It was a bonanza finish for Japan at the last Junior Grand Prix of the season on October 10-12. Ami Nakai and Rio Nakata both emerged victorious in Wuxi, China. They also secured spots in the JGP Final in Grenoble, France, in December.
The 16-year-old Nakai scored a comfortable win in the women's competition on Saturday, October 12, totaling 204.88 points in the triumph. South Korea's Yuseong Kim was second with 192.23, while China's Yihan Wang came in third on 192.11.
Yo Takagi entered the event with a shot at qualifying for the JGP Final, but after being in second place in the short program on Friday, she came undone in her free skate and finished fifth with 185.45. The performance proved costly for the 17-year-old Takagi as she missed out on making the JGP Final.
Nakata, who turned 16 in September, dominated the men's field in Wuxi. He won both the short program on Thursday and Friday's free skate to run up a score of 233.53. Nakata bested second-place finisher Tonghe Tian (207.95) of China by more than 25 points. New Zealand's Yanhao Li (206.45) filled out the podium in third.
Nakai Sparkles Under Pressure in Free Skate
The world junior bronze medalist in 2023, Nakai performed to the soundtrack from "Cinderella" in her free skate and opened with two triple axels. Though they were both judged one-quarter rotation short, the height and rotational velocity she displayed were impressive.
The only real blemish in her skate was an under-rotation on a triple salchow. She did earn level fours on all of her spins after struggling in the six-minute warmup.
"I was worried for her because it was a really tough warmup," ISU announcer Ted Barton stated. "But the long wait gave her time to regroup and boy did she ever."
ISU commentator Mark Hanretty praised Nakai's fortitude in really going for it with her elements in the free skate.
"Instead of playing it safe and instead of being perhaps tactical and holding back, she didn't just put one triple axel in, she put two triple axels in," Hanretty noted. "That is very much the heart and spirit of a champion in leveling up and making it more difficult for yourself."
Barton seconded Hanretty's assessment of Nakai.
"That makes the difference in being a champion by taking the risk and pushing yourself," Barton remarked. "Sometimes it doesn't always work. On this day it did. Maybe on another day it won't."
Nakata Displays Flair on Way to Victory
Nakata competed to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack in his free skate and began with a huge quadruple toe loop. He went on to hit six clean triples and notch level fours on two of his spins in the strong showing.
Barton liked the style he saw from Nakata.
"He has a swag to his skating and to his personality," Barton said. "Certainly one of the most athletic and skilled skaters that we have, but you also have to be very tactical and strategical and calm at the same time."
Hanretty feels that Nakata's father and coach Makoto has given him the freedom to be himself on the ice over the years.
"Knowing that his father has trained him, he has had very clear instruction and he is a wonderful skater," Hanretty stated. "But he has not been under a militant regime whereby he doesn't have his own character."
JGP Final Field Set for France
With the conclusion of the JGP regular campaign, the six skaters who have qualified for the prestigious JGP Final (December 5-8) in each discipline have been determined.
Japan will have three entrants in the women's event ― Mao Shimada, Nakai and Kaoruko Wada. The other skaters will be South Korea's Yuseong Kim, Wang and France's Stefania Gladki. Mei Okada is the second alternate behind South Korea's Jia Shin in case of injury or illness.
This marks the third straight year that Nakai has made the JGP Final. She finished fourth in 2022 and was fifth in 2023.
On the men's side, the Hinomaru will have Nakata and Sena Takahashi competing for honors. The rest of the field includes American Jacob Sanchez, Li, South Korea's Minkyu Seo and Slovakia's Lukas Vaclavik. Shunsuke Nakamura is the third alternate.
Nakata will be heading to the JGP Final for the second year in a row. He won the title in 2023 in Beijing.
Japan's pairs team of Sae Shimizu and Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda made the JGP Final as the sixth and final qualifier.
Uno Pays Respects to Hanyu
Two-time world champion Shoma Uno was interviewed on a show on TBS Television on October 6 in Tokyo and took the opportunity to show his respect for two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu.
"He is the ideal athlete that everyone envisions," Uno was quoted as saying in the interview, according to a story from Yahoo Japan that was translated into English and posted on fs-gossips.com. "I've spent my entire skating life chasing after Yuzu-kun's back, and that's what has brought me this far."
Uno said he tried to emulate Hanyu's approach, but could not keep up with it.
"His dedication to skating is so intense that I think it's absolutely impossible for me," Uno commented. "There was a time when I thought I had to be like Yuzu-kun. I trained hard and pushed hard for competitions, but I did too much. My own expectations grew too large, and even a minor failure made me feel overly disappointed."
Liu Wins in Comeback at Budapest Trophy
American Alysa Liu returned to the ice after a two-year hiatus and won the Budapest Trophy on October 13. Now 19, Liu stepped away from the sport after claiming the bronze medal at the world championships in 2022.
Liu encountered some jump issues in her free skate to "MacArthur Park Suite," but still held on to prevail with 192.77. Switzerland's Kimmy Repond was second at 190.09, while France's Lorine Schild placed third on 179.70.
Liu, a two-time American champion, hit four clean triples and received level fours on two of her spins in her free skate. She had an under-rotation on a triple toe loop and was downgraded on a triple salchow.
Now a student at UCLA, Liu spent the past two years on a path of self-discovery that included a trip to base camp at Mount Everest in Nepal, as Phil Hersh reported for NBC Sports recently.
"Two years ago, I would have never imagined this moment, to be honest," she told Nick McCarvel of olympics.com following her win in Hungary. "It's weird, but I actually like, I love skating. And now I can really explore it in any way."
Added Liu, "Skating's different now because I'm coming back as an adult."
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
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