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, ...
Cheerful personality helps Kaori Sakamoto shine on ice
Kaori Sakamoto took the skating world by storm last season in her first year as a senior competitor. The 18-year-old finished second at Skate America last November, then took second again at the Japan championships in December to earn one of the two spots for ...
Daisuke Takahashi shows heart of champion in return to competitive skating
The jumps need to be a little higher and the spins a bit faster, but the return to competition after a four-year absence of 2010 world champion Daisuke Takahashi over the holiday weekend has to be labeled a success. Takahashi finished third with a total ...
Mitsuki Sumoto looks strong with silver medal at Slovakia JGP
Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist Mitsuki Sumoto started the JGP season in fine fashion by taking home the silver medal at the season opener in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Saturday. Canadian phenom Stephen Gogolev, a 13-year-old from Toronto who is coached by Brian Orser, won ...
Mako Yamashita's bronze at world juniors impressive
Lost in the glare of Alexandra Trusova's phenomenal performance in landing two quadruple jumps on the way to victory at the world junior championships in Sofia on Saturday was the fact that Mako Yamashita picked up another medal for her growing collection. Trusova's clean execution ...
Sending Kaori Sakamoto to Olympics the right call
This time the Japan Skating Federation got it right. Twelve years after controversially sending Miki Ando to the 2006 Turin Olympics when Yukari Nakano had enjoyed a better season and finished ahead of Ando at the Japan nationals, the JSF made the correct decision Sunday ...
