2025 Japanese Nationals - Women's SP

[Jumping_Bean]

No signature 3Lz+3Lo, but a very clean and respectable skate - No reviews at all by the tech panel (based on the wordle).

 

[cocteautwin]

Yuna That was great! So elegant and charming.

 

[tsuyoboogie]

Nice skate, Yun!
Great way to end this event and Competition Day 1

 

[lileychristie]

What a treat to watch Kaori - Rino - Yuna back to back

Sorry Kaori and Rino, you both might have the best skating skills, but Yuna has the best overall body movement. The way she moves her arms and her upper body are both so precise and so musical, utterly gorgeous

 

[LazyFuzai]

Art.Pure Art.
Just every movement means something.
You can't do better than this in choreo department.Great ending for us.

 

[lileychristie]

Wow 69 despite no 3-3!!

JSF clearly loves her, looks like they were ready to give her 70++ if only she landed her 3-3...

 

[LazyFuzai]

Quick summary:
As predicted everyone is there:Kaori,Mao,Ami,Mone.
Everyone looked in great shape,with Mone looking weakest,but this 3 should secure Olympics.Rinka even if somehow manage to skate amazing tomorrow is still too random.
Overall expected slightly more from this competition.Some skaters really underperformed.
See you in free skate.

 

[soccerjc77]

I wonder ... What the japanese federation will do if Rinka Watanabe do a clean FS with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow and beat Ami or Mone overall ?
I would really like Rinka to go to the Olympic. But, I'm not sure what are her chance to go.

 

[yangyiba]

The Japanese to English translation is hysterical.

I would love to know what the point value is for a quadruple terrestrial telescope.

I didn't check the detailed content in a hurry It should be 4T.

 

[readernick]

I wonder ... What the japanese federation will do if Rinka Watanabe do a clean FS with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow and beat Ami or Mone overall ?
I would really like Rinka to go to the Olympic. But, I'm not sure what are her chance to go.

They might send her but she often has clear rotation issues on jumps that get called nationally and internationally.

So happy Yuna skated well. She is IMHO the most artistic skater in the women's field. No one else comes close....

 

[tsuyoboogie]

Women SP Results
Protocols

1	坂本 花織	Kaori Sakamoto	Sysmex	79.43
2	島田 麻央	Mao Shimada Junior National Champion	Kinoshita Group	79.33
3	中井 亜美	Ami Nakai	TOKIO INKARAMI	77.50
4	千葉 百音	Mone Chiba	Kinoshita Group	74.60
5	岡 万佑子	Mayuko Oka Junior National 2nd	Kinoshita Academy	73.20
6	渡辺 倫果	Rinka Watanabe	Sanwa Kenso / Hosei University	71.36
7	青木 祐奈	Yuna Aoki	MF Academy	69.84
8	樋口 新葉	Wakaba Higuchi	Noevir	69.47
9	江川 マリア	Maria Egawa	Meiji University	64.76
10	河辺 愛菜	Mana Kawabe	Oriental Bio / Chukyo University	64.12
11	山下 真瑚	Mako Yamashita	Chukyo University	63.43
12	三宅 咲綺	Saki Miyake	Sysmex	62.84
13	三原 舞依	Mai Mihara	Sysmex	62.77
14	山田 恵	Kei Yamada Junior National 6th	Kinoshita Academy	62.31
15	髙木 謠	Yo Takagi Junior National 11th	Taiyo Seimei	61.62
16	松生 理乃	Rino Matsuike	Chukyo University	61.26
17	和田 薫子	Kaoruko Wada Junior National 9th	Chukyo University High School	60.82
18	岡田 芽依	Mei Okada Junior National 3rd	Meito FSC	60.43
19	金沢 純禾	Sumika Kanazawa Junior National 4th	Kinoshita Academy	57.09
20	村上 遥奈	Haruna Murakami Junior National 8th	Kinoshita Academy	56.84
21	住吉 りをん	Rion Sumiyoshi	Oriental Bio / Meiji University	56.37
22	櫛田 育良	Ikura Kushida Junior National 7th	Kinoshita Academy	55.47
23	鴨井 彬莉彩	Arisa Kamoi	Fukuoka Figure Academy	53.16
24	岩崎 陽菜	Haruna Iwasaki	Konan Women's University	53.13
FNR
25	大庭 雅	Miyabi Oba	Tokai Tokyo FH	51.79
26	三枝 知香子	Chikako Saigusa	Nihon University	51.46
27	清水 咲衣	Sae Shimizu	Doshisha University	51.39
28	吉田 陽菜	Hana Yoshida	Kinoshita Academy	49.46
29	森 実愛	Miai Mori	Meijo University	44.13
30	一貫田 紗生	Saiki Ikkanda Junior National 10th	Kanku Skate	42.69

 

[tsuyoboogie]

I'm going to try to start working on video right away but I keep dozing off so I might need a short nap first

@figureskatingandrainbows Thank you so much for the fabulous pbps!

 

[yangyiba]

Ami Nakai's interview after SP:

"When it comes to the actual competition, I always get nervous and my movements become stiff or I lose my balance. I also failed to complete the triple jump many times. This time, I practiced hard and overcame my nervousness, so I completed the competition with confidence and got a very good performance score."

 

[yangyiba]

Kaori Sakamoto's interview after SP:

"Knowing that so many people support me makes me really happy. I'm so glad to finally feel that at the last moment. Just before my coach sent me off to the stage, she told me, 'This is your last time participating in the All Japan Championships,' which really touched me. I almost cried before going on stage, but I held it in because I knew that crying wouldn't help."

 

[yfan1]

Not a fan of any of the top three programs, so am fine with Sakamoto having a sliver of a lead over Shimada and Nakai, given her better basic skating quality and overall more mature presentation (jumps flowed better too, even if Shimada and Nakai had that 3A).

Maybe Nakai should have been ahead of Shimada? IDK. That's my first impression though, for sure.

Not a particularly impressive competition.

 

[YuBluByMe]

I wonder ... What the japanese federation will do if Rinka Watanabe do a clean FS with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow and beat Ami or Mone overall ?
I would really like Rinka to go to the Olympic. But, I'm not sure what are her chance to go.

They won’t do anything unless she’s on the podium. So if she’s fourth and both Nakai and Chiba are below her she won’t be considered for the Olympic team.

I think she’s highly unlikely to make the podium, but as I said in another post elsewhere, it’s not just about beating Nakai and Chiba anyway. It’s also about how they do and as of right now, they’ll have to do poorly in the free and plummet in the standings.

 

[soccerjc77]

They won’t do anything unless she’s on the podium. So if she’s fourth and both Nakai and Chiba are below her she won’t be considered for the Olympic team.

I think she’s highly unlikely to make the podium, but as I said in another post elsewhere, it’s not just about beating Nakai and Chiba anyway. It’s also about how they do and as of right now, they’ll have to do poorly in the free and plummet in the standings.

I just think that if Rinka is clean with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow in the FS, that the japanese federation should consider her in the Olympic team. Since that we need a japanese quad girl for having the chance to beat Adelia Petrosian at the Olympic.

 

[Anna K.]

I wonder ... What the japanese federation will do if Rinka Watanabe do a clean FS with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow and beat Ami or Mone overall ?
I would really like Rinka to go to the Olympic. But, I'm not sure what are her chance to go.

Clean Rinka with her super-pointy FS would win the event and go to the OGs. That's painful because she knows it and she also knows that she can't skate a clean super-pointy FS program yet. It's not just about landing her big jumps; it's also about successfully skating the whole program with big jumps in it.. It takes a lot of time to stabilize such a program; it takes years. All known consistent senior traxelers - thus far, we have only two, Liza Tuktamysheva and Amber Glenn - spent many years being unable to skate a clean program as fully grown women after puberty. I see no reason why Rinka should be an exception. She's making progress but I expect her to remain inconsistent for several upcoming seasons especially if she wants to add 4S to her repertoire. She can hope to be in her peak form for 2030 Olympics though.

As for now, even if Rinka is crying because of her lost Olympic chance, she's having a good season - I think it's her best season since her teen seasons. She's a strong #4 for Japan, the first substitute for Olys and Worlds, and she's likely to get a 4CC assignment. That's a lot to be proud of.

 

[essence_of_soy]

I wonder ... What the japanese federation will do if Rinka Watanabe do a clean FS with 2 triple axel and 1 quad salchow and beat Ami or Mone overall ?
I would really like Rinka to go to the Olympic. But, I'm not sure what are her chance to go.

Let's be honest.

Much as I like Rinka, she simply isn't a medal contender while Kaori, Mone and Ami are.

Japan has a realistic shot at Olympic Gold in the women's event, and on any given day, a stellar pair of performances from Sakamoto, Chiba or Nakai could do it for them.

 

[essence_of_soy]

Let's be honest.

Much as I like Rinka, she simply isn't a medal contender while Kaori, Mone and Ami are.

Japan has a realistic shot at Olympic Gold in the women's event, and on any given day, a stellar pair of performances from Sakamoto, Chiba or Nakai could do it for them.