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Mao Shimada Makes History by Repeating as World Junior Champion

Gold medalist Mao Shimada landed eight triples in all and appeared to get stronger as the program went on, while Rena Uezono rallied for a third-place finish.

Published

2 months ago

March 2, 2024

Jack Gallagher

Mao Shimada performs her free skate routine at the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Taipei on March 1. (©ISU)

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A gutsy performance under pressure carried Mao Shimada to her second straight title at the World Junior Championships at Taipei Arena on Friday night, March 1 and into the history books as just the third woman ever to repeat as champion in the event.

Shimada's superior technical content helped her overtake South Korea's Jia Shin, the leader after the short program, in the free skate to clinch the victory. In winning the gold, Shimada joined Russia's Elena Radionova (2013, 2014) and Alexandra Trusova (2018, 2019) as the only women to repeat as world junior champion.

The 15-year-old Shimada's winning total score was 218.36 points, while Shin took the silver for the third consecutive year with 212.43. Rena Uezono rallied with a stunning free skate to vault from eighth place after the short program and claim the bronze, giving Japan two medals for the second year in a row.

Finland's Iida Karhunen came in fourth on 186.32, while Ikura Kushida, who was third after the short program, ended up fifth with 180.97.

Dazzling Performance by Mao Shimada

Skating next to last to "Benedictus," Shimada stepped out on the landing of her opening triple axel, but recovered to immediately land a beautiful quadruple toe loop that proved pivotal to her triumph. She landed eight triples in all and appeared to get stronger as the program went on, earning level fours on two of her spins and a level three on the other.

"I was very nervous and in the actual performance I wasn't able to land the axel," Shimada stated. "But I'm very happy that I was able to land the quad toe loop in this competition, which I've been struggling with since last year."

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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.