Jason Brown launched his senior Grand Prix career in 2013, when he replaced an injured Evan Lysacek at Skate America in Detroit, Michigan.
The earnest, pony-tailed 18-year-old won the hearts of fans at Joe Louis Arena with his blurred spins, musical steps, and guileless personality. More than a decade later, Brown’s countenance has matured, the ponytail is long gone, but his command of an audience has only grown stronger.
“I am so proud of my longevity, and I am so grateful for all of the support over the years,” Brown, now 30, said. “I’m doing this for you (the fans), so thank you so, so much for sticking with me all of these years. That was amazing.”
In perhaps his final competitive season, the two-time Olympian (2014, 2022) and longtime collaborator Rohene Ward revisit the roots of Brown’s renowned performance quality with a reimagining of his “Reel Around the Sun (Riverdance)” free skate. Introduced in 2013, it became a viral sensation early in 2014, when Brown won silver at the U.S. Championships. He competed it at the Sochi Games, where it helped Team USA to a team bronze medal; a year later, he used it to win the 2015 U.S. title. This time around, it is a short program.
“It’s so exciting to be able to, 12 years later, bring back something that really launched my career,” Brown said. “People still come up to me and ask, ‘Would you ever consider bringing it back?” So it’s really my way of saying, ‘Thank you.’ It’s about that kind of relationship with the audience.”
Brown is still very much a competitive force, so while his electric performance on Thursday at Lake Placid’s legendary Herb Brooks Arena captivated the crowd and earned a standing ovation, he wanted a bit more.
“I wish it was a cleaner skate,” he told reporters in the mixed zone. “Every time I go out on to the ice I know that to be up there with the best I have to be as perfect and as clean as possible. So those marks are frustrating when those Q’s or under rotations add up.”
Brown’s triple axel, while landed cleanly, was a quarter turn or so short, earning a < from the technical panel that cost at least two points. A bigger problem was a turnout on the landing of his triple flip, triple toe loop combination that yielded -4 and -5 across the board GOE’s. The revamped “Reel” earned 82.69 points, putting him fifth heading into the free skate.
The skater arrived in Lake Placid well prepared, with medals at two ISU Challenger events, the Denis Ten Memorial in early October and Trialeti Trophy, both held the first half of October.
“Those little technical things added up,” he said. “Obviously, nerves are still huge in that, as much as I wish as an athlete I could nail (each element) and check it off …. The nerves get me. It’s all about working with them, learning from them.”
“He’s getting dinged (by tech panel) a little bit,” Tracy Wilson, Brown’s primary coach in Toronto, said. “I think it’s about him trying to find the right line with this program, because the tendency is to get excited so its about finding that place of aggression, but also calm. And that’s why he’s really pushing, (doing more) competitions this year to kind of get used to that.”
Immediately following this event, Brown will head to Finland for the final Grand Prix of the season. After that, it’ home in Chicago, to work with Ward and polish “Reel Around the Sun” still more.
“Hopefully I can take what I did today, learn from it, and make sure that the long is that much cleaner, and then have the opportunity to compete back-to-back weeks and get another short program under my belt next week.”
Tomono jumps and shimmies to lead
Japan qualified three men for the upcoming Games, and Yuma Kagiyama, winner of NHK Trophy, and Shun Sato, who qualified for the Grand Prix Final with gold at Cup of China and silver at NHK, are near locks for Milano. With his near-flawless short on Thursday, Kazuki Tomono strengthened his bid for the third spot.
Tomono equal parts showman and technician in his program to “That’s It (I’m Crazy)” by electronic duo Sufi Tukker, choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne. After hitting a quad toe, triple toe combination and quad salchow, the skater took flight with a soaring triple axel and crowd-pleasing steps, punctuated by a split jump and cartwheel. His season’s best 95.77 points gave him a 2.19-point lead over Frenchman Kevin Aymoz.
“The ice was tricky; I found I was over-rotating due to spring back, so I kept my (power) down to 80%, and that ratio worked,” Tomono said through an interpreter. “I was a bit cautious in the (L3) steps, because my jumps were done and the audience was really fired up. So that backfired and made me nervous.”
He can’t pop the champagne cork yet. At Skate Canada last month, he placed second in the short, only to fall twice in the free skate and drop to fourth overall.
“I’m sure I’ll be nervous,” he said. “There is no doubt about that. I’ve never won a Grand Prix until now, but I am here to fight.”
With silver medals the last two seasons, Skate America is practically a home competition for Aymoz. His dramatic, intense short to Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” complete with a pristine quad toe, triple toe combo and triple axel, now puts him a third of the way to a third straight podium.
A tearful Aymoz considered his 93.56 performance here redemption of sorts for his 10th place finish at Skate Canada, where painful tendonitis in his toes made jumping difficult.
“I am not working every day to finish 10th at a Grand Prix,” Aymoz said. “You cannot imagine how much power I had to put in my head to get back the strength and the confidence, to tell myself I could do it, even if it was difficult,” Aymoz said. “You have to fight even if you fail. You fail six times, you have to stand up proud …. It’s your journey.”
World silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov arrived in Lake Placid favored for gold, but the high-flying Kazuki fumbled slightly on a flying camel spin and gained just Level 2 for his energetic step sequence. Although he landed the most difficult combination of the event – a quad lutz, triple toe combination – the technical panel saddled it with a “Q,” costing another two or three points. His 89.67 points put him third entering the free skate. Shaidorov, who won bronze at Cup of China, must produce a great free skate for any chance at making the Grand Prix Final.
“I don’t know about the score, I have to look at the (protocol),” Shaidorov said. “Maybe I did mistakes, I don’t know where, but I will work on it.”
Italy’s Daniel Grassl also intended to do a quad lutz, triple toe, but turned out of the first jump and could not complete the second. He substituted a triple loop, triple toe; excellent, unique spins helped keep his score at 83.68 and put him in fourth place. With a silver medal at Cup of China in hand, a medal here gives the Italian a shot at qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.
“I really like spinning, I like to do innovative positions and innovative things,” Grassl said. “I’m very happy now with how I invented my spins. There’s also the Grassl spin (variation on a camel) or some so, so that’s nice. I always try really to work on that.”
Liam Kapeikis, eighth in the U.S. last season, returned to the Grand Prix circuit for the first time since 2023 with a solid short to the romantic classic “Unchained Melody” that put him ninth with 74.28 points. Although he had to fight a bit for his opening triple axel and triple lutz, triple toe combination, the program had an open, lyrical quality and Kapeikis gained Level 4’s on all three of his spins.
“That short program, was actually a bit harder than it normally is at home,” he said. “Even yesterday, I ran a full short program here, and I didn’t have to work for anything. All three jumps were very easy. I think there was just a little bit of nerves today.”
Kapeikis, who had solid programs placing sixth at Nebelhorn Trophy early this season, was especially gratified to be awarded a home country spot in Lake Placid.
“I feel like the last few years, U.S. Figure Skating hasn’t totally trusted me to be able to go out there and perform the way they know I can in practice,” he said. “They’re starting to put their trust in me again, which is amazing.”