Japanese skater/skating news & updates

[Lara]

I'd give the edge to the SP though if he wants to keep one program for next season - but that's only because I loved last season's freeskate so and still miss it.

Oda's Sorcerer's Apprentice is his best LP in a long time too.

I'm still not reconciled to neither even making 4CC.

[pinky166]

I feel bad for Oda. He couldn't capitalize earlier in his career when he had chances and now other skaters have passed him by. Maybe he can do pair ....

On his Olympic bio it said he was 5'4" and 123 lbs. Some female pair skaters are probably that size. Mervin Tran is over 10 cm taller than Oda and Narumi is as tiny as they come. Oda would be better off switching countries. I know he trains and lives in Canada, but obviously this switching nationalities thing isn't very easy...

[icellist]

So Haruka Imai had a decent start to the season with a bronze at Nebelhorn and solid 5th at Skate America, both with great FS. She had pretty dismal showings at NHK and nationals. How do you guys think the coaching change to Yuka Sato has been for Imai in the past 2 seasons? And where does her career lead towards? I think she can still get 1 GP with her ranking and season's best but with Rika Hongo maybe turning junior (I presume Miyahara will be junior again), that NHK spot next season will go to Hongo or Ando if she chooses to return.

[midori]

Kozuka is out from Stars On Ice Japan Tour on this weekend in Osaka and the next in Tokyo.

http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/soi2013/
says it's due to injury of the right foot.

http://www.t-kozuka.com/blog/2013/01/post-d54e.html
says that he'd like to focus on treatment and training, and apparently he's training in the swimming pool with his Olympian swimmer friend.

[skate65]

On his Olympic bio it said he was 5'4" and 123 lbs. Some female pair skaters are probably that size. Mervin Tran is over 10 cm taller than Oda and Narumi is as tiny as they come. Oda would be better off switching countries. I know he trains and lives in Canada, but obviously this switching nationalities thing isn't very easy...

Oda's coach, Lee Barkell, is a pairs coach in addition to singles. Lee competed internationally as a pair. But Oda is too slight I think and he is such a great singles skater. He just needs a year where things all connect and go his way. He was off last year with his knee tendon injury. I hope he continues. I agree his long program is one of his best in many years. Missing both triple axels in the long program at nationals is unusual. His triple axel is one of the best in the world.

[kwanfan1818]

Shizuka Arakawa just tweeted a photo of her and Akiko Suzuki, each holding a huge flower arrangement:

https://twitter.com/tiramisu11/statu...64256087810051

[rosewood]

They're having a dozen of skating shows in Japan in these 2 weeks. Each of them has gorgeous casts, top skaters form Japan and the world.

Now JSOI tour in Osaka is starting in an hour and they have one more show tomorrow.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/soi2013/osaka.html

On Monday they'll have two shows of Nagoya Festival.
http://event.chunichi.co.jp/figure/

Japan Super Challenge on Tuesday.
http://tokai-tv.com/event/jsc2013/index.html

From next Saturday to Monday they'll have JSOI tour in Tokyo.
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/soi2013/tokyo.html

[skateboy]

Oda's coach, Lee Barkell, is a pairs coach in addition to singles. Lee competed internationally as a pair. But Oda is too slight I think and he is such a great singles skater. He just needs a year where things all connect and go his way. He was off last year with his knee tendon injury. I hope he continues. I agree his long program is one of his best in many years. Missing both triple axels in the long program at nationals is unusual. His triple axel is one of the best in the world.

This!

[Jeschke]

Don't know if it was mentioned somewhere else.

German press release told, Daisuke Takahashi will quit competitive skating after sochi 2014.
He will enjoy the days afterwards.

I think this is not such a surprise. May he have a great career ending.

http://www.sport1.de/de/wintersport/...ge_658637.html

[rayhaneh]

Don't know if it was mentioned somewhere else.

German press release told, Daisuke Takahashi will quit competitive skating after sochi 2014.
He will enjoy the days afterwards.

I think this is not such a surprise. May he have a great career ending.

http://www.sport1.de/de/wintersport/...ge_658637.html

EDIT: Apologizes, I didn't see he had made an official declaration on the subject after the SOI exhib of today until now - although that was to be expected

He also said in a documentary recently aired on Japanese tv, to his coach who mentioned the fact that several skaters returned to competition after "retiring" a first time, that he planned to "give it all [he] had [until 2014] to the point that [he] would never want to come back"

He also stated a couple of time that he isn't even sure he'll continue skating at all - i.e. he may not even do shows afterwards - and rather focus on coaching (but when asked, said he doesn't plan to be a choreographer, interestingly enough)

[Sylvia]

Don't know if it was mentioned somewhere else.

German press release told, Daisuke Takahashi will quit competitive skating after sochi 2014.
He will enjoy the days afterwards.

Article in English: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/f...103957356.html

Kozuka is out from Stars On Ice Japan Tour on this weekend in Osaka and the next in Tokyo.

http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/soi2013/
says it's due to injury of the right foot.

http://www.t-kozuka.com/blog/2013/01/post-d54e.html
says that he'd like to focus on treatment and training, and apparently he's training in the swimming pool with his Olympian swimmer friend.

Thanks for the links, midori! Has Kozuka said what type of foot injury he has? Hope he can heal well.

[DimaToe]

Wow, Japanese skating will take a hit after Sochi, with Takahashi, Suzuki, and Ando actually retiring. Mao has yet to say anything but I wouldn't be too shocked if Sochi is her last outing as well, and there is also Oda. I will cry after the Sochi Olympics for about a week

[Meredith]

EDIT: Apologizes, I didn't see he had made an official declaration on the subject after the SOI exhib of today until now - although that was to be expected

He also said in a documentary recently aired on Japanese tv, to his coach who mentioned the fact that several skaters returned to competition after "retiring" a first time, that he planned to "give it all [he] had [until 2014] to the point that [he] would never want to come back"

He also stated a couple of time that he isn't even sure he'll continue skating at all - i.e. he may not even do shows afterwards - and rather focus on coaching (but when asked, said he doesn't plan to be a choreographer, interestingly enough)

Thanks for the information about the recent documentary, rayhaneh. It saddens me to think that Daisuke Takahashi may hang his skates up forever after the 2014 Olympics.

[PeterG]

Wow, Japanese skating will take a hit after Sochi, with Takahashi, Suzuki, and Ando actually retiring. Mao has yet to say anything but I wouldn't be too shocked if Sochi is her last outing as well, and there is also Oda. I will cry after the Sochi Olympics for about a week

I wouldn't be surprised to see stars as big as these skaters appear pretty quickly after this group leaves the eligible ranks. Does any country even come close to the depth of Japan in the combined fields of men's and ladies??

[TheIronLady]

Should we really analyze whether Oda could do pairs? He is too short to do synchro. He might even be too short to date.

[DimaToe]

Should we really analyze whether Oda could do pairs? He is too short to do synchro. He might even be too short to date.

Well Oda is already married, so someone didn't think he was too short to date

[casken]

If Oda completed just one more jump cleanly between the sp and lp we wouldn't even be having this discussion. It's too quick to throw away an entire career because he came up slightly short in the most competitive nationals in the world.

He'll be in the running for the Olympic team next year, he just really needs to figure out how to skate competitions like he skates his practices.

[loulou]

Should we really analyze whether Oda could do pairs? He is too short to do synchro. He might even be too short to date.

As mentioned above, Oda successfully won the dating fight, and even made sure to generate offsprings: he's all set.

Whether or not he could pair up with Mervin, it would be entirely up to his ability to learn how to be the men partner. Of course, he has the side by side jumping part down (which isn't going to be much useful is Mervin doesn't), but he'd still have a long way to go, expecially given he's no hercules.

[rayhaneh]

As mentioned above, Oda successfully won the dating fight, and even made sure to generate offsprings: he's all set.

Whether or not he could pair up with Mervin, it would be entirely up to his ability to learn how to be the men partner. Of course, he has the side by side jumping part down (which isn't going to be much useful is Mervin doesn't), but he'd still have a long way to go, expecially given he's no hercules.

Sorry, I am deperately trying to imagine Mervin and Odaddy pairing up but everytime I think I am coming close I dissolve in laughter and I have to start focusing again

So how would that work? Am I to understand Nobu would lift Mervin?

PS: Yep, apparently it will come as a shock to some, but as you correctly pointed out, he was even able to make babies (well, one baby, at any rate)! OMG how can that be even possible, right?

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/yume_...196731_600.jpg

[Vagabond]

Should we really analyze whether Oda could do pairs? He is too short to do synchro. He might even be too short to date.

I think someone like Cynthia Phaneuf might be able to lift and throw him. I'm not sure that the Japanese have anyone who could do it, though.