Gdansk closes the 2026/27 Junior Grand Prix: Kanazawa, Krouglov and Spain’s first pairs gold
News — 13 October 2026
The ISU Junior Grand Prix 2026/27 wrapped up its seventh and final event on 8–10 October at the Hala Olivia in Gdansk, Poland, with four champions: Sumika Kanazawa (196.37 points), Denis Krouglov (228.64), Anita Mapelli and Noah Quesada Grau (166.81), and Arianna Soldati and Nicolas Tagliabue (154.22). Kanazawa and the Spanish pair booked their tickets to the Chongqing Final (10–13 December).
The champions of Gdansk
In the women’s event, Japan’s 14-year-old Sumika Kanazawa took gold with 196.37 points after a clean free skate with five triple jumps, ahead of Canada’s Lia Cho (195.76) and Switzerland’s Elisabeth Dibbern (189.11). Among the men, favourite Denis Krouglov won comfortably, by 22 points, with a personal best of 228.64 points.
In pairs, Anita Mapelli and Noah Quesada Grau led from start to finish and won with 166.81 points, also a personal best. In ice dance, Italy’s Arianna Soldati and Nicolas Tagliabue, third after the rhythm dance, delivered a flawless free dance to Muse’s “Exogenesis Symphony” and overhauled reigning junior world champions Hana Maria Aboian and Daniil Veselukhin of the USA, who settled for silver (153.03 points) after a fall on a lift.
Historic firsts in Gdansk
Krouglov became the first Belgian skater to win a Junior Grand Prix event in 25 years, since Kevin van der Perren in 2001. Mapelli and Quesada Grau are the first Spaniards in history to win Junior Grand Prix gold, and their victory also earned them a place at the Final; Kanazawa will also skate in Chongqing. Soldati and Tagliabue claimed their first gold on the circuit, though it did not come with a Final berth.
The season in numbers
The 2026/27 series gathered 413 skaters and couples from 70 nations across seven events in seven countries, with a record 20 nations winning medals and 13 winning gold. The top six in each discipline will meet at the Junior Grand Prix Final, held alongside the Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China, on 10–13 December.
The ice behind the results
Behind every score lie hours of work on a well-maintained real ice rink: a smooth, level surface, reliable refrigeration and constant maintenance. Napapiri has designed, manufactured, rented and sold real ice rinks since 1993 for event organizers, municipalities and sports and leisure facilities worldwide; quotation within 24 hours at napapiri.com.
Photo: interior of the Hala Olivia in Gdansk (Poland), venue of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Gdansk 2026, during an ice hockey game. Photo by Linshi2, 19 January 2018, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Archive photo; it does not show the 2026 competition or a Napapiri installation.
Sources
- ISU: Skaters grab last spots in Gdansk for Junior Grand Prix Final (12 October 2026), accessed 13 October 2026.
- Official results, ISU Junior Grand Prix 2026/27.
