HACHINOHE, Aomori Prefecture – Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda and Rino Matsuike retained their leads after the short program with solid free skates to capture the men’s and women’s titles, respectively, at the Japan Junior Championships on Monday.
Honda, an 18-year-old from Osaka, held off a strong charge from Kao Miura to top the podium by a narrow margin. Miura landed two quads in his free skate, but missed a third and popped his triple axel, otherwise the outcome would have been different.
Honda, the bronze medalist in this event last season, won with a total score of 209.48 points, while Miura tallied 207.71.
Sena Miyake, who was second after the short program, took third on 203.53.
“I’m so happy. I’m not the one who usually cries, but I’m feeling uplifted,” Honda stated. “I have not realized it yet, but I want to be prepared to not be ashamed of the title of All-Japan Junior champion.”
Matsuike, a 16-year-old from Nagoya, prevailed by a comfortable margin over Hana Yoshida, who finished second. Matsuike’s winning total was 198.38, while Yoshida registered 189.49.
Novice skater Mao Shimada came in third at 173.44.
Matsuike, who entered the free skate with a seven-point lead over Yoshida, kept her poise with the big advantage.
“From the standpoint of be pursued, I was more nervous than at West Japan (sectionals), but I was able to make no mistakes in the official practice, so I calmed down,” Matsuike noted.
Honda, who took third in the free skate, under-rotated his opening triple axel and doubled a planned triple loop early in his free skate to a James Bond medley, but found his stride midway through and earned level fours on his three spins.
Miura, a 15-year-old from Tokyo, won the free skate with a strong start to “Last Samurai.” He began with a quadruple toe loop/triple toe loop combo, then hit a huge quad salchow, but doubled a second planned quad toe loop and singled a triple axel. He also struggled with his spins and came up just short in the end.
“I’m glad I got the triple toe loop (on the combination), even though the quad toe loop was jammed,” Miura commented. “The quad salchow was pretty good for me. I’m looking forward to competing in the All-Japan Championships.”
Matsuike, who was ninth in this competition in 2019, skated to “Perhaps Love” and was silky smooth from beginning to end. The Nagoya native landed seven triples and received level fours on all of her spins in the triumph while exhibiting great poise.
Yoshida started with a big triple axel and hit eight triples while netting level fours on all of her spins. She received a low grade of execution on her double axel/triple toe loop combination, however, but her potential is very evident.
“I was confident about my triple axel, so I was very happy I did it,” Yoshida said. “But I am disappointed that I missed on the double axel/triple toe loop. The practice in skating and expression is gradually evaluated. I think it is starting to happen, so it’s a long way off, but I think I have moved forward a little.”
Kiyoshi Sakamoto Photos