Japanese skaters secured half of the combined 12 total spots for the men's and women's singles competitions for December's JGP Final in Turin.
With her dazzling win, Nakai clinched a spot in the JGP Final, and Kataise, making his long-awaited circuit debut, impressed with his jump landings.
The Japanese teenagers placed first and second, respectively, in the women's competition in Gdansk. Shimada also secured a spot in December's JGP Final.
Kihira has now qualified for December’s Japan Championships. Elsewhere, the ISU is juggling venues and Russia’s Valieva is back on the ice in a new program.
At its core, the threat to the Japanese players is a ploy by the PGA to prevent LIV Golf from making inroads in Japan.
Men’s runner-up Rio Nakata and women’s bronze medalist Ami Nakai were emotional when their free skate scores were shown during their JGP debuts.
Mao Shimada and Nozomu Yoshioka won the women’s and men’s titles, respectively, to headline Japan’s stellar showing in Ostrava.
The unexpected result gave the Hinomaru its best finish ever at the tournament and represented a remarkable reversal of fortune.
Cooped up at home during the pandemic, Carla Grissom became enamored with Hanyu’s skating style and personality while watching videos online.
The achievements by the Japanese skaters, all of whom are coached by Mie Hamada, were especially noteworthy, as all four medalists made their JGP debuts.
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Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno both wore her costumes at the Pyeongchang Olympics, a reminder of Ito’s gravitas in her chosen field.