Mao Shimada (JPN) leads in the Junior Women Short Program in Calgary, Alberta (CAN) © ISU
ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion Mao Shimada of Japan successfully started her gold medal hunt in Calgary, edging Korea’s 2022 ISU World Junior silver medalist Jia Shin in the Junior Women’s Short Program. Ami Nakai, also from Japan, currently sits in third place.
Performing to the “Lion King” soundtrack, Shimada produced a triple loop, double Axel, triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, as well as two-level four spins and level-four footwork. The 14-year-old achieved a new personal best of 71.78 points.
“In practice my jumps were not going well, but today during the warm up I felt my body was moving well,” Shimada said. “I really worked hard on the elements, other than the jumps, to be able to do them more beautifully.”
“In the Free Skating I will attempt my biggest jumps,” she added.
Shimada plans a triple Axel and a quadruple toeloop for the Free Skating.
“I’m trying hard so people can see the lioness in me. I’ve worked on my expression and to maximize each element,” she said.
Shin turned in an exquisite performance to “The Giving” by Michael W. Smith that featured a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple loop, double Axel and difficult spins. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist set a personal best of 71.19 points.
Jia Shin (KOR) in the Junior Women Short Program in Calgary, Alberta (CAN) © ISU
“I was very nervous today, but tried to pull out my confidence and I feel happy it went well,” Shin said.
“After Nationals I had a small ankle injury and I had to rest for one week. After I got here to Calgary my practice went really well and I regained my confidence.”
Nakai landed a double Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and triple loop in her routine set to “I Got Rhythm” to score 67.28 points.
Ami Nakai of Japan in the Junior Women Short Program in Calgary, Alberta (CAN) © ISU
“I did a clean short program, and so I’m very happy with my performance,” Nakai said. “For the Short Program, I worked to get my jumps consistent and to have more flow in my skating. In the Free Skating, I worked on getting more consistency on my triple Axel.”
Yujae Kim (KOR) came fourth with a personal best of 63.97 points followed by Xiangyi AN (CHN) on 63.91 points and Minsol Kwon (KOR) on 62.82 points.
Skaters/Couples need to have obtained a minimum total technical score in Short Program and Free Skating in order to compete at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
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).
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Wednesday, March 1: Junior Pairs & Junior Women’s Short Programs
Thursday, March 2: Junior Men’s Short Program, Junior Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March 3: Junior Rhythm Dance & Junior Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, March 4: Junior Free Dance & Junior Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, March 5: Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldJFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2023:
The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
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