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[ICE TIME] World Championships a Great Success for Japanese Skaters and Organizers

What resonates most from the world championships is Shoma Uno's determination, Kaori Sakamoto's speed and the continued growth of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.

Published

2 years ago

March 30, 2023

Jack Gallagher

Shoma Uno glides across the ice in the men's free skate at the World Figure Skating Championships on March 25 in Saitama. (KYODO)

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"What a fantastic event that was!" a prominent member of the skating community said to me on Sunday, March 26 about the world championships in Saitama.

Indeed, it was.

The power and beauty of Japanese skating was on full display at Saitama Super Arena all week as the host nation took home three of the four gold medals (men's, women's, pairs) on offer at the World Figure Skating Championships. Japanese organizers once again illustrated their skills at putting on a first-class event.

What resonates most from the weeklong extravaganza is Shoma Uno's determination, Kaori Sakamoto's speed and the continued growth of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.

These four skaters did the Hinomaru proud with their efforts and were justly rewarded. Uno and Sakamoto made history by becoming the first Japanese skaters ever to successfully defend their world titles.

Uno showed great fortitude by performing while in considerable pain after taking a hard fall in practice and hurting his ankle the day before the short program.

The 25-year-old star could have withdrawn due to the injury, but clearly wanted to defend his title and felt a responsibility with the event at home to skate for the fans.

Uno's career ascension continues, as he now has two world titles to go with his three Olympic medals.

*Shoma Uno captivated the crowd at Saitama Super Arena. (ⒸSANKEI)*

Memorable Night of Drama at World Championships

It was wonderful to see the arena completely full on Saturday night, March 25 to watch Uno and his competitors in the men's free skate. The evening was filled with so much drama, from Uno battling injury to win the gold, to the amazing performances by South Korea's Jun Hwan Cha (who took the silver), American Ilia Malinin (landing the first clean quadruple axel at a world championships), Jason Brown (his incredible artistry) and Keegan Messing (his emotional farewell).

For those of us who love skating, it was a glorious night through and through.

As the warmup for the final group of six skaters began, Ice Time was thinking that it was Cha and not Malinin who would be the biggest challenger to Uno. The 21-year-old Cha responded with the greatest skate of his career to earn his first medal ever at a worlds or Olympics while pushing Uno for the gold.

On the women's side the story was the same ― 17-year-old Haein Lee challenged Sakamoto for the title with an amazing performance. Legendary choreographer David Wilson told Ice Time he saw something special in Lee when he worked on Yuna Kim's last All That Skate show in Seoul back in 2019.

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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 Twitter @sportsjapan.