The 2026-2027 ISU World Youth Figure Skating Grand Prix Xi’an concluded

China News Service, Xi'an, August 22 (Reporter Zhang Yichen) The Xi'an Station of the 2026-2027 ISU World Youth Figure Skating Grand Prix concluded on the 22nd. Two gold medals were decided on that day in pairs skating and men's single skating. Both championships were won by neutral athletes from Russia. So far, all the gold medals in the four competition events at this site have been won by neutral athletes.

The World Youth Figure Skating Grand Prix, founded in 1997, is known as the "cradle of future stars" in figure skating. During this three-day event, young players from various countries presented many high-quality ice duels.

In this competition, Chinese young skaters performed steadily and flourished in many areas. They performed brilliantly in women's singles, pairs skating and other events, showing the good momentum and development potential of echelon building. The neutral athletes from Russia continued their strong competitive strength and won the gold medals in all events in this competition, demonstrating the deep talent reserve of Russian figure skating.

In the women's single skating competition that has attracted much attention, neutral skater Sofia Jepka was online throughout the entire competition. She laid the foundation for her stable performance in the short program, and the free skate perfectly presented a full set of difficult movements. The program was smoothly connected and her artistic expression was outstanding. She finally won the gold medal with a high score of 213.28 points. Jepka was deeply impressed by the atmosphere of the competition during this trip to Xi'an: "The support of the Xi'an audience is particularly warm." At the same time, she also looked at her own performance clearly, saying that although the first show of the season ended successfully, there is still a lot of room for improvement. "There are still many details in the free skate that are not perfect. We will optimize the two programs in the future and make steady progress."

In the ice dance competition, the neutral athlete combination Maria Feferova/Artem Valov cooperated with each other tacitly, had precise rhythm, and completed the entire set of free dance moves with a high degree of completion. In the end, they won the ice dance championship with 162.16 points. After the game, Valov said in an interview that after six years of partnership, tacit understanding is the key to victory and the confidence for stable performance: "We do not regard winning the championship as our only goal, we just want to go all out to show the results of training."

The host Chinese team has gained a lot in this event. The young skaters dared to fight hard, break through themselves, and achieved many outstanding results. Among them, the performance of the women's singles skating was particularly amazing. The Chinese teenagers collectively made it to the top four, taking second to fourth place, showing the potential of the new generation of Chinese women's singles.

Liu Yuxuan, a 13-year-old rookie of the Chinese team, made her debut at the World Youth Figure Skating Grand Prix. Although she made a small mistake in the competition, she quickly adjusted her state and made up for the flaws with a smooth performance. She finally won the silver medal with 189.57 points. Her calm mentality was eye-catching. Another Chinese player, Jin Shuxian, fought back despite poor performance in the short program. He sprinted with all his strength in the free skate and scored the second-highest score of 128.72 points. With a strong comeback performance against the wind, he won the bronze medal with a total score of 188.80 points.

"I used to watch my idols stand in international competitions, but now I have finally stood on this stage. I will accumulate experience and polish the details to make the program more complete." Liu Yuxuan said.

In the pairs skating competition held on the 22nd, the performances of the two Chinese pairs Chen Yuxuan/Dong Yinbo and Wang Chenling/Chen Yongzheng were full of highlights. They overcame many good players and finally won the silver and bronze medals respectively, with the neutral team winning the gold.

After the game, Dong Yinbo said, "I think we performed well today and the overall performance was very good. The game does not necessarily require every action to be perfect or to perform exceptionally. It is good to be able to reach the current state."

When asked whether he is expected to play a leading role in the team in the future, Dong Yinbo said frankly: "If this important task can be handed over to the two of us, I will feel very honored. Being able to represent the country abroad and strive for honor for the country brings me more excitement and pride."

Throughout this event, the competitive landscape of the new generation of world youth figure skating has become increasingly clear. Russian neutral athletes still occupy the top echelons of world youth figure skating, with obvious advantages in comprehensive skills and stable performance. The Chinese Youth Corps is mainly composed of newcomers and uses games to promote training. It breaks through itself and accumulates experience in home games. It not only wins medals, but also shows solid technical reserves and high-spirited competitive style.

Chinese team player Yang Shirui has a deep understanding of this, "We often study videos of foreign players. The gap between Chinese and foreign ice dance events continues to narrow. Mentality and control of details are the key to future breakthroughs. The young combination has accumulated valuable practical experience in international competitions, which has also laid the foundation for our subsequent impact on higher levels."