2025-26 Japanese Women's Figure Skating

[Joekaz]

As things currently stand, if Rion Sumiyoshi gets silver at Finlandia does she then get included? Would it depend on her qualifying for the final or medalling there?



It's a shame that one of the consistently highest scoring skaters of the season could be out of contention essentially because of a bad luck of the draw.

If Rion podiums at Nationals she will be included in the selection pool for the Olympics no matter what else she does or doesn't do. Just going to GPF doesn't even put you in the pool .

 

[YuBluByMe]

As things currently stand, if Rion Sumiyoshi gets silver at Finlandia does she then get included? Would it depend on her qualifying for the final or medalling there?

Nope. Last year, there were 5 Japanese women at the final and one was never in the selection pool for Worlds. And she could qualify, medal, and STILL not be in the selection pool. The Olympic Selection criteria is as follows:

Tier 1
A. The National Champion is selected.

This is the only bullet point that guarantees going to the Olympics.

B. Nationals 2nd and 3rd
C. Top 2 GPF competitors
D. Top 3 SB

The above are the most important.

Tier 2
1. Top 3 world standing
2. Top 3 season ranking
3. Top 3 average scores in two competitions (domestic competitions included)

The reason Sumiyoshi is left out is because only the top 3 are considered and there’s overlap. Sakamoto, Chiba, and Nakai take up most of the spots. She could still be considered if she makes the podium, but not being in the pool before Nationals isn’t ideal. Because you have to make the podium and there’s Shimada to deal with. If you’re already in, you still need to skate well, but placing in the top 3 won’t be as vital. (I.e., Watanabe was outside the top 10 in 2023 and was selected over Chiba who made the podium, Yoshida was 7th in 2024, and Chiba was 4th last year.)

Another way for Sumiyoshi to make it is to have the skates of her life in Finlandia, breaking into the top three SB or average scores. If she does that, she’s probably making the GPF anyway!

It's a shame that one of the consistently highest scoring skaters of the season could be out of contention essentially because of a bad luck of the draw.

Nationals is always her worst competition of the season too, so I hope she does well there for once! If she doesn’t get to go to the Olympics, there’s still 4CC. And being named first alternate may turn out to be important too.

 

[Joekaz]

Making the podium with Shimada there means beating out Chiba and Ami most likely. That would put Rion in a very good position. With the way she has skated so far, they wouldn't be able to knock her off the podium with 2 people. If Shimada doesn't podium and it goes Kaori,Ami, Rion and Chiba in that order,then Rion would be bumped for Chiba. But I don't think they can bump her for Ami if she was fourth. But everyyhing will depend on exactly how everyone does, plus the usual politics, unfortunately.

 

[macy]

The sad irony is that she could have sleepwalked to at least a sliver in both GPs if she would have been healthy.

i know this is just the delusional fan in me since she has said already this is her last season, but i wonder if she'd consider getting healthy and staying one more so she can finish out her career on her terms. ugh. wakadepression.

 

[Joekaz]

i know this is just the delusional fan in me since she has said already this is her last season, but i wonder if she'd consider getting healthy and staying one more so she can finish out her career on her terms. ugh. wakadepression.

I don't think so. Her foot issues are chronic. She has battled them most of her career. That's the main reason she hasn't really put back to back strong seasons together in her career. She is one of the very few skaters that doesn't use the "cheated" takeoff (leaving the ice well past a quarter turn) style on her lutz and flip. She jumps old school technique that puts her on a more vertical arc. That combined with her natural jumping power means a lot of force on landing.

 

[Joekaz]

It's so nice when Rino gets it all together like she did in her FS in Finland. She deserved every bit of the score Mone got instead of the insulting 131 she received. I think Figure skating needs to be classified as sports entertainment since actual legitimate competition between every one doesn't seem to exist. I could be wrong though, maybe Mone really does have far better skating skills than Rino, and deserves 6 points higher PCS. I understand the Feds want to back the Olympic team members (Mone is a lock), but I hate seeing the others getting shorted. Chiba did look sharp in winning though. Depending on who's landing their 3As, we could see a Japanese sweep at GPF.

 

[rabidline]

It's so nice when Rino gets it all together like she did in her FS in Finland. She deserved every bit of the score Mone got instead of the insulting 131 she received. I think Figure skating needs to be classified as sports entertainment since actual legitimate competition between every one doesn't seem to exist. I could be wrong though, maybe Mone really does have far better skating skills than Rino, and deserves 6 points higher PCS. I understand the Feds want to back the Olympic team members (Mone is a lock), but I hate seeing the others getting shorted. Chiba did look sharp in winning though. Depending on who's landing their 3As, we could see a Japanese sweep at GPF.

No scoring system will ever be able to reflect Rino's skating accurately IMO. Like even if they remove the whole "she's never been to Worlds, she's not a Worlds medalist" reputation scoring, no scores will never do her justice. Taking on the Pas de Deux without any gimmicky music cuts to make it a more "exciting" Olympic FS and delivering THAT through pure skating is truly something to savor this season.

 

[Arigato]

As a matter of fact, when you look at the whole package, Higuchi should be right there with, if not above, Sakamoto, weaker in some areas, but stronger in others. Am I wrong?

Yes.

 

[RafaelAstro]

The thing I noticed with Rino (which is strange) is that she received lower PCS scores than what she got at domestic competitions. Normally for Japanese skaters, it’s the opposite. When I saw her PCS scores in Japan, I thought: “If she’s scoring like this for presentation in her home country, then we can finally expect even better scores at international competitions, as is normally the case.”
But that didn’t happen.

Anyway, congratulations to Kaori, Mone, Ami, and Rinka for making the GPF at home! Four skaters, as expected. Very sad for Rion Sumiyoshi though.

It was a good Grand Prix season for the ladies, even with some inconsistencies and injuries. Ten medals overall, which is fewer than in 2024–25 with thirteen medals, but ahead of the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons, with eight and seven medals respectively.

 

[lileychristie]

The thing I noticed with Rino (which is strange) is that she received lower PCS scores than what she got at domestic competitions. Normally for Japanese skaters, it’s the opposite. When I saw her PCS scores in Japan, I thought: “If she’s scoring like this for presentation in her home country, then we can finally expect even better scores at international competitions, as is normally the case.”
But that didn’t happen.

This is just my shallow observation, but I think Japanese judges really value skating skills with deep edges, glide, extensions etc... while international judges seem to value more performance & projection to audience. So skaters like Rino got rewarded more domestically than internationally.

Doesn't help that Rino has been inconsistent internationally in the past couple of seasons... I hope now that she's gaining her consistency back, international judges will start giving her more PCS

 

[RafaelAstro]

Can somebody please explain to me how Alysa Liu is significantly better than Wakaba in skating skills and presentation? I mean on ice, not including skating politics or any sort of corruption(I realize Liu magically had a big spike in PCS since Worlds last season with the Olys coming up).I just don't see it. I think they are both very good in presentation, but Wakaba is clearly superior in skating skills. As a matter of fact, when you look at the whole package, Higuchi should be right there with, if not above, Sakamoto, weaker in some areas, but stronger in others. Am I wrong?

She has been pushed ahead by her federation since last year’s Nationals, which I don’t understand. Yes, the girl is consistent and has nice spins and footwork, but she’s not at that level yet, and suddenly her PCS scores are reaching 35, which is very bizarre to me. I think she is better than Amber, but not better than Isabeau in presentation. I’m not going to go further with this topic. I like her skating, but not her scores. It’s clear that she is the current favorite for the U.S., and when you’re in that position, your scores go up (this applies for all countries who dominates the sport)

 

[Joekaz]

Does Petrosian or do the Americans pose a greater threat to the Japanese women in the Olympics? I'm starting to feel the Americans aren't looking so good compared to the Japanese girls. If Petrosian is healthy and doing quads, I would fear her the most. The main thing for the Japanese is to control their nerves and trust in their superior skating skills.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

She has been pushed ahead by her federation since last year’s Nationals, which I don’t understand. Yes, the girl is consistent and has nice spins and footwork, but she’s not at that level yet, and suddenly her PCS scores are reaching 35, which is very bizarre to me. I think she is better than Amber, but not better than Isabeau in presentation. I’m not going to go further with this topic. I like her skating, but not her scores. It’s clear that she is the current favorite for the U.S., and when you’re in that position, your scores go up (this applies for all countries who dominates the sport)

This is really unrelated to Japanese skating, but Alysa Liu is a good performer. She projects emotion throughout her programs. Isabeau Levito is wonderful but does she get lost in the character of her programs to the same extent? Also why is Liu being "pushed" as opposed to some fans being biased? She clearly improved dramatically over the space of a season.

 

[Narunde]

I saw Petrosian today about an hour ago in Omsk. She did her free program with 4To3-3Toe and single 4Toe. So if she can repeat this in Milano( Ithink she can) she will win the competition.

 

[lileychristie]

I saw Petrosian today about an hour ago in Omsk. She did her free program with 4To3-3Toe and single 4Toe. So if she can repeat this in Milano( Ithink she can) she will win the competition.

Um, are you in the wrong thread by any chance? This is the Japanese women's figure skating thread

 

[throw_triple_flip]

This is just my shallow observation, but I think Japanese judges really value skating skills with deep edges, glide, extensions etc... while international judges seem to value more performance & projection to audience. So skaters like Rino got rewarded more domestically than internationally.

Oh I agree with that- look at what happened at Nationals in Ice dance a couple of years back. Komatsubara and Koleto were not really favoured by the domestic judges who seemed to want to go with Yoshida and Morita or Tanaka and Nishiyama because of their skating skills (though they couldn't because of mistakes). K/K won Nationals but were second in both segments. It was very close between the top 3. So then all those teams went to 2024 Four Continents as a decider and an international panel preferred K/K by a very large margin. So they went to Worlds.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

I feel bad for Rion Sumiyoshi. She has such bad luck! Still not in the Olympic pool. She has to medal at Nationals for that to happen now?

Even if the Olympics are a long shot, I hope she has a good Nationals and earns a 4CC/Worlds spot.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

i know this is just the delusional fan in me since she has said already this is her last season, but i wonder if she'd consider getting healthy and staying one more so she can finish out her career on her terms. ugh. wakadepression.

Perhaps it would be healthier for her not to compete.

 

[Narunde]

@lileychristie I only answered the question if Petrosian is a threat for Japanese women.

 

[YuBluByMe]

I feel bad for Rion Sumiyoshi. She has such bad luck! Still not in the Olympic pool. She has to medal at Nationals for that to happen now?

Yep, now she has to medal at Nationals. She was actually unlikely to be in the pool even if she qualified for GPF. Had she did well in Finland (she could’ve done well without qualifying for Finals) I would have said if she makes the podium she’ll be chosen over Nakai regardless how Nakai did at Nationals. But now I say Nakai would have to do poorly.

Even if the Olympics are a long shot, I hope she has a good Nationals and earns a 4CC/Worlds spot.

I hope she does well at Nationals too. I hate that her world standing is so low and it’s because Nationals has always been her worst competition so her season essentially ends in December with no Challengers the next season. (She was 8th last year so she got Lombardia by the skin of her teeth.)

I’ll try to keep my expectations low. Finland wasn’t even the first time she did something like that. I remember this one time where she just about gave away her GPF spot. She ended up with a silver medal though, but her performance was actually her worst on the GP at the time…which says a lot about the field. She just doesn’t skate well under pressure and she’s going to have to work on that.

Because of her WS and not doing well at Nationals, she has to do well on the GP, or she risks not getting GP assignments. She can’t afford performances like the one in Finland.