Mao Shimada Leads Japan Sweep of Women's Short Program at the Junior Grand Prix Final

Two-time world junior champion Mao Shimada led a 1-2-3 Japan sweep of the women's short program at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France, on Thursday night, December 5. 

The 16-year-old star set the pace with a strong skate and leads teammates Kaoruko Wada and Ami Nakai heading into Friday's free skate.

Shimada, who is seeking her third straight JGP Final title, is in front with a score of 73.72 points. The 15-year-old Wada is in second place at 67.77, while Nakai stands in third on 67.26.

China's Yihan Wang is fourth with 64.52, while South Korea's Yuseong Kim is fifth (64.42) and France's Stefania Gladki is sixth (62.31).

Shimada, who is looking to extend her incredible streak of victories in championship competitions to 16, skated to "Defying Gravity" and opened with a double axel, then landed a triple flip and went on to hit a triple lutz/triple toe loop combination jump in a near flawless performance. Her spins and step sequence were all scored as level fours.

"Today I had pressure but it wasn't a bad pressure but rather good one. It motivated me to perform well," Shimada stated. "I will not think about being perfect [in the free skate] because that would cause mistakes but I will think about landing all the jumps. There are three Japanese skaters placing in the top three and I will do my best to keep all three of us in the lead."

A Solid Short Program for Wada at the Junior Grand Prix Final

Wada competed to "How Does A Moment Last Forever" and began with a double axel, then landed a triple lutz/triple toe loop combo and a triple flip. Two of her spins were judged as level fours, while the other and her step sequence were judged as level threes.

"I was really excited for this performance and honestly I had a lot of fun," Wada commented. "I felt good and was not nervous at all. I'm a little disappointed about the mistake on the step sequence, but overall it was a good performance where I could show my smile. Now I'm going to prepare for the free program and I hope I can have as much fun."

Nakai Gives Her Best Effort

The 16-year-old Nakai competed to "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" and also started with a double axel, then a triple lutz/triple toe combo. She received an edge call on her triple flip and earned level fours on two of her spins and step sequence.

"I was very nervous, I was stressed when I heard my name," Nakai remarked. 

She added, "I did my best, I'm happy to do that performance here in France and I'm happy about what I was able to do."

Nakai endeared herself to the French audience with her musical selection.

"It was both liking the song and the thought about the French audience that crossed my mind ― that the finals were in Grenoble," Nakai said. "It helped."

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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.