Finland’s double in Gdańsk: Helsinki Fintastic takes world gold, Valley Bay makes history!

The final day confirmed what the first had suggested: Helsinki Fintastic was the strongest team in Gdańsk.

Coached by Nina Sandsund, the Finnish athletes delivered a clean and very fast free skate, skated with confidence throughout, and again finished first in both TES (technical score) and PCS (artistic score) on Saturday. The Free Skating score of 137.68 completed a two-day total of 218.21. By comparison, that total was almost 13 points higher than the winning score at the 2025 Junior Worlds.

Their program, built around a dark “Night Of Evil” atmosphere, never seemed to loosen its grip. The speed stayed high. The lines remained clear. And unlike several direct rivals, Helsinki Fintastic gave the judges no deductions in either segment. After gold in 2020, 2022 and 2023, and silver in 2024 and 2025, the team returned to the top of the world podium.

The other major story of the evening came from Valley Bay Synchro. Fourth after the Short Program, the Finnish team from Espoo climbed to second overall thanks to a strong, difficult and well-controlled free skate. Their program, titled “Halla – Frost”, opened with great synchronized spins and maintained speed and content from start to finish. They earned 131.81 points in the free and 204.86 overall.

This silver medal is historic for Valley Bay. The team had finished fifth at Junior Worlds in both 2024 and 2025. This time, it converted its progress into the first world medal in its history. It also gave Finland a one-two finish in the final standings.

Valley Bay Synchro made history in Gdańsk: the team from Espoo (FIN) captured its first-ever World medal with silver. • Ville Vairinen – 2026

Bronze for the USA

Skyliners left Gdańsk with bronze, but their free skate was more uneven than their overall result suggests. Skating to “Carmen”, the team from New York produced a fast and committed program, with several jumps and acrobatic moments, and a nice costume contrast with one black sleeve and one red sleeve.

However, the had two points deduction. One came on the Artistic Element and the other on an intersection. The team therefore placed only fourth in the free skate with 122.82 points. That did not cost them a medal. Their strong Short Program had given them enough margin to stay third overall on 200.40 points, just 0.98 ahead of Les Suprêmes.

For Skyliners, it is a fourth consecutive bronze medal at Junior Worlds, following bronzes in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Before that run, the team had already won silver in 2022.

Les Suprêmes once again came very close to the podium. Their cinema-themed free skate moved through several atmospheres and kept strong energy and creativity from beginning to end. The Canadians skated a solid program overall, but a small fall brought a one-point deduction. They still ranked third in the free skate with 125.35 points, yet finished fourth overall with 199.42.

As in 2025, the 2024 world champions ended the event just outside the medals.

Reigning 2025 world champions Teams Elite, meanwhile, could not build the comeback they needed. Their free skate was powerful and dark, with a very strong opening, but two falls proved costly. The first came early on the synchronized spins. The second came later on an intersection. Those errors meant two deductions, sixth place in the free skate and fifth place overall with 193.12 points.

From a cinema-inspired free skate full of shifting moods and creativity, Les Suprêmes finished in fourth. • Nuppu Humalisto – 2026

Behind the top five, NEXXICE finished sixth overall without quite finding the rise that its 2026 Canadian title and record score had suggested was possible earlier in the season. The Canadian team stayed sixth after both segments, but its fifth-place free skate allowed it to close significantly on Teams Elite ahead and confirmed its place as one of the most solid challengers just outside the leading pack.

Team Spirit also held its position well, remaining seventh from the short program to the final standings and improving on last year’s eighth-place finish. Just behind, home team Ice Fire produced one of the clearest upward moves of the second day: ninth after the short program, the Polish team climbed to eighth overall in front of its home crowd, a marked improvement on its 13th place at the 2025 Junior Worlds.

Seaside, sixth at last year’s Worlds, dropped one place from the short program to finish ninth, while Switzerland’s Starlight moved up from 11th to 10th and stayed in roughly the same range as in 2025, when it placed ninth.

Icicles, tenth after the short program, slipped to 11th overall and therefore matched last year’s placement rather than building on it.

The close duel identified after Friday’s event between Cool Dreams and Kometa was resolved in the Czech team’s favour: Kometa rose from 13th to 12th, while Cool Dreams dropped from 12th to 13th, with the two teams again finishing close together.

Japan’s Jingu Ice Messengers, selected after winning their national title in February, gained one place from the short program to end 14th, while Hot Shivers fell from 14th to 15th and finished lower than the Italian team had a year ago, when it placed 12th.

More broadly, the order outside the medals remained relatively stable, which reflected the hierarchy already visible after Friday even if a few teams, especially Ice Fire, managed to change the picture.

Taken as a whole, these 2026 Junior Worlds confirmed both Finland’s current shape and the value of consistency over two days. Helsinki Fintastic controlled the event from the short program to the free skate, while Valley Bay turned Finland’s strength into a historic one-two finish.

Behind them, the fight for bronze, the top five and the top ten stayed open until the free skating groups were complete. In a field of 26 teams from 21 countries, Gdańsk offered a broad picture of the discipline: a clear winner at the top, but also a deep and competitive international field behind it.