Japan’s Mao Shimada followed in the footsteps of her famous namesake Mao Asada (JPN) to win gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Torino on Friday. Asada had won the Junior Final in 2005. Jia Shin of Korea earned the silver medal while her teammate Chaeyeon Kim collected the bronze.
Confidence the key as Mao Shimada (JPN) lands gold in the Junior Grand Prix Final © ISU
Shimada risked it all in her Free Skating to “Passepied” and “Wild Swans Suite” and went for the triple Axel as her first jump. She stumbled out of the landing, but collected herself immediately to attack the quadruple toeloop. The 14-year-old stood up on it, but underrotated the jump. Shimada continued to land five clean triples and slightly underrotated (q) two more. She collected a level four for her spins and scored 135.88 points. She totaled 205.54 points.
“I aim for the performance that satisfies myself and not the placement,” Shimada said. “It’s a big competition and a big victory and it gave me the confidence. And my goal was to land the first two jump, both the triple Axel and the quad toe, so I regret a little that that didn’t happen this time. I didn’t have much jet lag, so I think I’m getting better and better competing at the international events.”
Shin, also 14, put out an excellent performance to the “Tree of Life Suite” as well, that featured seven triple jumps and difficult spins. The 2022 World Junior silver medalist set a season’s best of 131.21 for her Free Skating to accumulate 200.32 points overall.
A season's best for Jia Shin (KOR) was only enough for silver © ISU
“Coming into the competition I really wanted to bring a clean program, so am satisfied with the result, the clean program and the silver medal,” she said.
While Shimada’s idol is Asada, the two Korean skaters are inspired by Asada’s long-time rival Yuna Kim (KOR). “Kim was the very first reason I started skating and she had the textbook technique so I often watch her programs to learn,” Shin said. “I want to follow her path.”
“I decided to become a skater after seeing Yuna Kim’s performance, I tried to learn her choreography and her jumping technique, she is my role model,” Chaeyeon Kim agreed.
Chaeyeon Kim (KOR) overcame stomach ache to clinch bronze © ISU
Performing to “Poeta en el Viento” by Vincent Amigo, Kim completed four clean triples, but she underrotated two flips and a Lutz. The Korean scored 123.65 points for a total of 190.36 points.
“This morning my condition was bad, so I was worried,” Kim, who turned 16 on Thursday, said. “I got a stomach ache. I feel better now. It’s not my best but it was clean. I’m happy with my performance today.”
Ami Nakai (JPN) remained in fourth place on 189.23 points followed by Minsol Kwon (KOR) with 175.43 points and Hana Yoshida (JPN) at 158.30 points.
Schedule of the event
The schedule is as follows:
Thursday, December 8: Junior Men, Junior Pairs, Junior Women’s Short Programs, Pairs & Men’s Short Programs
Friday, December 9: Junior Rhythm Dance, Junior Women’s & Pairs Free Skating, Rhythm Dance & Women’s Short Program
Saturday, December 10: Men’s, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Junior Free Dance, Free Dance, Women’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 11: Exhibition Gala
The ISU Junior Grand Prix started in August with the event in Courchevel (FRA) and continued in September and October in Ostrava (CZE), Riga (LAT), Gdansk (POL) and Egna-Neumarkt (ITA). The event in Yerevan (ARM) had to be cancelled due to safety concerns and the entries were allocated to the three remaining events. Gdansk hosted two events, taking over for Grenoble (FRA) that returned one JGP.
Full entry lists, results, the General Announcement and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
Selection Criteria
A total of 367 young Skaters/Couples from over 50 ISU Members competed in this year’s Series. Each ISU Member is entitled to enter competitors for the Series while the number of their entries depends on the result of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
Junior Grand Prix Standings
Men Women Ice Dance Pair Skating
Where to Watch
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are live streamed on the official ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Junior Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
24 - 27 Aug 2022 Courchevel/FRA
31 Aug - 3 Sept 2022 Ostrava/CZE
7 - 10 Sept 2022 Riga/LAT
21 - 24 Sept 2022 Yerevan/ARM (cancelled)
28 Sept - 1 Oct 2022 Gdansk/POL
5 - 8 Oct 2022 Gdansk/POL
12 - 15 Oct 2022 Egna/ITA
08 - 11 Dec 2022 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)
