Japan shows skating power with 5 golds at Challenge Cup
The Japanese skating juggernaut rolled into The Hague last week for the Challenge Cup and left town on Monday with a total of five golds medals in an impressive show of dominance. Rika Kihira, Sota Yamamoto, Yuhana Yokoi, Shun Sato and Sara Honda all topped ...
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 ...
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 ...
Mai Mihara impresses as runner-up while unveiling new short program at Nebelhorn Trophy
Mai Mihara earned the silver medal in her season debut at the Nebelhorn Trophy on Saturday with two solid performances. The 19-year-old was runner-up to Olympic champion Alina Zagitova at the Challenger Series event in Oberstdorf, Germany. Zagitova won with a total of 238.43 points, ...
Shae-Lynn Bourne noted Yuzuru Hanyu's genius making 'Seimei'
One of the positive aspects of the internet is that every once in a while you stumble across some undiscovered gem that is enjoyable and revelatory. Such was the case recently when I listened to an interview with renowned choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne from last January ...
Talented field set to compete for top spots at Japan Junior Championships
Bragging rights will be on the line when a group of highly successful skaters take the ice on Saturday at the Japan Junior Championships at Tsukisamu Gymnasium. Reigning world junior champion Marin Honda, Rika Kihira, Kaori Sakamoto, Yuna Shiraiwa and Mako Yamashita will all be ...
In surprise decision, Mao not entered in NHK Trophy this season
The 2016-17 skating season officially began with the recent release of the Grand Prix assignments for the new campaign. It didn't take long to find a big surprise in the listings. Three-time world champion Mao Asada will not skate in the NHK Trophy (Nov. 25-27 ...
Choreographer Wilson regrets 'transformative' Kim's early retirement
When Yuna Kim retired after her controversial second-place finish at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, many felt it was too abrupt an end to a brilliant career for the 23-year-old. It turns out fans and the media were not the only ones who felt that way. In ...
Miyahara primed for a run at first world title
Before the recent Four Continents Championships in Taipei, Satoko Miyahara said she was "tired of finishing second at international events." Staying true to her words, the reigning world silver medalist tore off two personal best performances on the way to her first major international victory ...
Japan juniors impress with medal haul at worlds
It was another week of great success for Japan at the recent world junior championships in Tallinn, Estonia. The Hinomaru came away with three of the six singles medals on offer thanks to Shoma Uno (gold), Sota Yamamoto (bronze) and Wakaba Higuchi (bronze). Uno became ...
Shoma Uno retained his lead after the short program to win the gold medal at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, on Saturday night. Uno, a 17-year-old from Nagoya, became Japan's first male world junior champion since Yuzuru Hanyu in 2010. Uno, who ...
Hanyu reasserts dominance with Grand Prix Final win
Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu showed he has regained both his form and confidence with his dominating victory at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday. Exactly six weeks to the day of his unfortunate collison with Yan Han at the Cup ...
