[ICE TIME] Grand Prix Final Bonanza: Mao Shimada Leads Way as Japan Sets New Medal Mark

Two-time world junior champion Mao Shimada stretched her phenomenal streak of victories in championship events to 16. She became the first skater ever to win the Junior Grand Prix Final three times in a row in Grenoble, France, over the weekend of December 6-8.

Despite winning just one gold medal at the combined Junior and Senior Grand Prix Final, Japan set a new record for the most medals it has ever won at the prestigious event with a total of nine. The Hinomaru's previous mark of seven was set in 2023 in Beijing.

There were plenty of other medals for Japan in France. Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato brought home silver and bronze in men's singles, while Mone Chiba and three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto did the same in the women's singles on Saturday, December 7. Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara claimed silver in the pairs competition.

Kaoruko Wada and Ami Nakai picked up the silver and bronze behind Shimada in the junior women's classification. Meanwhile, Rio Nakata earned the bronze in the junior men's contest.

A Noteworthy Grand Prix Final Achievement for Glenn

While world champion Ilia Malinin's victory over Kagiyama was no surprise, the win by Amber Glenn over Chiba and Sakamoto established the American as a real contender for this season's world title in Boston. Glenn's gold was the first at the GP Final for an American woman since Alissa Czisny won in 2010.

The 25-year-old Glenn was victorious in both of her GP assignments and won the biggest competition of her career in Grenoble. She has to be considered a legitimate contender for the gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Prevailing over five Japanese women at the GP Final had media asking Glenn if she felt she had just won the Japan Championships.

"No, seriously, the other girls are absolutely incredible," Glenn stated on Saturday. "I know many of us did not have the best short program or long programs, but I feel like today was significantly better than Thursday for most of us, if not all of us. But I know we all have more that we can do and we can show, and I'm just proud of all of us."

Chiba Pleased with Her Overall Performance

Chiba went all out in her free skate to try and overtake Glenn but came up short.

"I felt nervous as if I was doing a world championship," Chiba said. "Yesterday I couldn't read the audience's reaction. Today I was careful not to make mistakes and do better."

Added Chiba, "I'm satisfied with today's performance because I didn't fall and could land the last flip and loop. That is why my score today was very good as I almost beat my personal best."

Sakamoto Analyzes Her Results in France

Despite suffering her first loss since the 2022 Grand Prix Final at a major championship, Sakamoto was undaunted.

"Unlike in the short program, I was able to approach it with more confidence," Sakamoto said after her free skate. "And I was able to give it my all with the feeling that I wanted to show what I had been practicing, so I am satisfied with today's program."

"Compared to the world championships last season, I think I still have a lot to learn. And I'm not completely free of stress, so there are still some points where I'm not sure if I'll be OK, but I think I'm doing pretty well," Sakamoto continued.

Malinin Reflects on Jump Issues

Malinin uncorked an epic free skate that featured six different types of quads and seven in total. However, he was unable to land one of them cleanly. The outcome had him wondering if he might reconsider his ambitious attempt.

"Going into the GP I wanted to show everything I have been working on as well as incorporating my artistry into my programs," Malinin commented after his win on Saturday. "It was kind of a challenge for me to go all in with the technical content today. I think I will have to go back and see if it was worth it or if it will be better to lower the content to have a good skate."

Added Malinin, "I was very proud of myself to get through my program with that layout. I didn't think about the technical panel (how it called his quads in the free skate)."

Kagiyama Targets a Higher Score

Kagiyama won the free skate but was too far behind Malinin after the short program to overtake him.

"I was very nervous today, the same way as in the short program," Kagiyama noted. "It almost felt like someone had grabbed me by my guts. I tried to get over it but I got very frustrated when I popped the salchow."

Kagiyama's free skate score was 188.29, but that wasn't satisfactory for the Beijing Olympic silver medalist.

"I want to score at least 190 every time I perform my free skate. That is something I expect from myself," Kagiyama remarked. "I usually enjoy the crowd cheering for me. The nerves weren't because of that, they came from within.

"You can never perform better than what you do in practice," Kagiyama continued. "To give 100 percent in competition you have to give 120 percent in training. I try not to concentrate on the technical elements, I want to show more expression."

Sato Pleased to Earn a Grand Prix Final Medal

Sato claimed his first senior Grand Prix Final medal in France and was content with his showing.

"Since I landed almost all the jumps cleanly, I don't regret anything," Sato declared. "The beginning was rather good, all jumps except the flip were good."

Shimada, Wada Share Thoughts on the Junior Grand Prix Final

Shimada's achievement was another in her stellar career.

"I am very happy to be part of that historical sweep today and am happy today we were able to prove that the junior field in Japan is very deep indeed," Shimada stated on Friday, December 6. "First of all, I am very happy to have achieved this victory. In my performance in these three Junior Finals, I was somehow uneven, but I'm happy I was able to achieve the three titles."

The 15-year-old Wada was grateful for the support of Shimada and Nakai in France.

"This was my first participation in the Junior Grand Prix Final, but the other two skaters helped me a great deal," Wada commented. "It's something we achieved with the support of each other and I'm very happy about it."

Despite taking the silver at the JGP Final in her international debut season, Wada was already looking ahead following her free skate.

"There were several under-rotations on my jumps so it's something I will have to reflect upon and hope to improve for the next events," Wada said. "The good things to take away, although I was a bit nervous, I was still able to enjoy and skate freely and it's something I'm very proud of."

A Happy Experience for Nakai

Nakai, the world junior bronze medalist in 2023, was happy to come home with a medal.

"This is my first podium in the Junior Final and I'm glad to be on it with the other two Japanese skaters here and this was a great experience for me," Nakai remarked. "I'm very proud I was able to land the triple axel in this big competition. It was a bit under-rotated. However, I made it and I'm proud of it. The remaining jumps I was able to pull together so the performance overall went pretty well."

Nakata Says He Struggled with Timing in the Free Skate

Nakata, the 2023 JGP Final champion, led after the short program but was unable to stay on top in his free skate on Saturday.

"During my training, I was able to land my jumps properly and I was first for the short program, but when I learned the other skaters' scores, I felt a lot of pressure," Nakata said. "I thought I could win this competition once again. But today I couldn't find the right timing for my jumps like the axel."

Added Nakata, "Even though I made mistakes, if I had worked harder to do my other jumps better, maybe I could've gotten a better score."

A Successful Showing for Miura and Kihara

Miura and Kihara missed last season's GP Final due to injury but made it back to the podium in their return in 2024.

"It has been two years since we participated in the Final, so we've made some mistakes today," Kihara noted. "We didn't get a satisfying result today, but we will learn from it and improve ourselves to aim for the Olympics."

RELATED: 

• Ilia Malinin Defends Grand Prix Final Title; Yuma Kagiyama Finishes 2nd
• Amber Glenn Holds Off Mone Chiba to Win the Grand Prix Final in France
• Mao Shimada Wins Junior Grand Prix Final for 3rd Consecutive Year
• [ICE TIME] Japan Looks to Top Record Medal Haul at the Grand Prix Final

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.