Lazarev and Dzepka Sweep Singles Gold as 2026 Junior Grand Prix Series Opens in Xi'an

The ice in Xi'an didn't just break the seal on the 2026-27 season; it immediately established the technical baseline required to survive it. You don't show up to the first ISU Junior Grand Prix of the year hoping to ease into form. You show up to put the rest of the world on notice, and this weekend, the message was delivered with absolute clarity.[5]

In the junior men's discipline, Lev Lazarev didn't just win; he created a 20-point chasm between himself and the rest of the field. Competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, Lazarev posted a massive 250.21 total, dominating both the short program and the free skate. It was the kind of wire-to-wire performance that instantly recalibrates the expectations for the entire circuit.[2]

Behind him, the battle for the podium showcased the growing global parity in the men's field. New Zealand's Yanhao Li secured silver with a commanding 230.89, while Japan's Daiya Ebihara took bronze at 219.76. Both skaters delivered the kind of high-stakes free skates that prove the race for the Junior Grand Prix Final in Chongqing is going to be a brutal, multi-nation dogfight.[2]

But if the men's event was a statement of dominance, the junior women's event was a glimpse into the future of the sport's technical arms race. Sofiia Dzepka backed up her gold medal ambitions by bringing a quad toe loop to the ice. She cruised to victory with 213.28 points, signaling that the ceiling for junior women is once again pushing into quadruple-jump territory.[3][4]

For the host nation, however, the real story was the sudden, undeniable arrival of a new generation. Thirteen-year-old Liu Yuxuan, making her international debut, skated with the poise of a veteran to capture silver. Despite a fall on her triple Lutz in the free skate, her overall package was enough to secure 189.57 points and ignite the home crowd at the QuJiang Sports Complex.[1][7]

Liu wasn't alone. The depth of the Chinese women's contingent was the defining narrative of the weekend. Jin Shuxian engineered a massive comeback, climbing from eighth place after the short program to snatch the bronze medal with 188.80 points. With Jin Chenxi finishing right behind her in fourth (183.94), China placed three skaters in the top four—a staggering display of host-nation strength.[1][7]

"We did not set winning the title as our only goal," noted ice dancer Artem Valov, who alongside Mariia Fefelova captured gold in their discipline with 162.16 points. They held off a fierce challenge from Italy's Zoe Bianchi and Daniel Basile (154.25) and Canada's Summer Homick and Nicholas Buelow (143.68). Valov's sentiment echoed the broader reality of the weekend: the early events are about showing your cards to the judges.[1][6][7]

The dominance of the Individual Neutral Athletes was absolute across the board. Polina Shesheleva and Egor Karnaukhov opened their season in style, taking gold in the pairs event to complete a clean sweep of the top podium steps for the AIN contingent across all four disciplines.[4][6]

The significance of the weekend extended beyond the score sheets. This marked the first-ever ISU figure skating competition held in Northwest China, expanding the sport's footprint into a massive, previously untapped winter sports market. The energy in the arena reflected a region eager to embrace top-tier international skating.[5][8]

The Junior Grand Prix circuit offers no time to breathe. The tour immediately packs up and heads to Riga, Latvia, for the second stop of the seven-event series. The points race is officially on, the technical benchmarks have been set, and the road to December's Final is already paved with quad jumps and breakout debuts.[5][6]