looking to set themselves up for a run for the Japanese title later this year. Their placement against Tanaka/Nishiyama will be a preview to that.
9. Marie Dupayage/Thomas Nabais FRA - Like Reed/Ambrulevicius, Dupayage/Nabais are going back-to-back on their Grand Prix events. They were tenth last week in France and will look to improve on that placement here.
10. Azusa Tanaka/Shingo Nishiyama JPN - Making their Grand Prix debut this week, this will be Tanaka/Nishiyama’s first competition of the season. They were 11th at Four Continents last season.