Aboian & Veselukhin Dance To First Junior World Gold In Tallinn
Hana Maria Aboian & Daniil Veselukhin (USA) danced off with their first ISU Junior World title as the Ice Dance event at the ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships 2026 concluded with a beautiful Free Dance competition.
Aboian & Veselukhin celebrate maiden Junior World victory
Hot favorites Hana Maria Aboian & Daniil Veselukhin (USA) continued their rise this season to win their first ISU Junior World medal and it was gold. Ambre Perrier Gianesini & Samuel Blanc Klaperman of France earned the silver medal while Ukraine’s Iryna Pidgaina & Artem Koval claimed the bronze. It was the first Junior World medal for France since 2013 and the first Junior World Ice Dance medal for Ukraine since 2015.
Overnight leaders Aboian & Veselukhin were the last of the 20 teams to skate in the Ice Dance final and put out a captivating performance to “Hymn”, “Salvation for a Proud Nation” and “Surrender to Hope”. Executing intricate footwork, lifts and spins at high speed, the couple scored 100.26 points in the Free Dance and totaled 166.71 points.
“I feel very proud of our performances as I mentioned yesterday, we delivered exactly what we wanted,” Aboian said. “I’m proud that we were able to do what we have been working on since the [ISU Junior Grand Prix] Final and since nationals,” she added.
“I’m also really happy and really excited about all of what we’ve done and who we’ve become in these two seasons that we had since we started,” Veselukhin said. “Nobody could have even imagined that two years after we’re going to be World Junior Champions. It feels truly amazing and I am still processing these feelings. I am really happy and proud of our work throughout the season.”
Hana Maria Aboian & Daniil Veselukhin (USA) on their way to Ice Dance gold at the 2026 ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia © ISU
Perrier Gianesini & Blanc Klaperman entertained the crowd at the Tondiraba Ice Hall with their original “Tarzan” routine that was highlighted by interesting lifts and a dance spin. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists set a personal best of 98.57 in the Free Dance and remained in second place with 164.88 points, another personal best score.
“It was maybe not the best performance we could give but it was an opportunity to be and I’m really proud of us that we made the second place, it’s a big achievement,” Perrier Gianesini said. “Even if I wanted the gold, sometimes we have to maybe take some step back and we think about this.”
Silver medalists Ambre Perrier Gianesini & Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) at the 2026 ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia © ISU
Pidgaina & Koval sparkled in their “Moulin Rouge” program as the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists came second in the Free Dance with a season’s best of 98.87 points. Overall they came third on 164.32 points to win the first medal for Ukrainian Ice Dance since Oleksandra Nazarova/Maksym Nikitin took bronze in 2015 here in Tallinn.
“It is an amazing feeling to win a bronze medal at Junior Worlds because after the last Junior Worlds we had some struggles,” Koval said. “Iryna was in the hospital for two weeks, fighting for her life. It was a very serious illness and the recovery was hard and long. At the beginning of the season, we really thought that we could not compete this year. It was really scary and everybody was ready to skip the entire season.”
Pidgaina explained: “It was a very serious illness and I was off the ice for more than a month.
“The recovery took a long time but all of our team supported us, and we are very thankful for everybody who stood behind us during that time.”
The dancers took the second medal for Ukraine at these Championships following the Pairs bronze of Hannah Herrera & Ivan Khobta. “It is so important for our federation and for our country to show that Ukraine is strong and that our athletes can still achieve great results at a high level,” Koval said.
Iryna Pidgaina & Artem Koval (UKR) take bronze in Tallinn, Estonia © ISU
Aboian & Veselukhin will stay junior as they are not senior-age eligible yet. Perrier Gianesini & Blanc Klaperman could compete at both levels and have not yet decided, while Pidgaina & Koval have to move up to the senior level next season.
ISU Junior Grand Prix finalists Layla Veillon & Alexander Brandys (CAN) finished fourth on 160.58 points with their performance to “Four Seasons” by Max Richter. Dania Mouaden & Theo Bigot (FRA) pulled up one spot to fifth on 153.00 points, while Arianna Soldati & Nicholas Tagliabue (ITA) ranked sixth with 148.81 points.
Where to Watch
All the events were live-streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube channel.
What and when
The schedule of the ISU World Junior Championships 2026 is as follows:
Wednesday, March 4: Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Short Programs
Thursday, March 5: Junior Women’s Short Program & Junior Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March 6: Junior Rhythm Dance, Junior Men’s Free Skating
Saturday, March 7: Junior Free Dance, Junior Women’s Free Skating
Full entry lists, results and further information are available on the ISU Figure Skating Junior World Championships event page and the official event website.
Find more comments from the top three in the Press Conference Highlights on the ISU event website.
Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldJuniorFigure and #FigureSkating.
Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos.
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