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 ...
Yuzuru Hanyu dazzles en route to fourth NHK Trophy title; Alena Kostornaia wins women's event
Yuzuru Hanyu won the NHK Trophy in decisive fashion on Saturday night, claiming the title by a whopping 55 points before a packed house at Makomanai Ice Arena. The superstar, who qualified for next month's Grand Prix Final with the victory, landed four quads in ...
Yuzuru Hanyu looks sharp in NHK Trophy practice
Yuzuru Hanyu came through his first NHK Trophy practice session in two years with flying colors on Thursday. The two-time Olympic champion, who injured the lateral ligament in his right ankle in 2017 at an NHK Trophy practice in Osaka, looked sharp this day, tearing ...
Skate America kicks off GP season
The senior Grand Prix season gets underway on Friday with Skate America in the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, which is hosting its first-ever GP event. Japan will be looking for multiple medals in the women's competition, with a strong team of Kaori Sakamoto, ...
Teenage figure skater Yuhana Yokoi won bronze at the Finlandia Trophy on Sunday, a day after Japanese compatriot Shoma Uno won the men's title in the ISU Challenger Series event in Espoo, Finland. Russian Alena Kostornaia, the 2018 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, landed a ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Koshiro Shimada, Yuhana Yokoi lead after short programs at Japan Junior Championships
Koshiro Shimada grabbed the lead in the men's competition after the short program at the Japan Junior Championships on Saturday with a fine performance. Shimada, who is Japan's lone qualifier for next month's Junior Grand Prix Final, looked sharp while landing a triple axel, triple ...
Yuhana Yokoi, Nana Araki favorites entering Japan Junior Championships
With Rika Kihira and Mako Yamashita having moved up to the senior ranks, there will be a new titlist crowned at the Japan Junior Championships this weekend at Accion Fukuoka. The favorites coming into the competition this year are Yuhana Yokoi and Nana Araki. Yokoi, ...
