Skate America 2023: U.S. teens Malinin, Levito seek home titles as Grand Prix Series kicks off
The event marks the start of the season's Grand Prix Series, and will also feature reigning ice dance world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates. See a full preview.
Figure Skating
All eyes are on a pair of American teenagers to kick off figure skating’s Grand Prix Series this weekend (20-22 October) in Allen, Texas.
The Dallas suburb is host to Skate America, the first of six Grand Prix stops in the Series, which will culminate with December’s Grand Prix Final in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Defending champion Ilia Malinin, the reigning world bronze medallist at 18, has revealed that he doesn’t plan to go after another historic quadruple Axel (he remains the only athlete to complete the jump), but he remains the favourite in what should be an intriguing men’s field.
His teenage compatriot, 16-year-old Isabeau Levito, looks to level up from her silver medal at this event a year ago, when she was making her senior Grand Prix debut. Like Malinin, she is the reigning U.S. national champion. She finished fourth at March’s World Championships.
World champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates will go after a fourth Skate America title (and second consecutive), while pairs world champs Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi withdrew from the event this week citing a back issue for Kihara, leaving that discipline open for the taking.
See a full preview of the event below, the Skate America schedule – and information on how to tune in on TV and online livestream.
Skate America 2023: Singles fields pack intrigue
The singles events promise to be the most competitive inside the Credit Union of Texas Event Center, with Malinin set to face off against French veteran Kevin Aymoz, rising Japanese teen Sato Shun and consistent force Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia.
Japan’s Tsuboi Tatsuya and Yoshioka Nozomu, the reigning junior national champion and world junior bronze medallist, could factor into the podium conversation, while Vladimir Litvintsev looks to build on an 11th-place finish from Worlds last season.
Malinin has been outspoken around his push for a stronger artistic approach on the ice this season, the “Quad God,” as he’s called, mulling a move to Los Angeles to work with choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne more closely. He remains in Virginia, where he is coached by his parents, Olympians Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov.
He also works with Rafael Arutunian, the former coach of Olympic champion Nathan Chen.
Levito looks to have her hands full in women’s singles, with reigning and two-time world medallist Loena Hendrickx of Belgium set to be the favourite.
It doesn’t stop there: Republic of Korea’s You Young; Japanese skaters Chiba Mone and Kawabe Mana; as well as big-jumping American Amber Glenn are all in the line-up.
Glenn and Kawabe both have triple Axels in their repertoire, as has You in the past, though she struggled with the jump last season.
Also to watch for: Niina Petrokina of Estonia and Poland’s Ekaterina Kurakova.
Without Miura/Kihara, pairs could be a showdown among three teams: Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany; the new Canadian duo of Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud; and Americans Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez.
Chock/Bates will lead ice dance, which also features Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler of Czechia; Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha; the new Spanish team of Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck; and another American duo, Caroline Green and Michael Parsons.
Skate America 2023: Schedule
All times listed in local U.S. Central Time. (UTC -6)
- Friday, 20 October
18:30 – Pairs short program
19:53 – Men's short program - Saturday, 21 October
14:03 – Ice dance rhythm dance
15:39 – Pairs free skate
18:16 – Women's short program
20:04 – Men's free skate - Sunday, 22 October
13:15 – Ice dance free dance
15:00 – Women's free skate
19:30 – Exhibition gala
You can see the full official schedule here.
Skate America 2023: How to tune in
American fans can catch the action on NBC network E!, while the event will stream live on Peacock throughout the weekend. NBC will host a recap show at noon ET on Sunday (22 October).
See the full U.S. broadcast schedule here.
For international fans, the ISU provides a "where to watch" page here. Some regions may be geo-restricted when it comes to availability.