Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto in lead at Asian Open Trophy
Japan's 18-year-old world silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama landed two quad jumps as he took the lead after the men's short program at the Asian Open Trophy on Thursday as compatriot Kaori Sakamoto led the women's event. Kagiyama nailed a quad salchow and quad toe loop ...
Error-prone Rika Kihira falls to seventh place as Russians sweep podium at worlds
Sixteen-year-old Anna Shcherbakova, who led Kihira after the short program, secured the win in her worlds debut after scoring 152.17 points in the free skate to tally 233.17 points overall.
Rika Kihira nails quad to seize second straight national title
The 18-year-old opened with the quad salchow and cruised past her only real setback, an under-rotated triple axel that followed, to overcome a powerful challenge from Kaori Sakamoto.
Kaori Sakamoto wins first NHK Trophy; Daisuke Takahashi places third
Sakamoto improved on her short program and free skate bests to capture her first Grand Prix victory, while Takahashi finished on the podium in his competitive ice dance debut.
He retired after the 2014 Sochi Olympics but made a dramatic comeback in the 2018-2019 season before announcing he would switch from singles to ice dance for this season.
Rika Kihira displays confidence, elegance en route to first senior national title
Rika Kihira captured her first senior national title at the Japan Championships on Saturday night with an enthralling performance in her free skate. The 17-year-old bounced back from her fourth-place finish at the Grand Prix Final earlier this month to top the podium with a ...
Kihira sets pace at Japan nationals
Rika Kihira took the lead after the women's short program at the Japan Championships on Thursday night at Yoyogi Gymnasium. Kihira, who was the runner-up behind Kaori Sakamoto at the nationals last year, earned a score of 73.98 points. Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara is ...
Yuzuru Hanyu's return, Daisuke Takahashi's farewell headline nationals
Yuzuru Hanyu returns to the Japan Championships this week for the first time in four years. After winning the title four straight times (2012-15), Hanyu has missed the last three installments due to illness and injury. Coming off a disappointing second-place finish at the Grand ...
Tomoki Hiwatashi shines in senior Grand Prix debut in France
Tomoki Hiwatashi had a very respectable showing in his senior Grand Prix debut last weekend with a fifth-place finish at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble. Last season's world junior champion roared back from a poor short program that saw him in 10th place, to ...
Japan skaters struggle at Skate America
The senior Grand Prix season began in disappointing fashion last weekend with Japan being shut out of the medals. The Hinomaru's best showing was Kaori Sakamoto's fourth-place finish in the women's singles at Skate America. Russia's Anna Shcherbakova won in impressive fashion with a total of ...
Skate America kicks off GP season
The senior Grand Prix season gets underway on Friday with Skate America in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, which is hosting its first-ever GP event. Japan will be looking for multiple medals in the women's competition, with a strong team of Kaori Sakamoto, ...
Yuzuru Hanyu draws Skate Canada, NHK Trophy for Grand Prix season
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu will start his Grand Prix campaign at Skate Canada, the ISU announced recently when the GP assignments for the 2019-20 season were released. Hanyu, who trains in Toronto, will travel across Canada for the event in Kelowna, British Columbia (Oct. ...
