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Canada’s Lajoie and Lagha win silver at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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LINZ, Austria – Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., won the silver medal with a personal best international score in ice dancing Saturday to conclude the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko of Russia took the gold with 158.70 points to edge the Canadians, second at 153.70. Another Russian couple Eva Kuts and Dmitrii Mikhailov of Russia were third at 142.79. Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto moved from fifth to fourth at 135.42.

It was the third career Junior Grand Prix medal for Lajoie and Lagha, fourth at the world juniors last season. Despite the result and score they didn’t seems particularly pleased with the performance.

‘’The presentation was good but there’s a lot of work to do at the technical level,’’ said Lajoie. ‘’One of our elements did not count and the whole performance in general was a bit of a battle for us. Basically it wasn’t an easy day but we camouflaged it well.’’

In pairs, Russians were 1-2-3 led by Polina Kostiukovich and Dmitrii Ialin with 180.59. Gabrielle Levesque of Bridgewater, N.S. and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que., were eighth.

‘’It’s already a big improvement on last season,’’ said Levesque. ‘’We were pleased with how we rebounded from a disappointing short program. We need to work on our consistency in our jumps and throws for the next event.’’

The Russians were 1-2 in the women’s event won by Alena Kostornaia. Emma Bulawka of Kelowna, B.C., posted the eighth best free skate to climb from 11th to ninth overall.

The third stop on the circuit is this Thursday to Saturday in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Full results: ISU JGP Cup of Austria 2018

Canada’s Conrad Orzel takes fourth at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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LINZ, Austria – A quirky fall after landing a quad jump disoriented Canada’s Conrad Orzel as he tumbled from first to fourth in men’s competition Friday at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Camden Pulkinen of the U.S. won the gold with 223.95 points, Koshiro Shamada of Japan was second at 220.45 and Roman Savosin of Russia third at 211.10.

The 18-year-old Orzel from Woodbridge, Ont., was first after Thursday’s short program with a personal best. He produced the sixth best free skate to fall out of medal contention with 200.46.

Skating to the 1968 Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, he hung on to his opening quadruple Salchow then slipped and fell after landing the quad toe.

‘’My long program was quite disappointing,’’ admitted Orzel, 13th at the world juniors last season. ‘’I was really zoned in after the warm-up. But the slip up on the quad toe really threw me off. After that my skating just went down and I got more panicky.’’

Still with his success in the short program, Orzel knows he can’t dwell on Friday’s performance.

‘’In the short program I showed that I can pay more attention to detail and be calm,’’ he said. ‘’The skating skills were there and I could feel my edges a lot easier. There are tweaks needed to the long but mainly it needs more run-throughs every day.’’

Beresford Clements of Richmond, B.C., was 12th out of 21 entries in his junior Grand Prix debut.

‘’It was a great experience to compete on such a bigger stage,’’ said the 16-year-old. ‘’I know going forward I’ll have to be more aggressive and confident and put it all on the ice.’’

Canada is also in medal contention in ice dancing. Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., fourth at the world juniors last season, are second after the short dance with 63.95.

Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko of Russia hold a slight lead at 64.26. Eva Kuts and Dmitrii Mikhailov of Russia are third at 58.63. Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto are fifth at 50.45.

In pairs after the short program, Gabrielle Levesque of Bridgewater, N.S. and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of St-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que., stand ninth less than five points from fifth spot.

In women’s competition after the short Emma Bulawka of Kelowna, B.C. is 11th.

Competition ends Saturday with the free skates in pairs, women’s and ice dancing.

Full results: ISU JGP Cup of Austria 2018

Canadian junior skaters in Austria for second stop of 2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have six entries, for a total of nine skaters at the second stop of the 2018-2019 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Linz, Austria. Canada’s entries include two men and two ice dance teams as well as one woman and one pair team. The competition takes place from August 29-September 1, 2018.

Conrad Orzel, 18, Woodbridge, Ont., leads the Canadian entries in men. Last season on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, Orzel placed seventh in Austria and won the bronze in Poland. He also placed 11th in senior at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and 13th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Orzel is coached by Lee Barkell and trains in Toronto, Ont.

Beres Clements, 16, Richmond, B.C., is the second Canadian junior men entry. Last season, he won the silver medal at both the Autumn Classic International (junior level) and the 2018 Egna Spring Trophy (junior level). He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Emma Bulawka, 15, Kelowna, B.C., is the Canadian entry in the women category. Last season she placed fifth at the 2017 Autumn Classic International (junior level) and sixth in junior at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Bulawka is coached by Karen and Jason Mongrain in Kelowna, B.C.

Canadian junior bronze medallists Gabrielle Levesque, 15, Bridgewater, N.S., and Pier-Alexandre Hudon, 19, Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que., will be the Canadian pairs entry. Last year on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit they placed 17th in Poland. Levesque and Hudon are coached by Charleen Cameron and John Mattatall in St. Margaret’s Bay, N.S.

Canadian junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, 17, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 19, Greenfield Park, Que., are the first of two Canadian ice dance entries. Last season on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, Lajoie and Lagha won the silver medal in Australia, gold in Croatia and placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. They also placed fourth at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Natalie D’Alessandro, 14, Toronto, Ont., and Bruce Waddell, 16, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, they placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Australia and eighth at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Andrew Hallam and Siobhan Karam in Toronto, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Danielle Williams of Surrey, B.C., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Erika Persson of Edmonton, Alta., and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Lorna Schroder of Georgetown, Ont., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org. All events on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit will be livestreamed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #2 – LINZ, AUSTRIA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Conrad Orzel 18 Woodbridge, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell
Men Beresford Clements 16 Richmond, B.C. Champs International SC Joanne McLeod
Women Emma Bulawka 15 Kelowna, B.C. Kelowna FSC Karen Mongrain / Jason Mongrain
Pairs Gabrielle Levesque / Pier-Alexandre Hudon 15/19 Bridgewater, N.S. / Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que. St. Margaret’s Bay SC / CPA La Pocatière Inc. Charleen Cameron / John Mattatall
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 17/19 Boucherville, Que. / Greenfield Park, Que. CPA De Boucherville / CPA St. Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer / Pascal Denis
Ice Dance Natalie D’Alessandro / Bruce Waddell 14/16 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Andrew Hallam / Siobhan Karam