World Figure Skating Championships Won by Uno and Sakamoto of Japan After 8 Years!

Japanese athletes had great success at the Figure Skating World Championships being held in Montpellier, France.

In the women’s competition, Kaori Sakamoto won for the first time with a new personal best total of 236.09 points. In the men’s competition, Masama Uno became the first Japanese to win in five years, since Yuzuru Hanyu in 2005.

In the pairs competition, Rirai Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, known as the “Riku-ryu,” won the silver medal, the highest ever for a Japanese pair.

However, the level of the competition itself was “? It is.

Nathan Chen of the United States, who won the gold medal in Beijing, and Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan’s absolute ace, were both absent. Furthermore, due to the invasion of Ukraine, the “strongest” Russian teams were eliminated from the men’s and women’s competitions.

Of course, the competitors were not to blame, but the absence of Beijing Olympics gold medalist Anna Scherbakova, silver medalist Alexandra Trusova, and fourth-place finisher Kamila Valiyeva made it difficult for Kaori Sakamoto to compete.

“Suddenly, I’m going into a competition and being told I’m a gold medal contender…”

He could not hide his upset.

The organizers in charge of the press conference were very upset with Japan’s domination of the men’s SP as well.

“It’s just like the All-Japan Championships.”

This could be taken as either sarcasm or praise.

The top five pairs from the Beijing Olympics were also absent, as Russia and China did not participate in the pairs competition. To be honest, only Japan is the most excited. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is unforgivable, but in terms of the level of competition in figure skating, the fact that it would be tough without the Russians has been brought to light.

The Russian media is increasingly critical of the World Championships for its “lack of a leading role.

Olympic silver medalist Aleksandr Zhulin, who is now a coach and choreographer, wrote in the daily newspaper “Sports Express

I don’t watch the World Championships and have no interest in it. The entertainment value is lost.

He described the event as “a great success. Irina Soltskaya, a two-time World Champion, was also quoted in the Russian media “Championat” as saying

I don’t even want to comment. I’m not interested at all. A world championship without Russia is not competitive.

He stated.

Tatyana Tarasova, known as a famous Russian figure skating instructor, also harshly criticized Kaori Sakamoto in the Russian media “RBC Sports.

The Japanese girl was the best of all the skaters.

but also

But if we had been out there, she wouldn’t have had a chance to take first place.”

He said, “I am very happy to be here. As for Sakamoto’s performance

Her performance was skating 20 years ago. She doesn’t have the most difficult moves and we are constantly evolving in technical perfection. She will be in first place everywhere. The Japanese are doing well, but not at the highest level.”

He cut them off.

It may sound like a howl, but if the elimination of the popular and talented Russian athletes continues, the damage will slowly accumulate in future international competitions. A reporter for a sports newspaper reported the following.

There is concern that sponsors will leave. Now that we have the “cause” of sanctioning Russia, in a sense, sponsors cannot get out even if they wanted to. If they leave, they may be criticized by their sponsors. The question now is how long this situation will continue. The longer it goes on, the more it becomes a matter of life and death for the figure world.

In the meantime, there are reports that the Federation of Figure Skaters of Russia (FFKKR) is moving toward the creation of its own Grand Prix series. The Russian broadcaster Match TV reported

“Athletes from China, Georgia, and Uzbekistan (which are closer to Russia) will be invited to compete.

and that they are preparing a plan to hold the event in cities in different countries on a rotating basis. In order to realize this plan, ratification procedures must be completed.

Either way, it seems certain that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing a division in the sports world.