Jack Gallagher 
Challenge Cup women's winner Rinka Watanabe (center), runner-up Rion Sumiyoshi (right) and third-place finisher Mako Yamashita in Tilburg, Netherlands, on February 16, 2025. (INSTAGRAM)
Read the full story on SportsLook - [ICE TIME] Rinka Watanabe Leads Japan Women in Sweep of Medals at Challenge Cup
Rinka Watanabe easily won the Challenge Cup in Tilburg, Netherlands, on Sunday, February 16, leading a medal sweep of the competition by Japanese women. Rion Sumiyoshi finished second, while Mako Yamashita came in third.
Watanabe's winning total score was 213.36 points, nearly 12 points ahead of Sumiyoshi, who had 201.60. Yamashita finished on 198.46.
Japan normally sends a large contingent of skaters to the Challenge Cup, but this year sent just four. Sena Miyake captured the men's crown on Saturday, February 15 to give the Hinomaru both singles titles.
Miyake was victorious with a tally of 208.37. Mexico's Donovan Carrillo took second at 205.54, while Israel's Mark Gorodnitsky came in third on 177.61 in the event which strangely only featured three skaters.
Highlights from the Challenge Cup
After landing her opening triple axel in the short program, Watanabe fell on the jump in her free skate to "Maria de Buenos Aires." The 22-year-old recovered to land four clean triples and post level fours on two of her spins and step sequence on the way to victory.
Sumiyoshi took second despite having multiple jump issues in her free skate to selections from "Adiemus: Song of Sanctuary." The 21-year-old fell on a quadruple toe loop, under-rotated a triple flip, and was judged a quarter rotation short on another triple flip. She did land four clean triples and notch level fours on two of her spins and step sequence.
Yamashita hit six triples and registered level fours on two of her spins and step sequence in her free skate to "Creep." The 22-year-old received negative grades of execution on two of her three combination jumps, however.
Miyake went down on his opening quad salchow and singled a second planned quad salchow in his free skate to songs from the "Titanic" soundtrack. The 22-year-old recovered to land six triples in the triumph.
Japan's Lineup for the Four Continents
Kao Miura and Mone Chiba will lead Japan this week (February 19-23) at the Four Continents Championships in Seoul. Miura is coming off an injury that impacted his performance at the Japan Championships in December 2024, while Chiba will be defending the title she won last year in Shanghai.
Tatsuya Tsuboi and Kazuki Tomono will join Miura in the men's field, while Wakaba Higuchi and Rino Matsuike will back up Chiba in the women's battle.
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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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.
