(Thanks to my friend C. for pointing out that the assignments had been posted by the ISU).
ISU Grand Prix assignments lists
Interesting points for the men’s entries:
1) Johnny Weir returns to Olympic-eligible competition with two slots, the first one in Russia.
2) Wonder if Evgeny Plushenko might take the TBD Russian spot at Cup of Russia? My friend C. also said that may be a possibility for Lysacek at Skate America as well? Would really like to know more details about Lysacek’s financial dispute with the USFSA; what gives??
3) No spots for Armin Mahbahnoozadeh, but two spots for Richard Dornbush? Hmmm….
Ladies:
1) Flatt, Nagasu, Czisny only get one spot each. According to Phil Hersch, Czisny is scheduled to have surgery on her left hip (labrum). She requested the latest possible GP assignments, and is hopeful that she might get a second spot if she heals from surgery in time: Phil Hersch article
2) US Junior Champion Gracie Gold gets two spots, as do US Senior Champion Ashley Wagner, Agnes Zawadzki, and a resurgent Caroline Zhang.
3) Miki Ando returns to GP competition.
Pairs:
1) New US pairings Caitlin Yankowskas/Joshua Reagan and Lindsay Davis/Mark Ladwig make their GP debuts.
2) The field for Cup of China is jam-packed: Pang/Tong return to the GP, new Chinese pairing Peng/Zhang debuts, Sui/Han, World bronze medalists Takahashi/Tran, and Kavaguti/Smirnov are also scheduled to compete. Tough place for Yankowskas/Reagan to debut!!
Dance:
1) As usual, the two top dance teams in the world will not face each other until (most likely) the GP Final: Davis/White will bracket the season at Skate America and NHK, while Virtue/Moir will be at Skate Canada and Cup of Russia.
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