Guts and glory define the Sakamoto story
Kaori Sakamoto's ascendancy continues unabated. The 17-year-old from Kobe has quickly become one of skating's rising stars. Her resounding victory at the Four Continents Championships on Friday in Taipei the latest example of her exceptional ability and fortitude. Trailing compatriot Satoko Miyahara by 0.40 of a point ...
Mai Mihara safely landed three jumps and placed second after the women's short program on the first day of action at the Autumn Classic International on Thursday. Reigning Four Continents champion Mihara earned 66.18 points to finish behind local favorite and world silver medalist Kaetlyn ...
Murakami aiming for spot on Olympic team
Earlier this month veteran skater Daisuke Murakami competed in and won the club competition at the Philadelphia Summer International in Aston, Pennsylvania. That was good news for the 26-year-old Murakami, who missed nearly all of last season with a broken right foot. Murakami, who is ...
Miyahara's injury should be cause for real concern
Bad news arrived last Tuesday when it was announced that three-time defending national champion Satoko Miyahara has suffered a slight fracture to her left hip and would be forced to withdraw from both this week's Four Continents Championships and next week's Asian Winter Games ...
Nitaya, Isobe shine for Japan at Winter Universiade
It is always nice to see a skater who has given it their all, but never quite been able to break into the elite ranks, enjoy success on a big stage. Such was the case last week for 19-year-old Rin Nitaya, who claimed the silver ...
Hanyu's quad loop adds to Japan's skating legacy
The golden age of Japanese skating is now in its 12th season and shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu became the first skater ever to cleanly land a quadruple loop in an ISU competition during his short program on Friday ...
Sakamoto leads strong showing by juniors in France
Japanese skaters began the Junior Grand Prix season with encouraging results at the opening event last weekend in St. Gervais, France. Japan took home half of the six singles medals on offer, with Russia claiming the other three. Kaori Sakamoto, who has really blossomed from ...
