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Post by Admin on Dec 17, 2019 22:36:16 GMT
 The 88th All Japan Figure Skating Championships take place in Tokyo, Dec. 19-22, at Yoyogi National Stadium. This competition will serve as the selection process for the 2020 World Championships, World Junior Championships and Four Continents Championships. Japan will field a team to Four Continents in February and three skaters in each of the men’s and ladies disciplines at the World Championships. Two ladies and two men will be vying for spots at the 202o World Junior Championships next March. Yuzuru Hanyu will compete at the All Japan Championships for the first time since 2016. He will be unchallenged and will easily claim his fifth senior title. Silver and bronze are up for grabs with Shoma Uno, Keiji Tanaka, Kazuki Tomono and Koshiro Shimada at the top of the list. Daisuke Takahashi achieved his goal of qualifying for these championships, which will be his last as a singles skater. He is turning to ice dance and will begin training with his new partner,Kana Muramoto, in January. The duo will relocate to Florida to work with Marina Zoueva. In the ladies field, there are five possible contenders for the three spots at Worlds in Montreal: Rika Kihira, Satoko Miyahara, Wakaba Higuchi, Kaori Sakamoto and Marin Honda.  ENTRIES/START ORDERS/LIVE RESULTS www.jsfresults.com/National/2019-2020/fs_j/nationalsenior/index.htmLIVESTREAM, QQ LIVE live.qq.com/10012776EVENT SCHEDULE December 19: 16:20 Pairs Short 17:01 Ladies Short December 20: 15:10 Rhythm Dance 16:12 Men’s Short December 21: 16:25 Pairs Free 17:04 Ladies Free December 22: 16:00 Free Dance 17:04 Men’s Free December 23: 17:00 Exhibition Gala |
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Post by Admin on Dec 18, 2019 2:35:15 GMT
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 Prix Final in Turin, Italy, earlier this month, Hanyu will be looking to win his fifth senior crown in the competition that begins at a refurbished Yoyogi Gymnasium on Thursday. Spots on the team for the world championships in March in Montreal and the Four Continents Championships in Seoul in February will be on the line at the nationals, while the subplots will be many.  In addition to Hanyu’s return, fans will be treated to Daisuke Takahashi’s farewell competition as a singles skater before transitioning to ice dance next year, Shoma Uno’s aiming for his fourth straight victory, and the participation of super juniors Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. Takahashi made a dramatic return to nationals last year in Osaka, where he came in second behind Uno after ending a four-year retirement. This will be a sentimental outing for the 2010 world champion and Vancouver Olympic bronze medalist. Though he has not competed in another event since last year’s nationals due to injury and other obligations, there is no doubt that the legend will be greeted with a raucous ovation each time he takes the ice this week. Takahashi deserves a special sendoff to his singles career, as he has helped catapult Japanese skating to the level it is at today. He continues to enthrall the masses to this day at shows and has been an inspiration to a generation of both foreign and Japanese skaters. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 18, 2019 20:32:19 GMT
Uno will try to extend his streak of triumphs as he seeks to bounce back from a poor Grand Prix season that saw him place eighth (Internationaux de France) and fourth (Cup of Russia) in his two assignments. The Olympic silver medalist, who turned 22 on Tuesday, has had a tough go of it this season as he has competed without a coach after leaving longtime mentors Machiko Yamada and Mihoko Higuchi. The Nagoya native’s fanbase is large and loyal, and knows that a win over Hanyu would do wonders for Uno’s confidence.  The 16-year-old Kagiyama, who took first and second in his two Junior Grand Prix assignments (France, Poland) this season and won the Japan Junior Championship, is coming off a fourth-place showing at the JGP Final, but will be a strong contender for a medal this week. Kagiyama, who will represent Japan at the Youth Olympic Games next month in Lausanne, Switzerland, is age-eligible to participate in the senior worlds this season provided he achieves the required minimum score in a senior international event beforehand. A worlds team of Hanyu, Uno and Kagiyama would be a strong one indeed for the Hinomaru. The 15-year-old Sato will also be in the running for a medal. He won the JGP Final this month with a spectacular performance that included three quadruple jumps. Sato, who like Hanyu hails from Sendai, is not age-eligible for the senior worlds this season, but will surely be on the team for the world juniors in Estonia in March. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 18, 2019 22:58:39 GMT
Kihira favored for title
Though the women’s competition this time around won’t have the same sizzle that the men will, it promises to be compelling nonetheless.
Defending champion Kaori Sakamoto, who had an uneven GP season (fourth in both assignments), will be looking to get back on track, while Rika Kihira is aiming to capture her first senior national crown after finishing off the podium at the GP Final, and four-time champion Satoko Miyahara will try to rebound from last year’s third-place showing at nationals.
Also in the medal mix will be Wakaba Higuchi, Mako Yamashita and Yuhana Yokoi.
Higuchi, who was sixth in her two GPs while dealing with a foot injury that has plagued her since last season, will try to climb back on the podium at nationals for the first time in three years.
Yamashita, who is in her second campaign as a junior, also had a tough GP season, but with her jumping ability and grit is always a threat to get a medal.
Yokoi, last year’s junior champion, had a respectable debut on the GP circuit (finishing sixth and fourth) this season and has shined before at nationals.
Mana Kawabe, this season’s junior champion, will also be in the medal race with her triple axel. The 15-year-old from Nagoya has shown great potential in each of her outings in 2019.
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Post by Admin on Dec 19, 2019 20:36:44 GMT
Rika Kihira made a strong start in her campaign for a maiden national figure skating crown on Thursday, taking the lead after the women's short program.
The 2018 runner-up scored 73.98 for a 3.87 point lead over four-time winner Satoko Miyahara on the opening day of the Japanese national championships at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Reigning champion Kaori Sakamoto -- who upstaged Kihira and Miyahara last year -- finished the segment third on 69.95.
The 17-year-old Kihira will start Saturday's free skate in first place despite stumbling on her opening jump, a triple axel, in the short program.
"I was able to compete with all my strength, without any fatigue, but missing the triple axel was a very disappointing mistake," said Kihira, who finished fourth at the recent Grand Prix Final after winning the event last year.
"I plan to include the quadruple salchow (in the free skate) no matter what. I want to do my best to win the championship."
In the men's competition, double Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu will make his first nationals appearance in four years starting with the short program on Friday.
Pyeongchang Games silver medalist Shoma Uno is aiming for his fourth straight victory at the national championships, which serve as a selection event for the world championships in Montreal next March.
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