Shoma Uno, juniors steal show at Japan Championships
Last week's Japan Championships provided a mixed bag for skating fans. There was some very good skating and some not so good. It was great to see Japan's three male Olympic medalists (Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno, Daisuke Takahashi) all together in the same competition, but ...
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 ...
Masakazu Kagiyama helping his son pursue an Olympic dream
A new star was born on Sunday night and his name is Yuma Kagiyama. The 16-year-old won the Japan junior title in Yokohama by a more than 37-point margin with a stellar performance in the free skate. Kagiyama exhibited poise and power in a thoroughly ...
Shoma Uno finishes fourth as Russian men sweep home Grand Prix meet
Shoma Uno's best free skate of the season was not enough to reach the podium as he finished fourth in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating's Cup of Russia on Saturday. The Pyeongchang Olympic silver medalist set his season high with 164.95 points in ...
Evgenia Medvedeva leads, Satoko Miyahara sixth after Cup of Russia women's short program
Pyeongchang Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva claimed the lead after the women's short program at the Cup of Russia on Friday, while Satoko Miyahara placed sixth for the best showing by a Japanese skater. Medvedeva, the Russian two-time world champion, nailed a triple flip-triple toe ...
Satoko Miyahara still formidable, but can she win in future?
Satoko Miyahara earned the silver medal in her Grand Prix season debut at the Cup of China on Saturday, finishing behind Russian teen Anna Shcherbakova. The 21-year-old Miyahara put on another classic performance, displaying beautiful line and edge, but was well behind Shcherbakova, who won ...
Satoko Miyahara's move to Toronto the right decision at this stage of her career
Coming off a disappointing season, Satoko Miyahara is looking to get back on the right track. The four-time national champion got off to a good start on Saturday by winning her first event of the season at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt ...
Yuma Kagiyama looks to continue father's legacy
The sports landscape is filled with sons of famous fathers who could not live up to the family name. Many have tried to emulate success in the same sport, but were unable to approach their dad's greatness. Yuma Kagiyama, the son of two-time Olympian Masakazu ...
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. ...
