The third stop of the ISU Grand Prix series, held in Shenzen, China, saw some of the sport’s biggest names and rising stars take to the ice, as they continue to jostle for a place in the Grand Prix Final later this year.

From spectacular comebacks to an extraordinary comeback and another triumph for Britain’s leading ice dance pair, there was certainly no shortage of drama.

Men’s

Japan’s Kai Miura must feel over the moon. The 21-year-old delivered one of the best performances of his life, taking gold with a career-best 293.25 and winning both the short program and free skate. Having already claimed silver at the Grand Prix de France – thought not without error – Miura arrived in Shenzhen with plenty to prove. His Jekyll & Hyde free skate earned 190.35 points, helping him secure his second career Grand Prix title and a coveted place at December’s Grand Prix Final.

Vladislav Dikidzhi took silver with 282.44, securing his first Grand Prix medal with a fantastic free skate, while his countryman Evgeni Semenenko completed the podium with 281.62, throwing down the gauntlet as two names to watch across the season as they’ll both no doubt go from strength to strength.

It was not such a good event for the men who nabbed Olympic medals earlier this year.

Japan’s Shun Sato, the reigning Olympic bronze medallist, finished fourth with 277.20, while the Olympic Champion, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov could only manage fifth with 263.49. For Shaidorov, the result means that he misses out on Grand Prix Final altogether.

Women’s

Japan continued its extraordinary run of success in the women’s competition, with Mone Chiba taking gold with 224.48 points.

The two-time World Championship medallist delivered an absolutely stunning free skate to Clair de Lune, particularly notable after her injuries earlier this year.

One of the biggest names to take to the ice for the first time this Grand Prix was, without doubt, Alexandra Ignatova (née Trusova). The skater made a breathtaking return to the Grand Prix circuit, competing as a neutral athlete following the birth of her son. She earned silver with 221.27, winning the free skate outright, not to mention landing a quadruple Lutz. No doubt we’ll be seeing the remarkable skater on more podiums this season.

South Korea’s Haein Lee ended up with bronze (210.79), climbing from sixth after the short program to claim bronze.

A lovely story from this discipline came by way of America’s Sophie Joline von Felten, who landed a triple Axel in her free skate. This makes her only second American woman to accomplish this particular jump on the senior Grand Prix circuit since 2004.

Pairs

2022 Olympic bronze medallists, Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, returned to Grand Prix action with aplomb as they won gold with 209.84 points, winning both segments of the competition.

Their combined score was also the highest recorded on the Grand Prix circuit so far this season, and as the Pairs discipline as reshuffled somewhat this season, no doubt Mishina / Galliamov are ready to stake their claim as the top pair to look out for.

However, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava certainly won’t let them go quietly as they took silver with 198.27, whilst Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi (Japan) rounded out the podium with 181.50 an impressive feat after Nagaoka had the misfortune to experience several injuries in the run up to this Grand Prix season.

Ice Dance

Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson have nabbed another gold! Straight after their victory at Skate Canada, the British duo secured back-to-back Grand Prix gold medals with 194.93 points, winning both the rhythm dance and free dance. Whilst this secured them a spot in the Grand Prix final, Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin (Georgia) were hot on their heels the entire way, finishing just 1.39 points behind with 193.54

Much loved pair Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck (Spain) completed the podium with 178.30, climbing from fifth after the rhythm dance to take bronze. However, brother-sister duo Natalie Taschlerova and Filip Taschler (Czechia), also had a truly fantastic meet, and were unlucky to be pipped to the podium by Smart / Dieck. Taschlerova / Taschler finished fourth with 178.21, a difference of just nine hundredths of a point.

With the Cup of China now over, the race for the Grand Prix Final is beginning to look clear.

Kao Miura’s sensational victory has confirmed his return to the top of the men’s field whilst nabbing him a GPF spot, while Mone Chiba’s win suggests we’ll surely see at least two or three Japanese women also in the final. The return of Alexandra Ignatova and the equally riveting comeback of Mishina / Galliamov means that many will already be expecting to see them both eventually nab GPF spots.

Heavy hitters from the previous season that have now locked in their spots – Metelkina / Berulava for Pairs and Fear / Gibson for Ice Dance – ensures that we’ll seeing some long-time favourites returning this December to compete for the top crown.

Next up is Skate America in Everett, Washington, see you there!