[ICE TIME] Rio Nakata Claims Silver at Bangkok Junior Grand Prix

Rio Nakata, the 2023-24 season Junior Grand Prix Final men's winner, finished second in Bangkok on Saturday, September 14 at his first JGP of the season. 

Nakata, who turned 16 on September 8, joined with junior women's teammates Yo Takagi (silver) and Mei Okada (bronze) to bring home half of the singles medals on offer in the Thai capital.

Visibly taller than he was at the end of last season, the 166-cm Nakata was the runner-up to New Zealand's Yanhao Li, who won the men's competition with an impressive total score of 230.09 points. The tally for Nakata in second place was 218.71, while China's Tonghe Tian took third on 210.39.

Haru Kakiuchi finished fourth at 209.50, while American Taira Shinohara was fifth in his JGP debut on 197.53.

Li, who was born in China, gave New Zealand its first gold medal ever in the JGP. The 16-year-old has quietly been building up an impressive resume over the past year. Li was third at both the Bangkok JGP last year and the Winter Youth Olympics in January. He started this season with a win in the junior competition at the Cranberry Cup in Norwood, Massachusetts, in August.

Li established a big lead of more than six points after the short program, which put Nakata in a tough position going into the free skate where he appeared to be pressing.

For Nakata, a Shaky Start in the Free Skate

Nakata was off balance on the landing of his opening quadruple salchow and put his hand on the ice to prevent himself from falling. He then singled his planned triple axel and later fell on a triple loop.

Nakata did hit five triples and earned level fours on all of his spins in his skate to "Aroul" and "Uccen," but it was clearly not his day.

"Although the result was disappointing, I will cherish each and every day until the second event of the Junior Grand Prix, and practice so that I will have no regrets," Nakata posted on X (formerly Twitter) on September 16.

ISU commentator Mark Hanretty praised Nakata despite the poor outing.

"He has performed in some amazing shows in Japan ― Fantasy on Ice, Dreams on Ice ― with the likes of Yuzuru Hanyu, the double Olympic champion," Hanretty noted. "I think he has improved a lot perhaps from those experiences or just from all the hard work he has done with his father as coach, but that was a tough skate."

ISU announcer Ted Barton put Nakata's performance into perspective.

"He has got to go through the same thing that Ilia Malinin went through, and that is you are so talented you think you can just do it at any point and you can't," Barton stated. "You are going to make those failures and these are teaching points. That is going to make him great. He's not there yet, but he is on his way."

A Positive Experience for Shinohara at the Bangkok JGP

Shinohara, a 17-year-old student at the University of California, Irvine, fell on his opening triple axel and had several jump issues in his free skate to "Ain't No Sunshine." However, he was upbeat afterward.

"What an incredible experience! The environment was electric," Shinohara posted on Instagram on September 17. "I skated fairly well, though there were definitely areas where I could have done better. Still, I am proud of the effort I have put in and that I gave it my all in my first JGP, a competition I have wanted to compete in for years."

Takagi Looked Smooth on Her Way to the Silver

On Friday, September 13, Takagi picked up the second silver medal of her JGP career behind winner Yihan Wang of China in the women's event. Wang's winning score was 194.71, while Takagi registered 188.54. Okada came in third at 175.96 in her international debut.

The shock of the competition was three-time world junior silver medalist Jia Shin of South Korea, the prohibitive favorite entering the event, finishing off the podium in fourth on 173.99.

Takagi, the silver medalist behind Mao Shimada at the Winter Youth Olympics earlier in 2024, skated a nearly flawless clean program to "Preludes" and "Get What You Get." She impressed Hanretty and Barton with her effort.

"That was just a masterclass of a balanced, well-rounded skater taught obviously incredibly well, choreographed beautifully; that was just a major statement for the title," Hanretty commented.

Kaetlyn Osmond, the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, was a guest commentator on the women's free skate webcast and also had kind words for Takagi.

"That was absolutely incredible and I couldn't say it better," Osmond remarked. 

"They were all very well-executed," she added. "That was well-packaged ― the spins, the choreography, the jumps ― everything was on par with each other."

Osmond singled out Takagi's spiral late in the program for its excellence.

"So impressive, staying on one foot for so long, demonstrating so much control," Osmond said. "That is so difficult to do, especially towards the end of the program."

Okada Makes a Positive Impression in International Debut

Okada, a 14-year-old from Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, fell on her opening triple loop in her performance to "Not Clear – Not Clear – Not Clear" and selections from the "Maleficent" soundtrack, but showed promise. She landed four clean triples and notched level fours on all of her spins.

"It was incredibly done, the elements that were successful and the overall program itself," Osmond stated. "Always amazing when a skater can kind of make you forget that there was a mistake and that is kind of where I am at right now. The end of the program just kept building. She kept performing and her lines are incredible."

Added Osmond, "That efficiency is what makes her jumps at the end of the program doable and able to get the speed and momentum to have this incredible choreography sequence where you can see that stretch in the performance, in the attack. Instead of just using it as a breathing section, she used it as a 'I'm going to show off here.' "

In other results, Sara Kishimoto and Atsuhiko Tamura (132.04) finished seventh in the ice dance event. Italy's Noemi Maria Tali and Noah Lafornara won the competition with 169.47 points.

Kagiyama Finishes 2nd Behind Malinin at Lombardia Trophy

World silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama was second to world champion Malinin at the Challenger Series Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy, over the weekend of September 13-15.

Malinin won with a total of 312.55 on Sunday, outdistancing Kagiyama (291.54) by a significant margin. Shun Sato showed he was in good form early in the season by coming in third with 285.88.

Kao Miura struggled with his jumps and spins and was well back in fourth on 234.75.

Glenn a Surprise Winner over Sakamoto

US champion Amber Glenn scored an upset victory over three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto in the women's competition on Saturday, September 14 at the Lombardia Trophy. Glenn won with 212.89 and saw compatriot Sarah Everhardt claim second at 201.90.

Sakamoto, who was second after the short program behind Glenn, ended up third on 199.94.

JGP Travels to Turkey Next

The fourth stop on the JGP circuit will take place in Ankara, Turkey, this week (September 18-21). Shunsuke Nakamura will be the lone man skating for the Hinomaru, while 2023 world junior bronze medalist Ami Nakai and Riria Kono will take the ice in the women's contest.

Sae Shimizu and Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda will skate in pairs, but Japan will not enter a team in ice dance in Ankara.

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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.