[ICE TIME] Rio Nakata Claims Silver at Bangkok Junior Grand Prix

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Rio Nakata, the 2023-24 season Junior Grand Prix Final men's winner, finished second in Bangkok on Saturday, September 14 at his first JGP of the season. 

Nakata, who turned 16 on September 8, joined with junior women's teammates Yo Takagi (silver) and Mei Okada (bronze) to bring home half of the singles medals on offer in the Thai capital.

Visibly taller than he was at the end of last season, the 166-cm Nakata was the runner-up to New Zealand's Yanhao Li, who won the men's competition with an impressive total score of 230.09 points. The tally for Nakata in second place was 218.71, while China's Tonghe Tian took third on 210.39.

Haru Kakiuchi finished fourth at 209.50, while American Taira Shinohara was fifth in his JGP debut on 197.53.

Li, who was born in China, gave New Zealand its first gold medal ever in the JGP. The 16-year-old has quietly been building up an impressive resume over the past year. Li was third at both the Bangkok JGP last year and the Winter Youth Olympics in January. He started this season with a win in the junior competition at the Cranberry Cup in Norwood, Massachusetts, in August.

Li established a big lead of more than six points after the short program, which put Nakata in a tough position going into the free skate where he appeared to be pressing.

For Nakata, a Shaky Start in the Free Skate

Nakata was off balance on the landing of his opening quadruple salchow and put his hand on the ice to prevent himself from falling. He then singled his planned triple axel and later fell on a triple loop.

Nakata did hit five triples and earned level fours on all of his spins in his skate to "Aroul" and "Uccen," but it was clearly not his day.

"Although the result was disappointing, I will cherish each and every day until the second event of the Junior Grand Prix, and practice so that I will have no regrets," Nakata posted on X (formerly Twitter) on September 16.

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.