In her maiden overseas competition, Kaoruko Wada bested Rena Uezono, the 2023-24 season world junior bronze medalist, to win the Junior Grand Prix women's event in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Saturday, September 7.
Wada's triumph came a week after Sena Takahashi upstaged two-time world champion Mao Shimada by winning the Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia, in his first international competition.
The 14-year-old Wada, who trains under legendary coach Machiko Yamada in Nagoya, grabbed a nearly three-point lead over Uezono in the short program, then pulled away in the free skate to win by more than 11 points.
Wada's winning total score was 194.14 points, well ahead of France's Stefania Gladki, who was second with 182.61. South Korea's Yujae Kim took third at 178.79.
Uezono, also 14, burst onto the scene in the 2023-24 season by taking bronze medals at both the JGP Final and the worlds. She came into the JGP in Ostrava as a prohibitive favorite, but came undone in her free skate and wound up fourth on 177.31.
An 'Amazing' Experience for Wada
Wada skated to the soundtrack from "Titanic" in her free skate and landed four clean triples and notched level fours on all of her spins on the way to victory. She did receive edge calls on both of her triple flips, and was judged a quarter rotation short on her final jump (a triple lutz).
"I didn't expect to win this title, and I enjoyed performing the short program and the free skating," Wada stated in the winner's interview. "It was amazing."
Added Wada, "I found some room to improve through this competition, so I will practice more and I want to enjoy performing more and show better performances to the audience."
Wada cited three-time world champion Mao Asada, Yamada's most famous protégé, as her inspiration to take up skating.
"After watching her skate at the Sochi Olympics, I was motivated to start skating," Wada noted. "She has been my idol since then. Mao is really good at steps. She has given me her autograph and was really kind, so I admire her a lot."
Insights on Wada's Junior Grand Prix Debut
Once again, ISU announcers Mark Hanretty and Ted Barton were impressed by what they saw from Japan's newest JGP winner.
"Kaoruko Wada was the strongest skater in this event," Hanretty commented while reviewing Wada's free skate. "That being said, she had to deliver. Look at the gorgeous double axel."
Barton then interjected, "Like Kaori Sakamoto. The speed of that. Just beautiful technique. Flew through the air and carried great speed on all the landings."
Added Barton, "Picture perfect Ina Bauer as well. You can see the transitions between the elements and, as most Japanese skaters have, it is constant and consistent flow throughout the program. They never look like they are working too hard to keep the momentum and the glide. Make it look effortless."
Mistakes Hamper Uezono's Performance
Uezono competed to "The Bells" in her free skate and fell on a triple flip and a triple lutz. She did hit five triples and earn level fours on all of her spins, but the falls knocked her out of medal contention.
Just as surprising as Wada's performance were Uezono's difficulties.
"Wow. That was unexpected," remarked Barton at the conclusion of Uezono's free skate. "She's a wonderful skater, but had two mistakes here, which is unusual for the Japanese skaters on the Junior Grand Prix. We don't often see mistakes. Maybe on the triple axel or something, but not on the triple flip."
Hanretty pointed out that Uezono had struggled in practice with her combination jump in Ostrava.
"We did see some fragility in practice the triple/triple combination," Hanretty said. "The lutz wasn't 100 percent comfortable. It's a fact that this is where the sport is governed, understandably by the technical element score. The composition, and the comprehension behind the composition, was quite brilliant, but the two falls make it impossible."
Additional Junior Grand Prix Results in Ostrava
The results for Japan in the men's competition were less encouraging, as Daiya Ebihara (202.78) finished fifth and Taiga Nishino (200.23) was sixth. Defending world junior champion Minkyu Seo of South Korea took home the gold medal with 224.78, with American Patrick Blackwell claiming silver at 221.56 and Slovakia's Adam Hagara the bronze on 211.23.
The 16-year-old Ebihara, who medaled at both of his JGP events last season, looked like a good bet to qualify for the JGP Final this season. But he singled his planned triple flip in the short program and found himself too far back in seventh place heading into the free skate.
Conversely, the 14-year-old Nishino was sharp in his short program and in second place going into the free skate, but a calamitous performance in the latter included three falls that saw him lose any chance at making the podium.
Pairs Sae Shimizu and Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda were fourth in the Czech Republic at 137.54 in the contest won by China's Xuangi Zhang and Wenqiang Feng with 145.55.
Kaho Yamashita and Yuto Nagata (128.80) finished sixth in ice dance, well behind winner's Celina Fradji and Jean-Hans Fourneaux (158.66) of France.
JGP Heads to Bangkok for Second Consecutive Year
The third stop of the JGP season will take place this week (September 11-14) in the capital of Thailand, where the Hinomaru will be led by last season's JGP Final winner Rio Nakata. Haru Kakiuchi will join Nakata in the men's battle, where American Taira Shinohara will make his JGP debut.
Yo Takagi and Mei Okada will skate for Japan in the women's event, while Sara Kishimoto and Atsuhiko Tamura will pull on the boots in ice dance.
There will be no pairs competition in Bangkok.
Uno Speaks on Making Decision to Retire From Competition
Two-time world champion Shoma Uno revealed his thought process on deciding to retire back in May in a recent interview with Web Sportiva that was translated into English and posted on fs-gossips.com.
"During the last one to two years, there were times I struggled with my own skating as an active competitor," Uno was quoted as saying. "I couldn't easily decide to quit because, at times, I reached extremes. But I was once again reminded that skating isn't just about competition, which led me to choose retirement rather than just a break."
Added Uno, "I also thought calling it a break might create expectations of a comeback. From my feelings and based on my past statements and attitudes towards skating, I didn't want to hint at something misleading. Retirement felt more appropriate."
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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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