Olympic bronze medalists Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown, Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner lead the U.S. entries for the 2014-15 Grand Prix figure skating season announced Friday.
Olympic champions Yuzuru Hanyu, Adelina Sotnikova and Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov are also slated to dot across six events in the fall, beginning with Skate America in Chicago from Oct. 24-26. They’ll vie to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona from Dec. 11-14.
Grand Prix assignments: Men | Women | Pairs | Ice Dance
Here are the U.S. assignments:
Skate America: Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown, TBD; Gracie Gold, Mirai Nagasu, TBD; Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim, Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier, TBD; Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani, Madison Chock/Evan Bates, TBD.
Skate Canada: Max Aaron, Adam Rippon; Courtney Hicks, Ashley Wagner; Felicia Zhang/Nathan Bartholomay; Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton; Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue.
Cup of China: Richard Dornbush, Josh Farris; Ashley Cain, Polina Edmunds, Christina Gao; Tarah Kayne/Daniel O’Shea; Shibutani/Shibutani.
Rostelecom Cup: Aaron, Brown, Stephen Carriere; Vanessa Lam, Nagasu, Angela Wang; Denney/Frazier, Kayne/O’Shea, DeeDee Leng/Simon Shnapir; Aldridge/Eaton, Chock/Bates, Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker.
Trophee Bompard: Dornbush, Rippon; Samantha Cesario, Hicks, Wagner; Scimeca/Knierim; Hubbell/Donohue.
NHK Trophy: Abbott, Farris, Ross Miner; Edmunds, Gao, Gold; Leng/Shnapir, Zheng/Bartholomay; Hawayek/Baker.
Japan’s Hanyu is in Cup of China (with Russian Maksim Kovtun and China’s Yan Han) and NHK Trophy with Abbott.
Olympic silver medalist Patrick Chan and four-time Olympic medalist Yevgeny Plushenko were not given Grand Prix assignments. Chan, 23, is uncertain of his future. Plushenko, 31, wants to compete again, following post-Olympic back surgery.
The 2010 Olympic champion Evan Lysacek is also out. He has not competed in more than four years but has not announced his retirement, either.
Russia’s Sotnikova is in Rostelecom Cup (with World Championships fourth-place finisher Anna Pogorilaya) and NHK Trophy (with Gold and Edmunds).
Volosozhar and Trankov are in Skate America and Cup of China.
Absent from the list are Olympic ice dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White, who previously announced they would sit out next season. Their longtime rivals, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, were also not given assignments. Their future is unclear.
