Rio Nakata Rallies to Win Junior Grand Prix Final with Fantastic Free Skate

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Rio Nakata stormed back from fourth place after the short program to win the gold medal in dramatic fashion at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Beijing on Saturday night, December 9. 

The 15-year-old came through with a stunning show of power and presentation to vault to the top of the final standings at National Indoor Stadium.

Nakata, who will represent Japan in the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in January in South Korea, won with a total score of 227.77 points, overcoming a nearly 10-point deficit to leader Hyungyeom Kim of South Korea for the victory.

Kim took the silver with 223.61, while Slovakia's Adam Hagara picked up the bronze at 213.26.

Kim's compatriot Juheon Lim finished fourth with 209.99. France's Francois Pitot came in fifth at 197.31, while Daniel Martynov of the United States finished sixth on 183.47.

Nakata, who needed a near-perfect free skate to win, competed to a James Bond medley and was spectacular from the start, landing a beautiful quadruple toe loop on his first jump. He went on to land seven clean triples (including two outstanding triple axels) and earned level fours on two of his spins.

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Nakata's Junior Grand Prix Final Masterpiece

It was an absolutely incredible display of technical prowess under pressure by Nakata that had ISU announcers Ted Barton and Mark Hanretty effusive in their praise of Nakata on the livestream of the event.

Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.

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• Rio Nakata Fourth After Short Program at Junior Grand Prix Final

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.