The Finnish Grand Prix, the fifth of six stops in the Grand Prix Series, is broadcast live Peacock starting on Friday with places up for grabs for December’s Grand Prix Final.

Some figure skaters have already finished competing in the series and qualified for the Grand Prix Final, including world champions Ilia Malinin, a 19-year-old from Virginia, American ice dance couple Madison Chock and Evan Bates and Kaori Sakamoto from Japan.

More can join them this week.

The Grand Prix Final takes the top six per discipline (men’s singles, women’s singles, pairs and ice dance) from the six-event Grand Prix Series, where each of the world’s best skaters competes twice. The final is the first event of the season where all the best skaters in the world come together and often a preview of the world championships next March.

Olympic and world silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, the biggest threat to Malinin, can clinch his place in the final this week in Finland. Finishing anywhere on the podium will probably be enough.

Kagiyama is coming off a win last weekend at the NHK Trophy in Japan. His total score there ranks second in the world this season behind Malinin. Their first meeting since the World Cup last March should come in the final.

Japanese women have taken the podium in two of the four Grand Prix events so far and could do so again this week with Rino Matsuike (second in Skate Canada), Hana Yoshida (third in Skate Canada) and Mai Mihara (winner of the end of the 2022 Grand Prix). .

Canada has the best couple in the field (world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps) and the dance couple (three-time world medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier), who each won their previous Grand Prix at Skate Canada.

2024 Finnish Grand Prix broadcast schedule

Mai Mihara, a Japanese figure skater, returned from hospitalization to become the best in the world at 23 years old.