Two-time world junior champion Mao Shimada in an October 2024 file photo. (©KYODO)
Two-time world junior champion Mao Shimada will look to make history again when she attempts to win the Japan Junior Championships for a record fourth time when the singles competition begins on Saturday, November 16 in Hiroshima.
The 16-year-old sensation currently shares the mark of three consecutive JJC titles with Shizuka Arakawa (1994-96) and Miki Ando (2001-03).
Shimada, who has won 14 straight championships events over the past three seasons, will be a heavy favorite in a packed women's field that will include fellow Junior Grand Prix Final qualifiers Ami Nakai and Kaoruko Wada, last year's JGP Final bronze medalist Rena Uezono, as well as Mei Okada and Yo Takagi.
Topping the JGP standings with victories in Riga, Latvia, and Gdansk, Poland, during the 2024-25 season, Shimada will enter with considerable momentum. She will be relying once again on her triple axel and quadruple toe loop to carry her to the top of the podium.
Japan Junior Championships Medal Hopeful Nakai Has Impressed This Season
Nakai, also 16, finished first and second in her two JGP assignments (Wuxi, China; Ankara, Turkey) this season and has seen her skating stabilize after going through a rough patch last season. The Niigata Prefecture native was a disappointing 10th at the 2023 Japan Junior Championships.
Wada, a 15-year-old from Nagoya, burst onto the international scene this season with a win in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in her first JGP, and a second-place showing behind Shimada in Gdansk. She was 13th at last year's competition, but has grown considerably since then and she should make the podium this time around.
The 14-year-old Uezono, who had a spectacular debut international campaign in 2023-24, has struggled this season and did not make the JGP Final. She will be looking for redemption in Hiroshima, where she will try to improve upon her third-place finish last year.
Nakata, Takahashi Top Contenders for Men's Crown
Last year's JGP Final champion Rio Nakata comes into the event off a win at the JGP in Wuxi in October, after taking second at his opening JGP in Bangkok in September. The 16-year-old Nakata was second at the JJC behind Shunsuke Nakamura last year. Nakamura will be back to defend his title this weekend.
Nakata's chief competitor will likely be 14-year-old Sena Takahashi, who won his first JGP in Riga and took the silver medal in his second in Gdansk, to make the JGP Final.
The singles action will get underway on Saturday at 12:30 PM with the men's short program, with the women set to compete at 6 PM.
Per custom, the top six finishers in the men's and women's events will be invited to participate in the Japan Championships in Osaka in December. Novice skaters who place in the top six will be ineligible to compete at the Japan Championships.
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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.
