Photo credit Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating
By Kristen Henneman
A delegation of Team USA skaters familiar with standing on international podiums travels to NHK Trophy – the fourth of six stops in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series – Nov. 8-10 in Tokyo, Japan.
Of the 16 U.S. athletes, five have represented Team USA at the Olympic Games while 12 have skated for the red, white and blue at a World Championships. Twelve have medaled internationally already this season.
The three ice dance teams that composed Team USA at the 2023 World Championships all compete in Japan.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates have their eyes set on bringing home their 20th Grand Prix medal in Japan. The two-time and reigning World champions earned silver in their season debut at Skate America, marking the first time the Olympic team event gold medalists haven’t won gold since December of 2022, but look to return to the top of the podium and lock a position at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2024 in Grenoble, France next month.
For Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, NHK Trophy will be their first Grand Prix of the season.
The 2024 U.S. silver medalists and two-time Four Continents bronze medalists, Carreira and Ponomarenko have medaled at both their Challenger Series events to start the season, claiming silver at Nebelhorn Trophy and gold at Budapest Trophy.
Green and Parsons, the 2022 Four Continents champions, began their season with silver at Trophy Metropole Nice Cote d’Azur.
In the pairs competition, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will have the opportunity to punch their ticket to the Grand Prix Final. In just their third season together, the 2024 U.S. champions and Four Continents bronze medalists have placed on the podium in all three of their international events, including silver at Skate America, where they broke the 200-point mark for the first time as a team.
A late addition to the NHK Trophy lineup, Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard will compete at their first international event of the season in Japan. They finished fifth in their Grand Prix debut at Skate America last season.
In the women’s event, Bradie Tennell, Alysa Liu and Lindsay Thorngren will skate for Team USA.
After missing last year’s Grand Prix Series due to an ankle injury, Tennell made her return at Skate America, where she finished second in the short program and fifth overall. The 2018 Olympic team event bronze medalist also earned silver at Shanghai Trophy earlier this season.
Similarly, Liu ranked second in the short program at Skate Canada International, but placed sixth in the final standings. A 2022 Olympian and World bronze medalist who retired at the end of the 2022 season, Liu made her comeback to skating this year, and won gold at her first international competition back at Budapest Trophy.
Fourth at Budapest Trophy last month, 2022 World Junior bronze medalist Thorngren secured her first Grand Prix medal, a silver, at NHK Trophy last season.
A full slate of U.S. men will take the ice as Andrew Torgashev, Jason Brown and Tomoki Hiwatashi head to Japan.
Competing for the second straight weekend, Torgashev was added to the NHK Trophy lineup on Monday. He enters the competition with momentum after earning bronze at Grand Prix de France. The medal marked his first in the Grand Prix Series and gives him an opportunity to claim a Grand Prix Final position.
Brown, a 2014 Olympic team event bronze medalist and six-time World Championships team member, made his return to the Grand Prix Series for the first time since 2021 at Skate Canada International, finishing eighth. He will look to improve on that result and build on the bronze medal he earned at Shanghai Trophy at the beginning of October.
His first Grand Prix of the season, Hiwatashi finished 11th at Cranberry Cup International to start the season. However, the 2019 World Junior champion will be skating close to home as he currently trains in Uji, Japan.
Competition kicks off Friday in Japan with the rhythm dance, followed by the pairs, men’s and women’s short programs. Medals in all four disciplines will be awarded Saturday.
Watch every skater live on Peacock with all events available for 72 hours following their conclusion. Fans can also catch a recap show on NBC at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 11. Find the full broadcast schedule on usfigureskatingfanzone.com and the Peacock streaming schedule on peacocktv.com/skating.
The Grand Prix Series, which started in 1995, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete or team is eligible to score points in up to two of the six scheduled events. The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, set for Dec. 5-8 in Grenoble, France.
For a full schedule, results, news and more, visit the Grand Prix Series Competition Central.
U.S. ENTRIES AT 2024 NHK Trophy
Athlete | Hometown | Training Town
Women
Alysa Liu | Richmond, Calif. | Oakland, Calif. and San Francisco, Calif.
Bradie Tennell | Carpentersville, Ill. | West Orange, N.J.
Lindsay Thorngren | Montclair, N.J. | Hackensack, N.J.
Men
Jason Brown | Highland Park, Ill. | Toronto, Canada
Tomoki Hiwatashi | Hoffman Estates, Ill. | Uji, Japan
Andrew Torgashev | Irvine, Calif. | Irvine, Calif.
Pairs
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea | Colorado Springs, Colo.; Colorado Springs, Colo. | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Isabelle Martins and Ryan Bedard | Lake Barrington, Ill.; McHenry, Ill. | Irvine, Calif.
Ice Dance
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko | Saint Clair, Mich.; San Jose, Calif. | London and Montreal, Canada
Madison Chock and Evan Bates | Redondo Beach, Calif.; Ann Arbor, Mich. | Montreal, Canada
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons | Rockville, Md.; Derwood, Md. | Canton, Mich.
