When we said that the ladies event was unpredictable, we weren’t kidding. There were more surprises than we anticipated, both pleasant and unpleasant ones. With these results, Wakaba Higuchi (JPN) is the last member of the cast heading over to Nagoya for the Final.
There is only one spot left in the Grand Prix Final, and there are at least two ladies vying for that last spot, while Wakaba Higuchi waits in the wings. The question is, who gets that final spot? Let’s look at the different options we have.
The competition in Rostelecom Cup capped off with the ladies’ event. While the podium results were predictable, we have to give some props to the skaters who made their senior Grand Prix debut. Our recap here:
Everyone can figure out who will run away with the Rostelecom Cup title. Evgenia Medvedeva had showed no signs of stopping her reign, never finishing off the podium for the past few years. The question will be who is going to take silver and bronze.
The All-Japan Figure Skating Championships is the country’s version of a national championship. Aside from declaring a national champion, this competition also determines who will be assigned to the remaining international championships, Four Continents and Worlds. Usually, the podium winners get to compete in both competitions.
There are 30 entries in both men’s and ladies’ singles, but there are only three spots in the podium. It’s interesting to note that Nationals will be missing great skaters—Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda, Mao Asada, and Akiko Suzuki—but this competition is the perfect opportunity to see who will step up to the challenge of being the face of Japanese figure skating. Here’s a brief background on some of the noteworthy entries, as well as our fantasy rankings:
Continue reading “2014 Nationals: All-Japan Figure Skating Championships”
You Only Lutz Once 