|
Post by Admin on Dec 21, 2018 1:43:13 GMT
The 87th All Japan National Championships take place at the Towa Pharmaceutical RACTAB Dome in Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture, Dec. 21-24, 2018. There are currently 29 men, 29 ladies, two pairs and three ice dance teams scheduled to compete. Berths for Four Continents and Worlds will be decided at this competition. Yuzuru Hanyu has withdrawn from this competition as he continues his recovery from the ankle injury he suffered at Rostelecom Cup while attempting a quad loop in practice. 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. Hanyu and Shoma Uno will be shoe-ins for the first two, but who will claim the third? EVENT SCHEDULE December 21: 15:30 Rhythm Dance 16:25 Ladies Short December 22: 15:30 Pairs Short 16:25 Men’s Short December 23: 15:45 Free Dance 17:05 Ladies Free December 24: 16:00 Pairs Free 17:05 Men’s Free December 25: 17:00 Exhibition Gala
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 21, 2018 18:45:34 GMT
Satoko Miyahara's bid for a fifth straight victory at the national figure skating championships got off to a good start in the women's short program Friday, as Grand Prix Final champ Rika Kihira finished a disappointing fifth. Kihira, who won this month's Grand Prix Final in her senior debut season, fell on her opening triple axel at Osaka's Kadoma Sports Center and scored 68.75 points. Miyahara, sixth at the Grand Prix Final, took the early lead with 76.76. Last year's runner-up Kaori Sakamoto was second with 75.65, Mai Mihara third with 72.88 and Wakaba Higuchi fourth with 72.63.
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 22, 2018 18:58:07 GMT
Two-time defending champion Shoma Uno took a commanding lead at the national figure skating championships on Saturday although the night truly belonged to returning former champion Daisuke Takahashi. Uno breezed through a slick program in which he nailed two quads and a triple axel to score 102.06 points and win the men's short program at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture. "I feel like I actually nailed this," said Uno, who admitted being unimpressed with his previous performances at the nationals. "This is always the most nerve-racking competition of the season for me, so I haven't done so well. I don't think anyone would look at me and think I was No. 1 in Japan."
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 23, 2018 18:49:04 GMT
Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Grand Prix Final champion Rika Kihira and four-time champion Satoko Miyahara to win the women's competition at the figure skating national championships on Sunday. On a night when Japan's top women skaters put on a series of superb free programs, Kihira set an improbably high target with a 223.76 total, but Sakamoto pulled out a clutch performance as the night's final skater at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, to earn 228.01 points overall. The 18-year-old Sakamoto, second in Friday's short program with a 6.9-point cushion over Kihira, scored 152.36 in a flawless free skate that left her pumping her fist. Japan Nationals Ladies Final #JN2019 🥇1 Kaori Sakamoto 228.01 🥈2 Rika Kihira 223.76 🥉3 Satoko Miyahara 223.34
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 24, 2018 18:47:26 GMT
Shoma Uno delivered a gutsy free program with a twisted right knee to win the men's title at the national figure skating championships for the third straight year on Monday. Daisuke Takahashi, the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist and a national icon, skated an inconsistent free program at the Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, but still hung on to second place with 239.62 points behind Uno's 289.10. Keiji Tanaka was third. Takahashi, who returned to competitive skating this season for the first time since 2014 with the goal of competing in the nationals for the first time in five years, was the clear fan favorite, but his free skate jumps lacked some of the power and polish he'd shown on Saturday. Skating after Uno, the 32-year-old Takahashi, a five-time national champion, brought that aura with him to the ice, but his program began to crack with his jumps and he could only manage the fourth-best free skate of the night. That hardly mattered to the crowd who couldn't get enough of their former hero. "I didn't see the other performances, so I didn't have a clear idea of where I stood," Takahashi said. "Since I was skating in the final group, I figured I'd be good enough to finish in the top eight. It's inconceivable to me that I was second."
|
|