2024 Skate Canada | Women
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto led a Japanese sweep, defending her title at 2024 Skate Canada on Saturday in Halifax, N.S, Canada. Teammates Rino Matsuike and Hana Yoshida captured the silver and bronze, respectively.
Kaori Sakamoto
Displaying confidence and lots of speed, Sakamoto gave a brilliant and sophisticated short program to an Astor Piazzolla medley. She landed an excellent double Axel and triple Lutz, but the back end of a triple flip-triple toe was landed on the quarter. This was the only glitch as the 2022 Olympic bronze medalist racked up many grades of execution (GOE) on her level-four spins and footwork. She finished first in the short with 74.97 points.
“At first glance, I think that my performance today had no major mistakes, but I feel like the result was more like happenstance,” said the 24-year-old. “Ideally, you want to have good practices, clean and perfect skates during practices and recreate that on the day of the competition. But I am not there yet. I have again, sort of, recognized the fact that that it is a very important thing to be consistent, both at practices and on the date of the performance.”
Sakamoto admitted that performing to tango music is “very difficult.”
“You need to really, sort of, aim to be on the beat of the music,” she explained. “But, in between that sort of being on the beat of the music, if you’re not careful what you are doing, then it seems like it just sort of flows from one to another without the proper sort of accentuations. That’s really, really difficult for me to do.”
In pursuing changes to her skating this season, Sakamoto pointed out that part of the real question about balancing change and what it means to her is twofold.
“It’s both sort of mentally, internally, I want to change myself,” she said. “And also, I want to produce some changes that are clearly visible to other people from the exterior. For example, I changed the composition of my free skate free program in terms of the elements that we are performing. Also, in the choice of music in my short program.”
The skater stated that she has the upcoming Olympics in the “back of her mind and hopes that this season will lead to that opportunity.
“But also, I am trying to create some variation in my repertoire, not always relying on what I’ve been doing and what’s reliable and consistent for me,” she pointed out. “I want to sort of bring on some more broadness to my repertoire.”
The three-time World champion struggled in her playful routine to “All That Jazz,” taking two falls. She opened with a gorgeous double Axel and followed up with a triple Lutz, but then underrotated the last jump and fell on a double Axel-Euler-triple Salchow. She then underrotated the back end of a triple flip-triple toe and later underrotated and fell on a triple flip. The triple Lutz-double toe and triple loop were clean, and she earned a level four on all three spins, but the mistakes were costly. She placed second in the free skate, but with a total score of 201.21, easily maintained first place overall.
“I am happy about the win, but I am very disappointed about the content,” said Sakamoto. “So, I will take this very big disappointment to heart and make it my motivation to do better.”
“In the past, when I am able to train and skate well, for example, at World Championships, even though I was nervous, I knew that I had trained very hard, and I could skate clean during those training sessions,” she explained. “So that’s what gave me confidence to do well on the day of, and that I didn’t have this this time until the end. I really couldn’t figure out how I would do, so I really became conscious that I have to train perfectly so that I can perform well during competitions.
“My choreographer was adamant that this was the music that she wanted me to perform this season,” the skater revealed. “NHK is my next event. I don’t really have much time, but once I get back, I might have over a week. So that means that I really, really have to hurry and intensify my training.”
Rino Matsuike
Matsuike, who stood in 10th after short, rebounded with a strong free skate to “Lux Aeterna” by Christopher Tin. She landed a total of seven triple jumps, however, both triple Lutz jumps received an edge call. It was a beautiful and fluid program in which all spins and footwork were graded a level four with high grades of execution (GOE). The two-time Grand Prix bronze medalist scored 139.85 points for first place and catapulted to second place overall (192.16).
“I think I had a very strong sort of feeling of disappointment from yesterday, but I got lots of support and cheering from my coaches and my friends from back home,” said the 20-year-old. “So, that sort of motivated me to regroup.”
“I’m really full of happiness to make the podium,” Matsuike said. “I made some serious mistakes in the short program and my placement was such that I wasn’t expecting to make the podium. I had taken my costume off and I was at the upper level watching the other group from the stands, that’s how unexpected it was for me to be on the podium.”
The skater from Nagoya will compete next at Finlandia Trophy.
Hana Yoshida
Japan’s Hana Yoshida placed fourth (65.32) in the short program with her routine to “Temen Oblak.” The 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, landed a strong double Axel, but then landed the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe on the quarter, stepping out of the jump. The triple loop was clean, however, and she earned positive GOEs and level fours for all spins and footwork.
The 19-year-old from Kyoto had some mishaps in an otherwise beautiful skate to “S.O.S. d’un terrien en détresse.” She underrotated and turned out her opening triple Axel and later took a fall on an underrotated triple Lutz. She also received an edge call on a triple flip and landed her second triple Lutz on the quarter in combination with a double toe. However, all three spins and footwork garnered a level four, and she placed second in the free skate with a score of 126.05. With a total score of 191.37, she rose one spot to claim the bronze.
“I’m happy that I get to get on the podium with the two other Japanese girls, but I’m quite disappointed about my skate today,” admitted Yoshida. “So, I will do my best to do my clean, short and free program at my next competition is Finlandia. Today, I was very nervous. My six-minute warm up was like the most horrible warm up ever. So, I have to find a way to handle my nerves, and I my biggest goal is the cleaner free program. I will work hard every day until my next competition.”
Kimmy Repond
Kimmy Repond of Switzerland scored a new personal best of 66.94 after delivering a beautiful and elegant performance to “Mother Nature.” The 2023 European bronze medalist landed a triple flip-triple toe, double Axel and triple loop. The only mistake was an edge call on the front end of her combination jump. Her sensational spins were graded a level four, and she finished third in this segment.
“Overall, with my performance today, from the jumps, I’m really happy,” said Repond. “I know I could do some better spins. I think that was the reason why I didn’t get as many points as I would like, but I have to check it. I loved the crowd, and it was just a really fun competition! It was so cool competing in my second Grand Prix.”
The skater, whose practices have been going well, received lots of support and reactions from the audience.
“At the beginning, I didn’t hear so much because I was very focused,” she said. “But before I started my skate, I heard everyone like clapping and cheering, and it made me really happy, and it gave me more energy to do my program.”
Repond’s goals for this event are to win a medal, but she hasn’t given much thought yet to her next event at Cup of China other than to skate clean.
“I just try to skate my best and perform two clean programs, just like I want to do here as well,” she said. “And for sure, I want to win a European medal. Last year, Europeans wasn’t so great. I was very injured before, and now I feel really good and really healthy, so I can really enjoy the season. This is what, in my opinion, is the most important. That now I can enjoy skating again, and it’s been going better because now I can enjoy it again.”
Repond took a fall on a triple Lutz in her dramatic performance to music from Gladiator. She also landed the first and third jump of a triple flip-double toe-double toe on the quarter, but the rest of her routine was solid. The national champion landed a total of five clean triple jumps, including a triple flip-triple toe, and showed level-four spins and footwork throughout. She placed fifth in the free skate (124.13) and slipped to fourth overall (191.07).
“I’m a bit upset because I did a stupid mistake at the end,” said the 18-year-old. “And of course, last was bad, but then I did that triple flip with a problem, it probably cost me the bronze medal. I also got a time deduction which is really annoying because I was almost there, and I was not missing much to reach my goal.”
“I will come back strong in China, and I will do better in the free,” Repond promised. “Overall, I’m still really happy with what I did at this competition. And we did two good performances. One was perfect and one was okay. But it was also pretty good. But, you know, I wanted to medal, so I’m a little bit disappointed being third after the short program.”
Madeline Schizas
Madeline Schizas of Canada gave a joyful and solid routine, smiling throughout, to place fifth (65.28) in the short program. The two-time national champ landed a triple Lutz-triple toe, double Axel and triple loop in her “Lion King” program. She left points on the table on her footwork which was graded a level two, but all three spins were awarded a level four.
“I mean, like the scores fall wherever they fall, right?” she responded when asked about her marks. “Like, I hung on to some of the stuff, including the step sequence. I was so excited that my feet got away from me, so I understood that. Some of the steps were a little bit funny. I think because I was so excited that my feet got away from me, and I didn’t keep the turns on the ice. So that’s something we’re going to have to kind of think about if I’m going to get that excited while I skate. So, I would like to be higher, but I also understand why I am not.”
The 2022 Olympian placed fourth (124.76) in a near-solid free skate with her routine to “Danse Macabre.” She opened with a solid triple Lutz-triple toe and went on to land five more triple jumps. The only mistake was a step-out on the landing of a triple Salchow. She also showed a very good level-four layback spin, but the steps were graded a level two. With a total score of 190.04 points, she maintained fifth place overall.
“Skate Canada has often been a struggle for me,” said Schizas. “To the point where I’ve asked a couple times, to be somewhere at a different event, different Grand Prix. Obviously, you don’t get a choice in it. I think I kind of mentally struggled, just with the week it is and everything. I think I overcame all those doubts. I had to put out some demons.”
“This is the highest score I’ve put up in two seasons, which is a big deal for me,” she added. “Especially given that, if you look at the women’s scores, from two years ago, now we’re putting up lower scores. Like they were kind of artificially high when I started senior, at least, that’s my take on it. They were a little bit artificially inflated. It also makes me feel good going into Canadians and good going into selection for the second half of the season.”
She will compete at Cup of China next.
Alysa Liu
USA’s Alysa Liu gave a beautiful short program to “Promise” by Laufey. The latter half of a triple flip-toe was landed on the quarter, but the double Axel and triple Lutz were strong. The 2022 World bronze medalist also earned a level four for footwork and two spins, scoring 67.68 points for second place.
“I am so grateful that I get to be here because I get to skate against some awesome skaters and competitors,” said the 19-year-old. “I think I could do the step sequence a little bit better, obviously. I just need some more training. It felt like a solid program. I could make all my elements just better.”
The skater emphasized that she wasn’t too concerned with her placement and doesn’t plan to focus on rankings for the remainder of the season.
“I’m just going to focus on trying to get back into skating shape and making sure I can do my programs to the extent and to the performance level that I want to make them,” she summed up. “It’s crazy that I’m in second!”
The two-time U.S. national champion struggled in her free skate, underrotating three jumps and receiving an edge call on two others. She finished seventh (120.01) in this segment and slipped to sixth place overall (187.69).
“For the next Grand Prix, I want to train and keep doing my programs every day,” said Liu of her preparation for NHK Trophy. “I don’t know how much I can improve it in a week, but I guess we’ll see. Hopefully, I can improve it by at least having a little bit more energy for one more time. Hopefully it’s either same level as this or better.”
The skater said her mindset on returning is “definitely a lot better.”
“I’d say my last two years skating before I was kind of, you know, a little out of it,” she pointed out. “I wasn’t totally in it. So, this time, it’s a little bit different. I’m pretty into it. And I love my training. It’s even really fun and I am more present for sure; more happy and fun!”
Teammate Elyce Lin-Gracey finished seventh overall (182.37), followed by Canada’s Kaiya Ruiter (162.32) and Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland 162.07.
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