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USA’s Amber Glenn pocketed her first Grand Prix gold medal in the Women’s competition at 2024 Grand Prix de France on Saturday. Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi captured the silver, while teammate Rion Sumiyoshi rose from fifth to claim the bronze.
Amber Glenn
Glenn delivered a brilliant routine to “This Time” by Janet Jackson, earning a new personal best of 78.14 for first place in the short program. She landed a triple Axel, triple flip-triple toe and triple loop. The two-time Grand Prix bronze medalist earned many positive grades of execution (GOE) on every element, including her footwork and spins which were also graded a level four.
“Wow, I am so happy!” said the 2024 U.S. National champion. “I expected a score around 74-75 maybe, so I was thrilled when I saw that number. Before my skate I watched my short program performance from Lombardia Trophy to go through what I have to do, it put me in a good mindset. I applied so much mentally, and I hoped I knew so much of the stuff that I know now much earlier.”
“Today, during the practice, I fell on my Axel, which usually never happens,” Glenn added. “It is my most consistent jump at this point. But I managed to be kind to myself and didn’t let it get to me. This feel like the first time I am going into an event as one of the favorites; that’s new for me and it made me pretty nervous. This program definitely helps me to feel strong and powerful. I skated right after Mai Mihara, who I admire so much and who is such a beautiful skater. Back in the days this made me feel nervous and insecure, but now I am having the confidence to just do my own thing.”
Glenn stepped out of her triple Axel in the free skate and later fell on a triple flip. She also put a hand and foot down on a triple flip in the second half, but still landed a total of five clean triple jumps. Her routine to “I Will Find You” and “The Return” also featured two level four spins and level three footwork. She placed third in this segment with 132.30 points and was able to maintain first overall with a total score of 210.44.
“It feels amazing, I still can’t believe it!” said the 25-year-old. “I was very nervous going into today. This was the very first time I went into a big event being in placed first. I had a lot of emotions and somehow felt really tired going into today. I made a lot of small mistakes today due to fatigue and self-doubt. I somehow have this thing that I sometimes doubt myself and can’t believe that this is really me. I am then like, ‘no, this can’t be me, this isn’t happening.’ I was very nervous, but the crowd had great energy and that helped me through it today.”
She will compete next at Cup of China.
Wakaba Higuchi
Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi opened with a beautiful double Axel in her short to Dune. However, just like at Skate America, she underrotated the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe and received an edge call on a triple flip. The flip was also landed on the quarter, but all spins and footwork were graded a level four. She posted a season’s best of 66.98 for third place in this segment.
“There were a few insecurities, and I will try to do better tomorrow,” said the 2018 World silver medalist . “But I am very happy about the levels on my spins and steps. I try not to think too much about my success at Skate America, so it didn’t change my mindset too much. I tried to be relaxed during skating; that’s maybe why I smile during my performance.”
“I saw the Dune program of Tim (Dieck) and Olivia (Smart) at Skate America,” Higuchi added. “I am really looking forward to watching the other ones (Adam Siao him Fa and Mikhail Shaidorov) here.”
The 2024 Skate America Champion opened her free skate to “Nature Boy” and “Running Up that Hill” with a huge double Axel, but then landed the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe on the quarter. She also landed a triple Salchow on the quarter and received an edge call on a triple flip, but the rest of the jumps were solid. This included a triple Lutz-double Axel-double toe sequence and two triple loops. All three spins were rewarded with a level four, and she placed first in the free skate with a new season’s best of 139.10 points. With 206.08 points overall, the 23-year-old moved up one spot on the podium for the silver.
“This result means one more competition for me,” said Higuchi. “And a lot of traveling. I will have to adjust but I am looking forward to it. I tried to focus on doing my performance like usual and not think too much about the result. I didn’t do any big mistakes in my jumps, but I wanted to give everything I had in my last steps. But I felt a bit tired going into them, so I think I could have done a bit more in my last steps.”
With 28 points, Higuchi has more than likely qualified for a spot in the Grand Prix Final. There are still three individual events left to go before it’s official pending results of other skaters.
Rion Sumiyoshi
Japan’s Rion Sumiyoshi gave an expressive short to “Concerto pour la fin d’un amour” for fifth place (66.88). The double Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe were clean, but she underrotated and stepped out of the triple flip. However, the footwork and two spins received a level four.
“I am a bit disappointed with the flip; I didn’t expect that mistake,” said the 21-year-old. “I have to work on that. As this is my third time in Angers, I could skate more relaxed because I know the arena. Tomorrow, I will go for the quad. But it is important to for me to not only focused on the quad. I want to give my best on each of the elements.”
Sumiyoshi underrotated and stepped out of an attempted quad toe but landed five clean triple jumps. Her routine to music from “Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary” featured level-four spins and footwork throughout. The four-time Grand Prix medalist placed third in this second in this segment and rose from fifth to third overall (201.35).
“This is my third time in a row that I was fifth after the short and third overall,” she said. “I hoped to climb a bit in the ranking, but I feel like my skating overall improved. I felt quite good physically and I felt like everything was under control. I didn’t really feel the quad today, so I accept the result on that jump. In the second half I made some small mistakes because I was a bit tired. Overall, my skate was what I was aiming to do.”
She will compete next at Cup of China.
Chaeyeon Kim
Chaeyeon Kim of the Republic of Korea gave a solid performance in her short program to music from Tron: Legacy. The 2024 World bronze medalist produced a double Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip. While the steps were only graded a level two, she earned a level four on two spins and picked up a new season’s best of 70.90.
“I was very happy to have scored over 70 today,” said the 17-year-old. “Thank you to the judges! I was very nervous today and thought I skated a bit slow.”
“This program choice was made by Benoit (Richaud),” she added. “I was a bit worried because it is my first try with this style, but the score was not bad, so I am starting to like this program.”
Skating to “Whisperers from the Heart” and “Love Dance,” Kim landed a strong double Axel, triple flip-double toe-double loop and triple Salchow. However, she landed a triple loop and triple flip on the quarter. She also fell on a triple Lutz-triple toe before underrotating the back end of a triple Lutz-double Axel sequence. The flip was also landed on the quarter, but she racked up a ton of GOEs on her level four spins and level three footwork. The 2024 Four Continents silver medalist placed fifth with 129.09 points and slipped to fourth overall (199.99).
“Today I was really nervous,” admitted Kim. “I was also suffering; I think that was the reason for my mistakes. I am a little bit sad, but I want to have a better performance in China.”
Sarah Everhardt
USA’s Sarah Everhardt placed fourth in the short program (66.95). Her routine to “Reel Around the Sun” from Riverdance featured a solid triple toe-triple toe, double Axel and triple Lutz. The skater also picked up a level four on two spins.
“I am super happy!” said the 17-year-old. “I came out here wanting to skate my best and I think that’s what I did. This is my biggest international competition and it’s so cool to have so many people cheering on me. I was pretty nervous going into today, but it was so cool and a lot of fun. I enjoyed every moment of my performance today.”
The skater added that even though she was called up only two weeks prior to the event, she felt ready.
The two-time Challenger Series medalist gave a pretty strong free skate to The Firebirdlanding seven triple jumps. However, the flip received an edge call, and the loop and Salchow were landed on the quarter. Two spins received a level four, and she finished fourth in the free and fifth overall (129.99/196.94).
“Today I felt very tense in my skating, I know I can do better,” said the 2024 U.S. national pewter medalist. “It wasn’t because the medal was within reach, rather because it was my first Grand Prix experience. Now I know what to expect and I think I will be able to do better in Finland.”
Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone placed sixth overall (184.67), followed by Japan’s Mai Mihara (174.93) and Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova (173.21).
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