History-Makers Shine at ISU Junior Grand Prix Riga 2026

FIGURE SKATING

History-Makers Shine at ISU Junior Grand Prix Riga 2026

31 Aug 2026

The next generation of young skaters dazzled at the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia, where history was made and career-first medals were won at stop number two of the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix Series 2026/27.

Hana Bath, Habin Choi, pair skaters Yuxuan Chen & Yinbo Dong, and ice dancers Dania Mouaden & Theo Bigot shone golden on the ice in Riga.

Re-watch all the action and catch exclusive interviews on the ISU Skating Channel on YouTube.

(L-R) Silver medal winners Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy of United States, gold medal winners Yuxuan Chen and Yinbo Dong of China, and bronze medal winners Debora Anna Cohen and Lukas Vochozka of Czechia pose with medals during the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix in Riga 2026.
© ISU

Bath Golden as Australia Claims Its First Singles Junior Grand Prix Title

Hana Bath skated off with Australia's first Junior Grand Prix gold in single skating, adding another first to her already impressive resume. Sitting in second following an excellent Short Program to “Fire Dance”, Bath gave it all in the Free Skating. The reigning ISU World Junior silver medalist nailed two triple Axels in her captivating performance to “Come What May” to achieve a new personal best and win the title with 209.07 points.

“I'm really happy and I'm so proud that I could do this for my country, represent Australia and achieve this on such a big stage,” Bath said.

The 16-year-old was able to keep her nerves under control. “I wasn't super nervous, but before the music started I got a bit nervous. I just tried to think that I've done it in practice, so I can do it again,” she explained.

With the first event under her belt, Bath already thinks about her next steps. “There's still lots of improvements I have to make. I'll go back and try work harder so I can do better. In my short program I didn't get all level four spins, so I'm going to try to work on getting my spins a lot better.”

After missing the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final narrowly in the past season, Bath now wants to make sure to book her ticket at her next event, the JGP Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Japan's Mei Okada led after the Short Program with a crisp performance to “Hernando's Hideaway”. The 2025 JGP Riga Champion was spectacular in her “Phantom of the Opera” Free Skating, reeling off six triple jumps and really getting into character. However, a fall on the triple Axel was costly and she settled for silver this time (205.47 points).

Yihan Wang of China delivered two polished programs to take the bronze in this highly competitive field.

Bath got 15 points for the ISU Junior Grand Prix standings while Okada has 13 and Wang 11. All have a chance to qualify for the Junior Final at their next competition.

Gold medal winner Hana Bath of Australia poses during the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix in Riga 2026. © ISU

‘Pirate’ Choi Mines Gold With a Triple-Quad Free Skate

Habin Choi had to overcome a rough start into the competition when he fell on the triple flip-triple toe combination in the Short Program. But he made up for it. With nothing to lose, the Korean skater was on fire in the Free Skating to “Pirates of the Caribbean”, hitting two quad Lutzes and a quad toeloop to soar to gold at 246.41 points. That was a new personal best score for the 16-year-old and he claimed his second career JGP gold.

“I feel a little bit upset with short program, but I had confidence for the free program because I have three quads in my planned content,” Choi commented. “I made up my mind that I will show everything in the free skating, and I did it.”

The confidence came from solid practices. “During the practice session, I nailed all my jumps, so I felt very confident and I wasn't nervous today.”

Choi secured 15 points with his win and will compete again at JGP Ankara, aiming to qualify for the Final again.

Choi's teammate Jaekun Lee took the silver and 13 points towards the standings with two strong programs and a new personal best score of 229.77 points.

Switzerland's Ean Weiler climbed from fourth to third with a solid performance to bag his first JGP medal (221.73 points).

The 2024 JGP Riga Champion Sena Takahashi (JPN) won the Short Program but slipped to fourth place after some errors in the Free Skating.

Chen & Dong Golden in Riga, First to Qualify for the Final

Coming fresh off gold from JGP Xi'An, Yuxuan Chen & Yinbo Dong celebrated their first JGP victory as a team and secured their spot in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. The Chinese team skated to a solid lead in the Short Program to “Chambermaid Swing”. The 2025 ISU Junior Grand Prix finalists completed their trademark side-by-side triple flip, a big triple twist and difficult lift in their oriental-themed Free Skating but struggled with the throw jumps. Nevertheless, they defended their lead over Reagan Moss & Jakub Galbavy to pick up gold on 153.51 points.

“We are very happy to be Junior Grand Prix Champions for the very first time,” Chen said. “It is very exciting to qualify for the Final again which will be held in Chongqing, in our home country. Now we will go back home, train and work on the errors we made in his competition,” she added.

“There were some issues with the throw jumps but we did everything else well and therefore we are quite pleased with our performance,” Dong noted.

Moss & Galbavy produced a triple twist and double Axel-double Axel sequence in their Free Skating set to “It's All Coming Back to Me Now”. The U.S. pair was over the moon to have won their first JGP medal in their third season as a team (145.28 points).

Debora Cohen & Lukas Vochozka captured the bronze, marking their first podium finish on the JGP circuit and securing the first JGP pairs medal for Czechia in ten years.

Mouaden & Bigot Golden in Riga After Maiden Victory

One year after leading the Rhythm Dance in Riga only to miss out on the top spot, Dania Mouaden & Theo Bigot returned to Latvia to complete unfinished business. The French duo established a two-point lead in the Rhythm Dance with a characteristic performance to Édith Piaf's Milord and La Foule.

Mouaden and Bigot followed up with a sharp, dramatic Free Dance to a new arrangement of Carmen. Setting new personal bests in both segments, the team captured their first JGP title with an overall total of 162.57 points. They will aim to gain their place in the JGP Final at their next assignment in Ankara.

“We are super happy,” Mouaden shared. “We can't say that we were expecting it but we tried to turn in a nice program to keep our lead after the Rhythm Dance. And when we got the score, we were just thrilled.

“Now we are looking to get another good placement in Ankara to try to return to the Final,” she pointed out.

Making their international debut, Aneta Vaclavikova & William Lissauer (USA) impressed with a flawless dance to Moonlight Sonata, capturing silver with 159.04 points.

German siblings Eniko Kobor & Zoard Kobor were thrilled with their first JGP medal following two clean skates (142.33 points).

A total of 119 skaters/couples representing 36 nations competed in the event: 36 Women, 27 Men, 11 Pairs and 17 Ice Dance couples. The JGP Riga was the second of seven events in the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix Series 2026/27 that continues next week with JGP Bangkok in Thailand.

Gold medal winners Dania Mouaden and Theo Bigot of France react during the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix in Riga 2026. © ISU

The Road to the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix Final 2026/27

Find out who is on their way to the Junior Grand Prix Final:

What happens in the ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix?

The ISU Junior Grand Prix series consists of seven events in seven countries that happen within seven weeks.
The skaters/couples collect points in their ISU Junior Grand Prix events and the top six in each discipline from the series qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.
The two finals for junior and senior level skaters are held together.
The ISU Junior Grand Prix series starts in August and ends in December.