ISTANBUL, Turkey – Christina Gao of Cincinnati, Ohio won the bronze medal at the International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Series event in Istanbul, Turkey, held Oct. 14-18. Gao represents the Northern Kentucky Skating Club.
Following the short program, 15-year-old Gao was in seventh place with a segment score of 44.91. In the free skate, she posted the highest program component score to push her into third overall with a competition mark of 135.01.
Gao’s bronze-medal finishes in Turkey and JGP Poland in September, secured a spot for her at the JGP Final in Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 3-6.
Gao is the 2009 U.S. junior bronze medalist. She trains in Toronto, Ontario, Canada under the tutelage of two-time Olympic silver medalist and eight-time Canadian champion Brian Orser.
"This is not what I expected for this year," she said. "I didn't know I was going to get a JGP at the beginning of the season, so I'm happy I'm in the final."
The 2009 U.S. novice champion, Kiri Baga, won the gold medal, while Russia’s Sofia Biryukova took silver.
For more information on Gao’s medal-winning finish at JGP Turkey, visit http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=64728 or contact U.S. Figure Skating.
