Juniors kick off international season

Catching up on Courchevel

The 2010/2011 international figure skating season began August 26 in Courchevel, France with the first of seven Junior Grand Prix events.

On the men's side, Canadian Andrei Rogozine claimed gold with Americans Jason Brown and Max Aaron rounding out the all North American podium.

Both Rogozine and Aaron included triple Axels in the short and free programs, while Brown claimed the silver medal with a triple Lutz-triple toe and five other triples in the free skate.

"I feel good about my long -- that's my strong part," Brown told Icenetwork.com. "I need more work on my short. I was more jumpy and tense. It's quicker, and I'm just trying to keep up."

Russian Polina Shelepen won the ladies competition with a more than 10-point advantage over American Yasmin Siraj in second. Shelepen's teammate Rosa Sheveleva finished third, while American Nina Jiang dropped from third after the short program to finish fifth overall.

Shelepen, who finished just off the podium in fourth at 2010 Junior Worlds, landed six clean triples in the free skate to claim her third career JGP title.

Siraj, 14, made her Junior Grand Prix debut and jumped from sixth after the short program to win the silver medal.

"I had a rough short, but I was determined to come back strong for the long, and the result was a nice bonus," Siraj told the website. "This was a great experience, and I've learned a lot from it."

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia took home the ice dancing title. The duo won both the short and free dances to claim gold in their JGP debut.

Americans Anastasia Cannuscio and Colin McManus finished second, edging out Russians Yevgenia Kosigina and Nikolai Moroshkin in third. Cannuscio and McManus made history, performing the first ever Short Dance in an ISU event, before winning their first JGP medal.

"It was pretty surreal. I couldn't stop shaking [when we got our medals]," McManus told Icenetwork.com.

The Junior Grand Prix Series continues in Brasov, Romania, Sept. 9-11.

Junior Grand Prix, Romania - Look out for...

Keegan Messing (USA) - The 18-year-old from Alaska reminds us of a young Scott Hamilton. His soaring triple Axel and improved skating skills had the skating community buzzing at the Liberty summer competition in July. Messing will compete on the Junior Grand Prix, but as a senior at U.S. Nationals, where a quad and two triple Axels in the free skate should help him improve upon a ninth place result from 2010.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (RUS) - Tuktamysheva makes her much-anticipated Junior Grand Prix debut in Romania. At just 13, the Russian silver medalist is capable of a triple Axel and triple-triple combinations. After Russia's disappointing results in Vancouver, could Tuktamysheva be the much-needed spark her country needs leading up to the Sochi Olympics?