Mao Shimada Moves Out to Big Lead at World Junior Championships in Quest for Three-Peat

Two-time world junior champion Mao Shimada is halfway to her third consecutive title in the prestigious competition after a stunning performance in the short program at the World Junior Championships on Thursday, February 27, in Debrecen, Hungary.

Shimada, 16, who is trying to become the first woman ever to win three straight world junior crowns, has a commanding lead of more than seven points going into Saturday's free skate. The skating phenom has never lost a competition she has entered as a junior.

Shimada is in first place with a personal-best score of 74.68 points. Georgia's Inga Gurgenidze is second at 67.47, while Ami Nakai stands in third on 66.84.

American Elyce Lin-Gracey is in fourth with 66.11, while Kaoruko Wada is fifth at 64.35. Three-time world junior silver medalist Jia Shin is in seventh on 63.57 after falling on her combination jump.

Shimada Showcases Exceptional Skills at the World Junior Championships

Shimada skated to "Defying Gravity" and opened with a nice double axel, followed by a strong triple flip, and went on to land a triple lutz/triple toe loop combination. The skating superstar received level fours on all of her spins and step sequence.

Her final spin was a spellbinding combination of speed and precision.

"In today's performance, I think everything went well," Shimada was quoted as saying. "Even though I was the most nervous I've been this season, I was able to enjoy my skate until the very end, without forgetting to smile.

"Rather than the results, since this is the final competition this season, I felt really strongly about wanting to end on a good performance. I couldn't stop thinking about that and I think that led me to feel very nervous."

Added Shimada, "I couldn't quite get 74 as a [short program] score before, so I'm really happy to have achieved that. This short program is one of my favorites. It was my favorite, ever since the first time I saw the choreography. Since it was a program based on a story I already knew, I'm truly happy to have been able to end it in a good way."

Looking ahead to the free skate, Shimada detailed her goal.

"This is the final competition this season, and I think this will be the last time I skate this free program," Shimada remarked. "I want to bring out a performance that shows all I can do, and I want to finish this competition with a performance that I'm satisfied with."

Nakai Lands All of Her Jumps

Nakai, the world junior bronze medalist behind Shimada two years ago in Calgary, hit all of her jumps to "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg," but did receive an edge call on her triple flip. Her spins were all judged as level fours, while her step sequence was a level three.

"I was the most nervous I have been this season," the 16-year-old Nakai remarked. "So nervous that my legs were shaking and I couldn't gather any strength. There were a few moments where my jumps felt a bit unsteady. But I think overall it was good."

Added Nakai, "Last time (at the 2023 world juniors) I did not have any pressure, and I approached my performance with the mindset of skating for everyone, but this time, I felt a lot more pressure and ended up skating with that on my mind. Because of that, I was much more nervous than before.

"My coach (Kensuke Nakaniwa) told me to skate my own way, and it will be fine since I practiced all this time," Nakai continued. "I also know for myself how much effort I've put into this. I think I improved slightly."

Despite Miscues, Wada Has a Shot at a Medal

Wada competed to "How Does A Moment Last Forever" and was a quarter rotation short on the back end of her triple lutz/triple toe loop combo, and also under-rotated her triple flip. The 15-year-old did earn level fours on all of her spins and step sequence and has a shot at making the podium on Saturday.

"I felt more nervous than I expected," Wada stated. "My condition wasn't bad, but I still felt anxious. Even so, I'm glad I was able to finish my skate. I felt fine during the six-minute warm-up but afterward I was more worried than usual."

Added Wada, "Once again, I felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to skate at this competition. I want to take everything I've learned on this stage and bring it back with me.

"In the short program, you cannot make even a single mistake," Wada continued. "But I feel that the free skate is different, so I want to give it my all."

The men's free skate and pairs short program are set for Friday.

RELATED: 

• Rio Nakata in 2nd After Short Program at World Junior Championships
• Mao Shimada Makes History by Repeating as World Junior Champion

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.