2022-23 Grand Prix Final: Men’s Preview

The Men’s event for the 2022-23 Grand Prix Final will kick off on December 8, 2022, with the short program. Five out of the six Men in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final are newcomers. Only Shoma Uno has competed in the event several times before. One reason is due to the fact that some regulars on the circuit have retired or are taking a break (i.e. Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu). Russian skaters that qualified in the past for the Final, such as Mikhail Kolyada or Dmitri Aliev, are banned from competing in ISU events due to sanctions imposed as a result of the war in Ukraine.

Daniel Grassl (ITA)

Grassl is the only European man in the Final. The Italian is looking forward to competing on home ice and can count on crowd support. Grassl was in the Junior Final in Torino three years ago, but had boot problems and was not able to perform his best. He wants to make sure he is at the top of his game this time. The 2022 European silver medalist qualified after winning the first ISU Grand Prix gold medal for an Italian man at the MK John Wilson Trophy in Sheffield and by placing fourth at Skate America. Grassl is also the first Italian man to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final. He includes the quad Lutz, flip and loop in his free skate.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Kao Miura (JPN)

Miura started his season much more successfully than a year ago, earning his first two ISU Grand Prix medals when he claimed silver at Skate America and Skate Canada. The 2022 ISU Four Continents bronze medalist turned in consistent performances in his events and even came first in the short program with his Tango selection in both Grand Prix events. For the free skate, he is performing to music from the Beauty and the Beast. If Miura can maintain his consistency, his chances for a medal in Torino are good.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Shun Sato (JPN)

Sato comes back to Torino as well–he won the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in 2019. The 18-year-old grabbed the last spot in the Final by coming in second in Espoo and third in Sheffield. The Japanese skater has the quad Lutz and toe in his arsenal, but is still lacking performance-wise compared to some of his competitors.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Shoma Uno (JPN)

Uno has competed in the ISU Grand Prix Final four times, but  has never won it. The reigning World Champion collected two bronze and two silver medals in the event. This season, he struck gold in his two Grand Prix events at Skate Canada and NHK Trophy, however, both time he struggled in the short program and had to fight back in the free skate. Uno not only has the quad flip, loop, Salchow, and toe in his repertoire, but earns high component scores thanks to his skating skills and strong programs. His free skate to to “Air on the G String” and “Sanctus Petrus et Sancta Maria Magdalena: “Mea tormenta, properate!” especially stands out. The Japanese star knows that he doesn’t have much room for error with Malinin around, and needs to be focused if he wants to take his first ISU Grand Prix Final title.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Sota Yamamoto (JPN)

Yamamoto is an elegant skater that struggled with injuries in the past. However, the skater from Aichi finally celebrated a break-through, winning his first medals on the senior-level Grand Prix since competing on the circuit in 2018. He picked up two silver medals–Grand Prix de France and NHK Trophy–but he made some errors in the free skate in both events. His short program to “Yesterday” performed by Michael Bolton is very popular.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

Ilia Malinin (USA)

Malinin tops the list of qualifiers thanks to accumulating the highest total scores in his events. He also made history by landing the first (and so far only) quad Axel in competition. The ISU World Junior Champion, who just turned 18 years old on December 2, won at Skate America and the Grand Prix Espoo. He was handicapped by a foot injury in Finland, but this didn’t stop him from going for the quad Axel and four more quads in the  free skate – three of which (the flip and two toes) were clean. Malinin is certainly the strongest jumper out there right now, and if he is healthy and skates well, he will be on the podium. Malinin fully competed for the first time this season on the ISU senior Grand Prix circuit. He was at Skate America in 2020 when it was held as a domestic event and then returned to the Junior Grand Prix in the 2021-22 season.

[ISU Bio] [GS Fan Fest]

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