By Gina Capellazzi, Team FSO website administrator
Photo by ISU
Teams Elite made history at the World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden March 8. The team based out of Northbrook, Illinois took home the gold medal, marking the first time that any U.S. synchronized skating team – at any level – has won a gold medal at a World Championships.
Sitting in third after the short program, less than a point out of first, the reigning U.S. Junior Champions delivered a strong “Black Swan” free skate that earned the highest level of difficulty for six elements, and included great speed and excellent unison. They earned a free skate score of 132.43 and a total score of 205.28, which were both shy of their season’s best scores of 132.75 and 208.36, but their performance was enough to move up to first place and claim the gold medal.
This marks the team’s second World Junior Championships medal. They won bronze in 2022.
“It is a dream come true. We worked so hard for this opportunity and could not be more proud of our preparation and performances this entire season,” Emma Chung from Teams Elite Junior said following the competition.
The three-time World Junior Champions Team Fintastic of Finland, in fifth after the short program, were only two points out of first heading into the free skate. Their Asian inspired routine set to “Drums of Battle”, “Marco Polo” and “Tsunami” included high-quality intersections and moves. They achieved a season’s best free skate score of 130.76 points and totaled 201.87 points to finish second and claim their second consecutive World junior silver medal. Team Fintastic is the most successful team in the history of the World Junior Synchronized Championships. They have collected nine medals since the event was introduced in 2013.
“It was an amazing feeling on the ice today and how we stepped up after yesterday’s little disappointment [in the short program]”, commented team Fintastic captain Edith Hamström.
Team Skyliners Junior, of the U.S., who were in second after the short program, claimed the bronze medal. The team’s “Interstellar” soundtrack and “Ascendance” free skate earned a season’s best free skate score of 127.76 points and a total score of 201.27 points, which was also a season’s best.
“Coming third and being the second to last team to skate, to be honest, we were a little disappointed,” Team Skyliners Junior captain Emily Duarte shared.
“We had goals coming into this competition and those goals weren’t met with our free skate. But we are still very proud of the journey that we went through throughout the season. It’s been definitely a roller coaster and I’m just glad that we finished out strong. We just showed our connection and our love for each other and the sport on the ice,” she added.
“Medaling showcases all our hard work and dedication that we’ve put in throughout this season. We haven’t had the easiest course getting to this moment, so it’s really such an honor to be able to medal this season,” said Team Skyliners’ Cailtin Chae said.
Team Skyliners Junior have now medaled at the last six World Junior Championships they’ve attended.
This is the second time that Team USA has had two teams on the podium at the World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. The Skyliners and Teams Elite earned silver and bronze, respectively, in 2022.
“It is such an incredible accomplishment and really shows the hard work every team has put into the season,” Chung said about two Team USA teams on the podium.
2024 World Junior Champions Team Les Suprêmes Junior, of Canada, were the leaders after the short program, but a fall in the synchronized spin in the free skate cost them a medal and they slipped to fourth place with a total score of 200.01.
“Our program got off to a good start, we’ve made great progress over the last few weeks,” said Jennifer Passarelli, co-captain of Team Les Suprêmes Junior. “We’ve skated our best program of the season and we can be proud of that. I felt the energy was good and we had fun together on the ice.
Team Valley Bay Synchro, of Finland, finished fifth with a total score of 195.72. They suffered two falls on an intersection in the free skate. The home crowd, Seaside Junior, of Sweden, placed sixth with 177.10 points.
For more results, visit https://results.isu.org/results/season2425/wjsysc2025/.
