The Essential 15: 2013 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier USAJunior Worlds free skate (3rd SP, 2nd FS, gold overall)WATCH: Denney/Frazier free skateIt's been six years since the last time an American pair won the Junior World title, and Denney/Frazier made sure it wouldn't be any longer than that.  Their expressive free skate was a highlight of the event.Jason Brown USAJunior Worlds free skate (3rd SP, 1st FS, silver overall)WATCH: Brown free skateIt was close.  Brown was a clean combo away from winning the gold - it was his triple lutz combination in the short program that kept him from it (he turned out of the lutz and doubled the toe).  But he had to be happy that his triple axel was finally working.  He landed two of them in this program, which won him the free skate.Joshua Farris USAJunior Worlds free skate (1st SP, 2nd FS, gold overall)WATCH: Farris free skateAfter taking the silver last season, Farris was certainly one of the favorites coming in.  And after building a lead in the short program, he held off teammate Jason Brown to win the gold and lead the US to a podium sweep.View the list »
Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier (USA) at the 2013 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

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We are just over a week away from the start of the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships, which means that the juniors just competed in the 2013 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, which took place this past week in Milan, Italy.

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Let's take a look at The Essential 15 (in no particular order) from the competition. VIEW THE LIST

And in the final medal count, Russia and the United States went home with five medals each, splitting the gold medals (Russia took ladies and dance, while the U.S. took men and pairs). France won one medal in dance and Canada won one medal in pairs.

Below is a full compilation of my coverage of the event.

The ISU Championship season continues with the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in London, Ontario, Canada, beginning on Wednesday, Mar. 13.

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  • Joshua Farris USAJunior Worlds free skate (1st SP, 2nd FS, gold overall)WATCH: Farris free skateAfter taking the silver last season, Farris was certainly one of the favorites coming in.  And after building a lead in the short program, he held off teammate Jason Brown to win the gold and lead the US to a podium sweep.
  • Jason Brown USAJunior Worlds free skate (3rd SP, 1st FS, silver overall)WATCH: Brown free skateIt was close.  Brown was a clean combo away from winning the gold - it was his triple lutz combination in the short program that kept him from it (he turned out of the lutz and doubled the toe).  But he had to be happy that his triple axel was finally working.  He landed two of them in this program, which won him the free skate.
  • Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier USAJunior Worlds free skate (3rd SP, 2nd FS, gold overall)WATCH: Denney/Frazier free skateIt's been six years since the last time an American pair won the Junior World title, and Denney/Frazier made sure it wouldn't be any longer than that.  Their expressive free skate was a highlight of the event.
  • Lina Fedorova/Maxim Miroshkin RUSJunior Worlds free skate (7th SP, 1st FS, bronze overall)WATCH: Fedorova/Miroshkin free skateA fall in their short program relegated the Junior Grand Prix FInal champs to seventh place.  But they dug deep and won the free skate with this performance to move them all the way up to take the bronze.  And, oh right, they do side-by-side Biellmann spins.
  • Elena Radionova RUSJunior Worlds free skate (5th SP, 1st FS, gold overall)WATCH: Radionova free skateA fall in the short program likely caused little alarm for Radionova, considering her chief rival, Julia Lipnitskaia, made a similarly large error in her short program.  And it was with this nearly flawless free skate that Radionova vaulted herself to the gold.
  • Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin RUSJunior Worlds short dance (1st SD, 1st FD, gold overall)WATCH: Stepanova/Bukin short danceIf Stepanova/Bukin left Milan with anything but a gold medal, it would've been a complete surprise.  They have been dominant in the junior ranks all season.  And this fun short dance shows why they are the best junior team in the world. 
  • Shotaro Omori USAJunior Worlds short program (2nd SP, 3rd FS, bronze overall)WATCH: Omori short programCertainly the American who was flying under the radar here, Omori had never even medaled in an international event prior to his bronze here.  But it was this clean short program that propelled him to second over Jason Brown, and he skated a solid free skate to round out the American sweep.
  • Samantha Cesario USAJunior Worlds short program (1st SP, 4th FS, 4th overall)WATCH: Cesario short programFew would've predicted that Cesario would be the short program leader with names like Lipnitskaia and Radionova in the field.  But when the latter two made mistakes, it was Cesario who stood in front with her mature short program.  Her fourth-place free skate caused some stir in the Twitterverse, but this short program is surely one to savor. 
  • Xiaoyu Yu/Yang Jin CHNJunior Worlds short program (1st SP, 5th FS, 4th overall)WATCH: Yu/Jin short programLast year's silver medalists, Yu/Jin haven't exactly had a great season.  But this short program was certainly a highlight, as they showed off the big skills that are the trademark of Chinese pairs.  Though they won this short program, their fifth-place free skate dropped them to fourth overall.
  • Anna Pogorilaya RUSJunior Worlds short program (2nd SP, 3rd FS, bronze overall)WATCH: Pogorilaya short programLost among the short programs in the ladies' event was Pogorilaya's clean skate.  Of the top eight skaters in the short program, she was the only one who skated cleanly without any underrotations or downgrades.  But since she skated earlier than many of the leaders in the bunch, there was less buzz about her.
  • Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton USAJunior Worlds free dance (3rd SD, 2nd FD, bronze overall)WATCH: Aldridge/Eaton free danceTaking their second bronze at Junior Worlds, Aldridge/Eaton was too far behind after the short dance to move up to the silver even after troubles from Papadakis/Cizeron in their free dance.  But their Fiddler on the Roof free dance has been a favorite of mine in the junior ranks all season.
  • Gabrielle Daleman CANJunior Worlds free skate (8th SP, 6th FS, 6th overall)WATCH: Daleman free skateThere's lots to like about Daleman's free skate here.  It was a completely different look than her Avatar short program, which I personally wasn't a huge fan of.  She's one of the bright young talents in the Canadian program, and she's got the jumps to boot.  Just a few turnouts away from finishing fifth or even higher.
  • Michael Christian Martinez PHIJunior Worlds short program (4th SP, 7th FS, 5th overall)WATCH: Martinez short programIt's safe to say that this was the competition of the young Martinez's career so far.  Had he not doubled the end of his triple lutz-triple toe combination, he actually would have likely upstaged Jason Brown in the short program.  He finished fifth overall, which, correct me if I'm wrong, is likely the best finish ever for a skater from the Philippines at an ISU Championship.
  • Margaret Purdy/Michael Marinaro CANJunior Worlds short program (2nd SP, 3rd FS, silver overall)WATCH: Purdy/Marinaro short programJarring music cut at the end and all, Purdy/Marinaro's short program was a beautiful piece to watch.  They are one of the few junior pairs in the world right now who look like they could easily fit in with the senior pairs.  
  • Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron FRAJunior Worlds free dance (2nd SD, 3rd FD, silver overall)WATCH: Papadakis/Cizeron free dancePapadakis injured her right ankle the day before the free dance in practice, and it was questionable as to whether or not they were even going to compete in the free dance.  But they gutted through it, albeit with an interruption midway through.  You can clearly see the discomfort for her, especially in the beginning twizzle sequence, which was all done with her heavily-taped right ankle.
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, Figure Skating Examiner

Jackie Wong covers all things figure skating and provides the latest results and analysis throughout the season, with plenty of live coverage and commentary all season! He is a former U.S. Figure Skating judge. Contact Jackie with your comments and questions.

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