Asada’s Influence on 13-Year-Old Rena Uezono’s Pursuit of Unexpected Figure Skating Predecessor

At the All-Japan Championships, where she was recommended by the Japan Skating Federation, she scored 66.22 points in the short skate, close to her best, to place 6th, and in the free skate, she performed in the last group. She was a bit nervous in front of the intense training of not only the world queen, Sakamoto, but also the other competitors who were competing for the World Championships, but Coach Higuchi pushed her, saying, “This is the last All-Japan for a 13-year-old,” and she turned on the switch, “I tried to concentrate on ‘now’ and give it all I had.

She got momentum with a brilliant Lutz-ToLoop triple jump at the beginning of the competition, and then she won Level 4 in all three spins, including Layback and Flying Sit, the highest difficulty level. As she said, she changed not only her skating but also her facial expressions to match the changes in the tune, and received a standing ovation after her performance.

While she looked mature on the ice, the 13-year-old was waiting for her score at the Kiss and Cry, holding a tissue case decorated with characters from her favorite anime “Crayon Shin-chan”. He says that his idol and daily role model are three great skaters, Yuzuru Hanyu (29), Mao Asada, and Yona Kim (33).

Yuzuru Hanyu’s jumps, spins, and skating are all beautiful and amazing, and Mao Asada’s steps and triple axel (triple-axel jump) are amazing. And I hope I can imitate Kim Yona’s expressiveness.”

The “N” in her name, which was given to her by her parents, is said to mean “show big.” Like 15-year-old Mao Shimada (Kinoshita Academy), she will not be able to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo due to age restrictions, but her expectations for the 2030 Winter Olympics will only increase.

I know there are many areas where I am not as good as the top athletes at the All-Japan Championships, so I will continue to train hard so that I can improve those areas even more.

We can’t take our eyes off of her at the World Junior Championships, which begin on February 28 in Taipei, to see what kind of aspect she will show us.