The beautifully complex sport of figure skating recently witnessed some jaw-dropping performances! The 2024 Skate America competition kicked off the Grand Prix series with great fervor this Saturday. However, the event’s standout moment came when two countries exceeded expectations—one broke an 18-year jinx, while the other shattered the glass ceiling for the first time in the history of the event. As a result, fans had some intriguing reactions!

In the pairs event, Team USA’s figure skating duos, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, along with Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrfanov, made history for the first time since 2006. With scores of 201.73 and 191.51 points, respectively, they not only captured the silver and bronze medals but also marked the first time in 18 years that two American pairs finished on the podium at a fully international Skate America event.

But that wasn’t all. The 201.73 score achieved by silver medalists Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea became the highest international total posted by an American pair in 2023 and 2024. No American pair had reached this level since last season. In fact, Danny surpassed the 200-point threshold for the first time after 13 seasons of competing in pairs. How remarkable is that?

However, it could be said that Team USA’s thunder was stolen by the Japanese pair, Riku Miura and Kihara Ryuichi who became the first Japanese team to win Skate America. They bagged the season opener with a whopping 214.23 score, which placed them in a comfortable top spot. The 2023 world champion pair opened up on their win stating, “It’s great to be back. It’s been a while since we won a competition, so we are happy about that as well.”

To this, one of the fans reacted, “It’s insane that Team USA did better in pairs than in women #SkateAmerica”  Well, in the women’s event, Team USA did disappoint. Bradie Tennell who was making a comeback post her injury was a medal favorite. Had she won, she would have become the oldest women’s single event winner in Skate America. However, she slipped to the fifth rank, while Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi bagged the title. And here’s what the others had to say.

Skate America results stun figure skating fans

One of the fans added, “Well that was an interesting ladies event.. 😳 #SkateAmerica” Well, it sure was! While American fans were torn between Tennell and Isabeau Levito, (who could have become the youngest Skate America winner from the United States) Higuchi’s win came like a dart out of the blue.

But for the Japanese skater, this was a significant win. It was the first time since 2016 that she was lifting the Grand Prix title, despite finishing second and third 5 out of 13 times in her career. “I’m so happy, surprised” she said, accrediting 70 percent of her win to luck.

That’s when another fan chimed in “Team Japan was like, ‘We’ve been letting you USA girls have your little challenger wins, but now we’re getting serious #SkateAmerica.'” Indeed, the Japanese women nailed the event as 1.71 points below Higuchi was her compatriot, Rinka Watanabe. With a total of 196.93, she bagged the silver spot, winning over American Levito by a 2.1 margin.

Indeed, Team USA girls were shattered by their performances. Tennell confessed that she was disappointed, for she had been skating clean programs at home nearly every day. On the other hand, Levito admitted that she had a little fluke today. But her miss had given her the motivation to keep working.

That’s when another fan added, “Ellie landed a throw! And the Eteri team is out of the medals! This is an insanely good day for the sorry discipline of US pairs! #SkateAmerica” Team USA won three medals at the 2024 Skate America event and 2 of them were in pairs events. Although, the expectations were higher since Ellie and Danny were the reigning US Champions. Regardless, Ellie and Danny had a dramatic performance with three lifts all well executed and landed. But do you think the medal tally could have been higher for team USA? Share your thoughts below!