Loena Hendrickx Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx is taking a refreshing and inspiring approach to the upcoming 2024-25 figure skating season. This comes on the heels of her recent success of being crowned the 2024 European Champion which marked a significant milestone in her career. Despite some challenges last season, she is now focusing on enjoying the sport without the pressure of proving herself. This shift in mindset might bring a new level of freedom and joy to her performances. We met with Hendrickx during her stay at a training camp hosted by Adam Solya and Marina Shirshova in Imatra, Finlan ..read more

Sarina Joos Sarina Joos established herself as the new top Italian figure skater during the 2023-24 season. The 17-year-old, who previously competed for Switzerland, made the switch to represent her mother’s home country of Italy. Half Swiss and half Italian, Joos expressed her happiness with this decision, and her performance results have confirmed her satisfaction. Joos made a statement when she won the Challenger Series “Golden Spin of Zagreb” in December 2023. She then clinched the title of Italian Champion and qualified for major championships. At her first European Championships, she ac ..read more

LYS Skate Club Two years ago, renowned figure skating coach Mihoko Higuchi embarked on a new adventure. She parted ways with her long-standing team to open her own skating club, LYS Skate Club, finally making her childhood dream come true. LYS is an acronym for “Let Yourself Shine.” As head coach, she is supported by her son, Shota Higuchi, who serves as a physical trainer at the rink. Higuchi has served as both coach and choreographer for over 35 years training many top skaters and solidifying her legacy in the sport. Despite being relatively new with a small number of students, the LYS Skate ..read more

Logan Higase-Chen In her second season as a junior, USA’s Logan Higase-Chen medaled at both international events, taking a silver at 2023 Cranberry Cup International and a gold at 2023 Budapest Trophy. She then won the 2024 Midwestern Sectional Singles Final, easily qualifying for her second trip to nationals. At the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Higase-Chen found herself in third place after the short program with just a 3.78-point gap between first and sixth place. “I felt ok after the short,” she recalled. “I wasn’t happy with myself that I left the last jump in my ..read more

Hyungyeom Kim Following a successful run on the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) circuit last season, South Korea’s Hyungyeom Kim is eagerly anticipating his first full year competing as a senior in 2024-25. While he made his senior international debut in 2023-24 at a challenger event and the world championships, this upcoming season will mark his first as a full-time senior competitor. The 2023-24 JGP Final silver medalist has two new programs which he will showcase at the 2024 Cranberry Cup International—the first Challenger Series event of the season. It will be held in Norwood, Mass., August 8-11 ..read more

Taira Shinohara Less than five months ago, USA’s Taira Shinohara won the silver at the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the junior level, improving six spots since his last outing in 2023. While the outcome of his short program was disappointing, he observed that the point difference for the next few placements were very close. “I just believed in myself that I could do a comeback,” he said of his free skate. “While there were no expectations in terms of placement because there were many strong skaters in the competition, I knew I could finish with a satisfying score.” Shino ..read more

Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov After a challenging 2023-24 season, Canadian junior champions Ava Kemp and Yohnaton Elizarov are excited for a productive and hopefully, injury-free summer. They already have two new programs and are working on a range of new elements before the start of their third Junior international season. Overcoming physical and mental challenges Although Kemp and Elizarov had competitive successes this past season, it was still a challenging year with injuries and relocating their training base. In March 2023, Elizarov suffered a sudden collapse of his lung and had to have ..read more

Keira Hilbelink This past season, Keira Hilbelink repeated a silver-medal win at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It proved to be a tight competition as there was a mere 3.78 points separating the first-place skater from the sixth-place skater after the short program. “I did not expect to place in the top three after finishing sixth the short program,” said Hilbelink. “However, I had hopes on getting in the top five with the combined short and long program. Before I competed at the U.S. Nationals, I had nerves about the triple-triple. Once I landed it in the short, I felt a bi ..read more

Nikita Starostin Nikita Starostin of Germany has been gaining attention in recent seasons with his captivating performances, vibrant costumes, and steadily improving results. In the 2023-24 season, the 21-year-old ventured onto the Grand Prix stage for the first time, securing a respectable 7th-place finish at the Grand Prix in Espoo, Finland. He went on to place 13th at the 2024 European Championships, but at 2024 Worlds, failed to qualify for the free skate. Despite the setback, Starostin is channeling his disappointment into determination during the off-season. He is currently focusing on ..read more

Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov Israel’s Elizabeth Tkachenko and Alexei Kiliakov had a spectacular season this year, showing massive improvement since 2022-23. The ice dance team medaled at both their individual Junior Grand Prix (JGP) events, before taking silver at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They capped that off with a second-place finish at the 2024 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. The team chalks it up to being together for so long. “Last year was actually our fifth year competing in the Junior category,” Kiliakov pointed out. “Even though we are young, we are really s ..read more