The 2009-2010 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final begins this Thursday, December 3, in Tokyo, Japan. Throughout the skating season which began in October, senior and junior-level skaters competed in a variety of international events and racked up as many points as possible in order to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. For the senior competitors, only six skaters/teams can qualify so the Final provides a good glimpse into the Olympic showdown of the top skaters in the world come February. And for the junior competitors, only eight skaters/teams can qualify, so we get to see these young skaters before they make their senior debut on the international circuit in a year or two. So after all is said and done, who is going to Tokyo?
Senior competitors for the Grand Prix Final:
- Men: Nobunari Oda (JPN), Evan Lysacek (USA), Jeremy Abbott (USA), Daisuke Takahashi (JPN), Johnny Weir (USA) and Tomas Verner (CZE) Note: Brian Joubert (FRA) withdrew due to injuries and was replaced by Tomas Verner (CZE)
- Ladies: Yu-Na Kim (KOR), Miki Ando (JPN), Joannie Rochette (CAN), Alena Leonova (RUS), Ashley Wagner (USA) and Akiko Suzuki (JPN)
Pairs: Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (CHN), Pang Qing and Tong Jian (CHN), Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov (RUS), Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (GER), Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov (RUS), and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao (CHN)
- Ice dance: Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA), Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (CAN), Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat (FRA), Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte (ITA), Sinead Kerr and John Kerr (GBR) and Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier (CAN) Note: Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto (USA) and Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski (RUS) withdrew due to injuries and were replaced by Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier (CAN)
- Men: Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN), Ross Miner (USA), Song Nan (CHN), Artur Gachinski (RUS), Kento Nakamura (JPN), Stanislav Kovalev (RUS), Richard Dornbush (USA) and Grant Hochstein (USA)
- Ladies: Kanako Murakami (JPN), Polina Shelepen (RUS), Kiri Baga (USA), Angela Maxwell (USA), Ksenia Makarova (RUS), Christina Gao (USA), Anna Ovcharova (USA) and Ellie Kawamura (USA)
- Pairs: Sui Wenjing and Han Cong (CHN), Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran (JPN), Kaleigh Hole and Adam Johnson (CAN), Zhang Yue and Wang Lei (CHN), Tatiana Novik and Mikhail Kuznetsov (RUS), Britney Simpson and Nathan Miller (USA), Alexandra Vasilieva and Yuri Shevchuk (RUS), and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (RUS)
Ice dance: Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani (USA), Ksenia Monko and Kirill Khaliavin (RUS), Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov (RUS), Ekaterina Pushkash and Jonathan Guerreiro (RUS), Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill (CAN), Lorenza Alessandrini and Simone Vaturi (ITA), Marina Antipova and Artem Kudashev (RUS) and Isabella Cannuscio and Ian Lorello (USA)
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