World champions Ilia Malinin, Madison Chock, Evan Bates headline 2024 Skate America - Preview and how to watch
The field also includes world silver medallist Isabeau Levito and Olympic team bronze medal-winner Bradie Tennell
Figure Skating
Reigning world champions Ilia Malinin (men’s) and Madison Chock and Evan Bates (dance) lead the field at this week’s 2024 Skate America in Allen, Texas. The event is the first of six Grand Prix competitions that provide skaters with the opportunity to advance to December’s Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France.
Isabeau Levito, the 2024 world silver medallist in women’s singles, and 2018 Olympic team bronze medallist Bradie Tennell are also set to participate.
With competition set to get underway on Friday (18 October), here’s a look at the stars set to compete and how to watch the action live.
2024 Skate America: Stars to watch
Malinin looks to continue the momentum of his first world title in his Grand Prix opener in Allen.
He looked sharp last month in his season debut at the Lombardia Trophy, winning the title over Japan’s Kagiyama Yuma by more than 20 points.
At Skate America, he’ll face off against veteran Kevin Aymoz of France, who finished fourth at the 2023 World Championships, as well as Latvia’s Deniss Vasiljevs and Japan’s Miura Kao. That duo finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the world last season.
In the women’s competition, Levito will be the favourite after taking silver at last year’s Worlds.
Higuchi Wakaba of Japan has the potential to challenge, having herself reached the Worlds podium in 2018. But perhaps the biggest competition will come from compatriot Tennell, who is seeking a comeback after two difficult, injury-plagued years.
2023 pairs world champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan are also favourites at the season’s first Grand Prix, while Chock and Bates look to continue their success after back-to-back global wins in ice dance.
2024 Skate America: How to watch
Fans in the U.S. can watch all the action from Skate America live on NBC’s streaming service Peacock. The events will be available for 72 hours following the end of each competition.
You can find a list of other key territories – and their subsequent broadcasters – here:
• Australia - SBS
• Brazil - ESPN
• Canada - CBC
• People’s Republic of China - CCTV
• France, Great Britain - Eurosport
• Finland - YLE
• Germany - ARD; ZDF
• Italy - Rai
• Japan - Fuji
• Mexico - Sky Mexico
For full tune-in information, see the ISU’s “Where to Watch” page here.
ISU also provides live streaming on its YouTube account, though many territories are geo-blocked.