U.S. Juniors Hit the (Bulgarian) Ground Running in Sofia

Junior Worlds got underway over in Sofia, Bulgaria Tuesday, and lookee here… the U.S. skaters already have something to crow about:

The Madisons—that is, Madison Chock and Madison Hubbell—are first and second, respectively, with their partners Greg Zuerlein and Keiffer Hubbell after the compulsory dance. And just a few points behind, down in 5th, are Maia and Alex Shibutani (also of the U.S.)

Meanwhile, over in the pairs event, Americans Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir sit in second place after the short program. Great start everyone! The Mens’ SP and Pairs’ FS take place Wednesday; live coverage continues on the Ice Network for subscribers. Curran Oi, Ross Miner and Adam Rippon are representing Team USA; Oi finished 6th and Rippon finished 7th in the recently held Senior U.S. Championships (while Miner won the U.S. Junior division).

Oh, and when the ladies follow in a couple of days, expect a few names you might already know… Caroline Zhang (Senior Ladies bronze medalist this year), Ashley Wagner (Senior Ladies pewter medalist), and Katrina Hacker skating in place of Mirai Nagasu.

For the Clip of the Day – you might have heard (or even remembered) that this week marked the 15th anniversary of the Lillehammer showdown between Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, and as it turned out, some girl from the Ukraine named Oksana something-or-other. There’s so much that’s been said, still more that could be said—if not about the event, about the way it changed skating forever—but as far as the anniversary itself, I think the best thing to come out of the whole thing is what you’ll see when you hit that link above.