2025 NHK Trophy Womens FS PBP - Wonder Women (In Their Flesh Colour Tights Sliding On The Ice)

[genevieve]

Wedgie Data

Starting Order
Warm-Up Group 1
1 Livia KAISER SUI 12 47.95
2 Katherine MEDLAND SPENCE CAN 11 48.42
3 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 10 53.15
4 Yuna AOKI JPN 9 56.72
5 Elyce LIN-GRACEY USA 8 60.62
6 Anna PEZZETTA ITA 7 61.35

Warm-Up Group 2
7 Sarah EVERHARDT USA 6 61.41
8 Ahsun YUN KOR 5 61.51
9 Loena HENDRICKX BEL 4 62.45
10 Young YOU KOR 3 67.66
11 Sofia SAMODELKINA KAZ 2 67.75
12 Kaori SAKAMOTO JPN 1 77.05

ISU Stream

 

[skatingguy]

Biographies

Musical Selections

Planned Program Content

 

[Hedwig]

that was hard to watch



get well soon, Livia

 

[skatingguy]

Livia Kaiser
Rank after SP: 12
Coach: Linda van Troyen, Sindra Kriisa
Music: Infinity Cycle. Attacca

3Lz+3Tq
3F< - fall
3S
2A
Change Foot Comb<o Spin 4
1Lz+2T+2Loq
3F!+REP - fall
3Lo - fall
Step Sequence 2 - big stumble
Flying Change Foot Combo Spin 3 (4 after review)
Choreo Sequence
Layback Spin 3

Kaiser's skating is a bit stiff, her posture too upright, and her air position too lose, and all of these things are making skating with an injury that much harder.

-4.00 = Falls
86.26 = 1st Place
134.21 = 1st Place

 

[Private Citizen]

After reviews, I'm not sure she'll even beat some of the short program TES scores .

Is she trying to earn minimums or something? She doesn't seem trained / healthy enough to be competing. Not sure why she didn't W/D from one or both of her GPs.

 

[leilaofpaper]

I wish Livia had withdrew.

Also, did anyone else hear those beeps?

 

[Private Citizen]

Also, did anyone else hear those beeps?

Scared me half to death!

Medland Spence would have been great in the 1980s (I say with love). There are some nice moments in this program despite the lack of harder jumps.

 

[Hedwig]

I remember her being so much stronger last season. I think it is injurys as well?

 

[skatingguy]

Katherine Medland Spence
Rank after SP: 11
Coach: Ken Rose, Danielle Rose, Robert O’Toole
Music: Photograph, Clair de Lune

2Lz - poor quality landing
3Lo+2A+1A+SEQ
3Fq - fall
Flying Sit Spin 4
3Sq - tight landing
2A+2T
3T+2T
Change Foot Combo Spin 4
Step Sequence 3
Choreo Sequence
1Lo - rushed the takeoff
Flying Change Foot Combo Spin 4

Not sure what the loud noise was, but we seem to have lost Mark. Katherine struggling to find some consistency with her jumps this weekend.

-1.00 = Falls
98.21 = 1st Place
146.63 = 1st Place

 

[skatingguy]

Wakaba Higuchi
Rank after SP: 10
Coach: Koji Okajima, Noriko Sato
Music: Wonder Woman, The Blue Planet

2A+3T
3Lz<
3Lo<
Flying Camel Spin 4
3S
3Lz<+REP - fall
2S+2T
3Fq
Change Foot Combo Spin 4
Step Sequence 4
Choreo Sequence
Flying Change Foot Combo Spin 3

Mark's back. Wakaba was back in the first half of this program, but then things started get tight, and the jumps became inconsistent. Beautiful final pose.

-1.00 = Falls
115.12 = 1st Place
168.27 = 1st Place

 

[MINAM]

Livia KAISER

Like the dress.

3lutz 3tl
3flip down
3sal
2ax
Combo spins
Just standing and moving arms
1lutz 2loop and another jump?
3flip down again.
3loop down again. Gah, disastrous.
Wobble on the spins. SHizuka Arakawa says that she's hiding pain in her left knee?
Audience clapping to encourage her.
Spins again.

Duh

Katherine MEDLAND SPENCE

2luz
3loop 2ax 1ax jump seq
3flip down
Spins
3sal wild landing
2ax 2tl
3tl 2tl
combo spins beautiful
SS
1loop
Spins to finish.

Despite mistakes, it was decent.


Wakaba HIGUCHI

Wonder woman Explains the headband.

2ax 3tl
3lutz nice
3loop
Butterfly to FCS
3sal
3lutz down (missed timing at take off, says Arakawa)
2sal 2tl
3flip held on
Good SS
To the ending: Combo spins.

She did her best. I can say that. Kagiyama and Moriguchi in the audience.

 

[Wyliefan]

Such a good program for her.

 

[Hedwig]

another skater who has not completely recovered from injury. but a really good effort in the first half. very emotional in the end. I had wished for her a better farewell.

 

[Private Citizen]

Can't see Higuchi factoring into the Olympic team. The depth in Japan is so great that I'm not sure 4CC is even achievable. Guessing her swan song could be Japanese Nationals.

 

[Karen-W]

After reviews, I'm not sure she'll even beat some of the short program TES scores .

Is she trying to earn minimums or something? She doesn't seem trained / healthy enough to be competing. Not sure why she didn't W/D from one or both of her GPs.

Yes. The Swiss OC have set a minimum score requirement - for the women it's at least 185.00 by Jan 18, 2026. She didn't have this GP assignment initially, just GPdF. She didn't get the NHK assignment until Oct 15, which was the day before GPdF started, so I'm not sure she felt she could WD from GPdF - though she probably should have after her SP there. And she definitely shouldn't have competed at Swiss Open the week after GPdF.

Just woke up after a decent 3.5 hour apparent nap since I'm not wide awake for the last 75% of the women. Looking at the men's FS scores, I'm really glad I slept through their FS. Wakaba is looking really pained getting off the ice. I question the wisdom of her competing at SkAm next week. It would be pretty easy for the USFS to replace her with Samodelkina even on this short of notice.

 

[MINAM]

Thanks leilaofpaper for telling me I was posting on the wrong thread. LOL

 

[MINAM]

Yuna AOKI

3lutz no combo?
3tl
2sal Ummm
2ax
FCS
Nice, crispy steps. Lines nice, too.
2ax 1eul 3flip
3lutz 2tl
3flip 2tl
"Want to deliver satisfaction to the audience like they have watched a good movie" Aoki said.
Combo spins.

Nice. Sold it.

 

[Private Citizen]

The tech operator seems a little drunk today.

Higuchi's opening combo was initially put in as 2A+3A instead of 2A+3T.

Aoki's sequence was put in as 2A+1eu+2F instead of 3F. Not sure if it has been adjusted up yet.

Love her skating and this program despite many of the URs.

 

[Hedwig]

EVERYTHING that is wrong with judging in our sport is that this skate will not get 9-10s in pCS but middle of the pack marks

 

[Wyliefan]

YUNA! That was beautiful!

 

[skatingguy]

Yuna Aoki
Rank after SP: 9
Coach: K. Nakaniwa, M, Nakata, M. Nagumo, A. Tanoue
Music: LaLa Land (soundtrack) by Justin Hurwitz

3Lzq
3T
2S
2A
Flying Camel Spin 4
Choreo Sequence
2A+1Eu+3Fq
3Lzq+2T
3Fq+2T
Layback Spin 3
Step Sequence 3 (4 after review)
Change Foot Combo Spin 4

A reminder of everything there is to love about skating.

126.59 = 1st Place
183.31 = 1st Place

 

[Coco]

Brilliant delivery of her free skate, love that ending step sequence and spin.

 

[Wyliefan]

This dress just does not work.

 

[jenny12]

YUNA! That was beautiful!

Give her all the 10s

 

[Karen-W]

Oh, who put Elyce in this awful dress? The white draped fabric one one side contrasted with the bronze lace appliqued on the other side and the grey skirt make her look quite heavy and she's most definitely not a heavy young woman.

 

[MINAM]

Elyce LIN-GRACEY

Yeah, knew it was the Gladiator from that dress.

3lutz 3tl High!
2ax
1loop
3sal
Combo spins (smooth transitions, says Arakawa)
3flip hand down, no combo
3flip down
3lutz tried a 2ax but failed.
choreo sequence
Combo spins

Bland, flat.

 

[Lizziebeth]

This dress just does not work.

this dress is a mess. Elyse is having a really bad day

 

[skatingguy]

Elyce Lin-Gracey
Rank after SP: 8
Coach: T. Gambill, D. Meekins, D. Allen
Music: Gladiator by Hans Zimmer

3Lz+3T<
2A
1Lo - rushed the takeoff
3S
Flying Change Foot Combo Spin 3
Step Sequence 3
3Fq - hand down
3F<+REP - fall
3Lz+A+SEQ
Choreo Sequence
Change Foot Combo Spin 4
Layback Spin 3

Too many technical errors, and the program got lost somewhere on the ice.

-1.00 = Falls
101.79 = 3rd Place
162.41 = 3rd Place

 

[Coco]

I love her dress. To each their own, I guess.

The music edit is a head scratcher, though. They've managed to strip all the power and emotions out of really emotional music.

 

[Karen-W]

This was one hot mess of a program too. I'd like to blame the dress but it sounds like the hip injury she's dealing with is severe enough that she probably should have withdrawn instead of feeding Tammy Gambill's egotistic need to appear at as many GPs as possible.