In part two of our 2024 Worlds preview, we dig into the absolutely stacked Men’s competition, including the “Thrivalry” between Shoma Uno, Ilia Malinin, and Yuma Kagiyama. Then we go deep into the Ice Dance lineup, which promises to be a close showdown between 3-4 top teams.

In this week’s episode, we’re shooting our final shot at predictions for the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships — this time discussing the men’s and dance competitions.  From the “Trivalry” we’re expecting to see between Ilia Malinin, Shoma Uno, and Yuma Kagiyama in the men’s event to a probable four-way race for the podium in the dance event, we’re holding our breath for these two competitions. 

Men’s Competition 

This season has been an incredibly strong one in the men’s division, making this event possibly the most competitive and anticipated of the World Championships events. 

Coming in off his Grand Prix Final win, Ilia Malinin heads to Montreal as a definite favorite for the podium. He didn’t have the best US Nationals, but also didn’t have much competition there — so its possible that lessened his preparation.

Regardless, he recently shared a quad toe loop / quad axel combination he’s doing in practice — throwing an absolute gauntlet down to the rest of the field and clearly stating that he will be tough to beat if he skates cleanly.

However, he’s not alone in the “favorites” camp — Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and reigning World Champ, Shoma Uno, are coming in looking phenomenal. Kagiyama showed up better than ever at Four Continents back in February — taking that title in a dominant fashion and giving him a ton of momentum coming into Worlds.

Uno has looked solid all season, but hasn’t had quite the consistency and has been “plagued by the q” (I.e. quarter understated jumps) on a few occasions. We’re crossing every finger and toe that he can bring to Montreal his fight and his special artistic magic — and get on that podium again!

Also in the medal mix, the early-season frontrunner — Adam Siao Him Fa — comes in after having along break since winning his second European title. His last three competitions have looked a bit messier than the near-perfection of the first half of the season, but you cannot count out this exceptional Frenchman on the rise.

Japan’s Kao Miura arrives hungry to his first World Championships — and has far less pressure on him than his countrymen. It’ll be very interesting to see what he can bring to the ice here.

There are quite a few other men here who could show up and surprise everyone, including one of skating’s favorite sons, Jason Brown of the U.S, who is a wild card here but can never be counted out. All in all, this feels like the first real step towards the next Olympics and expect to see some big programs here.

Ice Dance Competition

Reigning World Champions, Madison Chock & Evan Bates of the US, come here seeking a repeat win and two great skates in their adopted hometown of Montreal — and we’re here for all of that.

However, Canada’s darlings, Piper Gilles & Paul Porrier, have home country advantage as well as the highest score of the season.

Not to be outdone, Italy’s Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri have shown extraordinary performances throughout the season and may be the most consistent of the top three teams. So, while Ice Dance is usually the most predictable, this competition feels like a toss up between the three powerhouse teams.

Waiting just a tiny bit behind them and ready to take a big step forward are Great Britain’s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson. They had a big surprise victory over Guignard & Fabbri at NHK Trophy last fall, and under the right circumstance on the right day, could slide onto the podium. It’s a long-shot, but not impossible.

What is wonderful about this competition is that there are also no less than a dozen other excellent teams all vying for top 10 finishes here. From Lithuania’s brilliant Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius fresh off their European bronze medal to Finland’s inventive Juulia Turkkila & Matthias Verslus to France’s Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud who recently went viral with their rave-inspired exhibition program — there will be a lot of skating to love regardless of placement. 

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