NEWSWORTHY
Kaori Sakamoto bests Rika Kihira and Satoko Miyahara to win national title
Kaori Sakamoto put on a stunning performance Sunday night, using an incredible combination of power and grace, to win the title at the Japan championships. The 18-year-old from Kobe was absolutely spectacular in her free skate to "The Piano" and overtook Grand Prix Final champion ...
Satoko Miyahara holds slim lead over Kaori Sakamoto after short program at nationals
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara is in the lead after the short program at the Japan championships on Friday night. Miyahara, gunning for her fifth straight title, skated last and gave the fans an evening to ...
High drama for nationals with return of Daisuke Takahashi
With two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu out of this week's Japan nationals in Osaka due to injury, the focus will be squarely on the battle between the elite women skaters to make the team for the world championships and the return of Daisuke Takahashi ...
Rika Kihira will require full arsenal to win Grand Prix Final
Rika Kihira staked her claim as Japan's biggest female skating star with a victory at the Internationaux de France in Grenoble on Saturday night. The triumph clinched a spot in next month's Grand Prix Final for the 16-year-old. Two weeks after winning the NHK Trophy ...
Rika Kihira punches ticket for Grand Prix Final with second GP victory of season
Rika Kihira scored her second Grand Prix victory of the season Saturday at the Internationaux de France, leaving Mai Mihara in second place while also punching her ticket to the Grand Prix Final in Vancouver next month. World champion Nathan Chen booked his spot on ...
Mai Mihara, Rika Kihira are 1-2 after Internationaux de France short program; Marin Honda in fourth
Mai Mihara grabbed the top spot in the women's short program on Friday at the Internationaux de France, edging Rika Kihira to take a narrow lead in the sixth and final leg of this season's Grand Prix series. Mihara scored 67.95 points and Kihira received ...
Rika Kihira returns to the spotlight on Saturday at the Internationaux de France, with the final spots for the Grand Prix Final on the line. Kihira produced a sensational performance to win the NHK Trophy in her Grand Prix debut earlier this month and the ...
Hanyu's health a paramount concern
When a country takes the gold and bronze medals in the same discipline at a Grand Prix it would usually be considered a successful weekend. The joy for Japan at the Cup of Russia, however, was tempered by the injury suffered by two-time Olympic champion ...
Kihira's star soaring after great debut
Rika Kihira made a great first impression on a great many people with her performance at the NHK Trophy last weekend. The 16-year-old was nothing short of spectacular in her senior Grand Prix debut, beating a veteran field that included teammates Satoko Miyahara and Mai ...
Shoma Uno, Rika Kihira earn NHK Trophy titles
Olympic and world silver medalist Shoma Uno won the NHK Trophy on Saturday night with a solid performance in the men's free skate. Uno secured a spot in next month's Grand Prix Final with the victory. The 20-year-old received a total score of 276.45 points ...
Shoma Uno, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva own slim leads after NHK Trophy short programs
Olympic and world silver medalist Shoma Uno holds a slim lead following the short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday night. The 20-year-old, who is looking to lock up a spot in the Grand Prix Final, posted a total score of 92.49 points. Russia's ...
Japanese skaters make final preparations for NHK Trophy
Japan's skaters all made it through practice unscathed on Thursday ahead of the start of the NHK Trophy on Friday. Unlike last year's near disaster, which saw Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu take a hard fall and sprain the lateral ligament in his right ankle on ...
