Thailand’s first Junior Grand Prix gold shines in Ljubljana 2026
News — 5 October 2026
The sixth event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix season closed on Saturday at Ljubljana’s Hala Tivoli with three champions and a historic day: Thailand’s Hiro Kaewtathip became the first skater from his country to win a Junior Grand Prix event, with 233.73 points. Australia’s Hana Bath (198.86) claimed her second gold of the season and the German ice dance couple of Darya Grimm and Grigorii Rodin (169.40) completed the champions’ podium on 1–3 October.
A first for Thailand
Kaewtathip arrived at the free skate in third place after the short program and delivered the best free skate of the night to finish on top with 233.73 points. In September he had already made history in Bangkok, where he became the first Thai skater to stand on a Junior Grand Prix podium (bronze); in Ljubljana he turned that milestone into Thailand’s first gold in the series.
Bath, unstoppable on the road to the Final
Hana Bath confirmed in Ljubljana what she had signalled in Riga: the Australian won her second consecutive Junior Grand Prix event with 198.86 points (131.11 in the free skate, which she opened with a triple Axel-triple toe loop combination). She is the first Australian single skater to win a Junior Grand Prix event and, with two golds, has secured her place at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Chongqing, China, on 10–13 December.
Grimm and Rodin complete their season with gold
In ice dance, Germany’s Darya Grimm and Grigorii Rodin, who debuted in the series in Batumi with a silver medal, took the title with 169.40 points and also booked their ticket to the Chongqing Final. Ljubljana did not host a pairs event: they return to competition at the last stop of the calendar, in Gdansk, Poland, on 8–10 October.
The ice behind the progress
Behind every jump by these champions are hours of work on a well-maintained sheet of real ice: a flat, stable surface, reliable refrigeration and constant maintenance are the foundation of any progress in skating, from a national arena like Hala Tivoli to a temporary rink in a city square. Napapiri designs, manufactures, rents and sells real-ice rinks since 1993 for event organizers, municipalities and sports and leisure facilities worldwide; quotation within 24 hours.
Cover photo: interior of Hala Tivoli in Ljubljana during an ice hockey game. Venue archive photo: it does not show the 2026 Junior Grand Prix or a Napapiri installation. E710240215531c / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Original photograph used without modifications.
