Art of the deal: How Kinoshita Group came to sponsor Vincent Zhou
History was made last week when a Japanese company chose to sponsor a foreign skater and their training expenses for the first time as the Kinoshita Group agreed to back American Vincent Zhou. The conglomerate, best known for housing development and real estate ventures, announced ...
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. ...
Mai Mihara mesmerizing in victory at Winter Universiade
It was a mixed bag of results for Japanese skating over the weekend. The good news arrived from Krasnoyarsk, Russia, where Mai Mihara won the Winter Universiade in decisive fashion. The bad news emanated from Zagreb, where Japanese skaters struggled at the world junior championships and ...
Tomoki Hiwatashi, an American teen born to Japanese parents in the United States, won the world junior championships in Croatia on Friday night. Hiwatashi, who hails from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, moved up from second place after the short program to claim the gold medal with ...
Rising choreographer Benoit Richaud says Kaori Sakamoto in good form ahead of worlds
Following a disappointing fourth-place finish at last month's Four Continents Championships in California, Japan champion Kaori Sakamoto didn't dwell on her result, but rather went right back to work to prepare for this month's world championships in Saitama. Benoit Richaud, Sakamoto's choreographer, whose stock is ...
Rika Kihira, Shoma Uno lead gold haul for Japan
It was a banner weekend for Japan on the ice, with Rika Kihira and Shoma Uno taking the gold medals at the Four Continents Championships and Satoko Miyahara and Koshiro Shimada doing the same at the Bavarian Open. Kihira bounced back from her second-place finish ...
Shoma Uno builds sizable lead at nationals; Daisuke Takahashi second in short program
Shoma Uno took a commanding lead at the Japan championships on Saturday night with an effective short program. The Olympic and world silver medalist skated to "Stairway to Heaven" and earned a total score of 102.06 points. Uno opened with a nice quad flip, before ...
Rika Kihira now the favorite for world title
Rika Kihira's super season continued over the weekend with a decisive victory at the Grand Prix Final in Vancouver, British Columbia. The young star dethroned Olympic champion Alina Zagitova of Russia to take the crown. The 16-year-old Kihira has won all four of her events ...
Nathan Chen made some mistakes at the Grand Prix Final, yet was good enough to win the gold medal. Chen, the first American men's world champion since 2009, overcame a fall on his quad lutz in Friday's free skate, but still took the top spot ...
Rika Kihira in lead at Grand Prix Final; Shoma Uno in second place
Sixteen-year-old starlet Rika Kihira blew away the competition with a stellar short program Thursday at the Grand Prix Final, posting the highest women's score in the world since the judging system was revised ahead of the season. Kihira continued her exceptional Grand Prix debut campaign ...
Moved by Hanyu: A fan's story of love for the skating legend
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu's impact on the Japanese public during his career has been profound. This is irrefutable. One fact many Japanese skating fans may not realize, however, is just how much the magnitude of his greatness stretches beyond these shores. Ice Time recently came ...
Yuhana Yokoi, Tatsuya Tsuboi take golds at Japan Junior Championships
Yuhana Yokoi retained her lead after the short program to win the Japan Junior Championships on Sunday night with an impressive free skate. The 18-year-old from Nagoya took to the ice as the final skater and put on a smooth performance to "The Phantom of ...
