2026 4CC - Women Free Program

[LeafOnTheWind]

Huge contrast in sportsmanship when you compare a podium of Japanese women vs some very memorable Russian women. I prefer this model.

 

[Lilia A]

Yuna Aoki wins and everyone cheered!!! Ok perhaps not everyone, but I sure did. Best performance, best dress, best everything today. Congrats to her on this big win.
Big congrats to Ami Nakai for winning her first senior ISU championship medal. Let this be the first of many.

 

[Skaterbob]

Yuna Aoki wins and everyone cheered!!! Ok perhaps not everyone, but I sure did. Best performance, best dress, best everything today. Congrats to her on this big win.
Big congrats to Ami Nakai for winning her first senior ISU championship medal. Let this be the first of many.

I cheered in my living room and the dogs were just looking at me like "take me outside I have to pee." I guess they are Chiba fans.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I could actually head to the Temple Mount but I think it’s kind of dicey up there.

Hey, make sure you save some sacrificing for next month. Some of us may have special requests.

 

[Karen-W]

Tech panel cooked it, and I approve of their doing whatever it took to get the right result here. Yayyyyy!

Yup. She got a ! on her 3F and two of her spins were called L3 rather than L4. And rightly had her PCS 3+ points lower than Yuna.

Chiba's PCS was also only 3rd best on the night. 3 q's and 2 < per the protcol.

What will be really interesting is to see what the JSF does for the Team Event. At this point, Nakai is the clear Japanese #2 woman.

 

[MacMadame]

Okay, I'm off to bed. See you all later tonight for the Men!

 

[Lilia A]

Five judges gave Aoki's step sequence a +5 GOE, which I totally agree with. One judge gave it a +3, to which I say what your problem ma'am? I'm kidding, of course.

 

[PRlady]

Hey, make sure you save some sacrificing for next month. Some of us may have special requests.

I’m going directly from Jerusalem to Milan so get those requests in!

(The Temple Mount is a terrible flashpoint between Jews and Muslims and who gets to pray where. I can just see the looks from the Waqf police, “oh I’m just here for a couple of ladies and two ice dance teams, no problem sir.”)

 

[victorskid]

Note the on-screen "label" during the Victory Ceremony for the introduction of the gold medallist: "World Champion"!!!

 

[kwanette]

Yuna Aoki..a gift to figure skating..w the best 2 programs of the season..Shout out to Misha Ge and Alex Johnson!!

 

[Spikefan]

Note the on-screen "label" during the Victory Ceremony for the introduction of the gold medallist: "World Champion"!!!

She’s the alternate for Prague (I think), so maybe soon.

 

[Hedwig]

oh that was so wonderful. ALso how Ami celebrated with her and they jumped up and down. Happy tears here - such a wonderful wonderful skater! I hope she is not retiring?

 

[tony]

Fell asleep in group 2 of course and missed the most glorious skater ever that I was screaming give 10.00 to wins. Of course I had to fall asleep for that.

What a perfect result

 

[PRlady]

She’s the alternate for Prague (I think), so maybe soon.

Second alternate behind Rinka.

But who knows, depending on what happens in Milan, more than one tired Japanese lady will decide against Prague.

4CCs winner isn’t chopped liver though. I hope it stands her in good stead next season!

 

[kwanette]

Fell asleep in group 2 of course and missed the most glorious skater ever that I was screaming give 10.00 to wins. Of course I had to fall asleep for that.

What a perfect result

I cheered and cried for you!

 

[Hedwig]

I love that sh got more than 3 points more in pcs than every other skater. Dare I hope that the judges are finally using pcs correctly?
Euros men was such a great example for it

 

[Private Citizen]

Second alternate behind Rinka.

But who knows, depending on what happens in Milan, more than one tired Japanese lady will decide against Prague.

4CCs winner isn’t chopped liver though. I hope it stands her in good stead next season!

Isn't Aoki retiring?

That said, she also announced that she was retiring after the end of last season, so perhaps she'll change her mind again. Given the talent with big elements in Japan, her decision to retire and go out on top seems like a good one, but I'd selfishly love to see her continue.

I can easily see Aoki achieving legendary status among skating fans; she'll be at the top of the "great skaters who never...." lists. :/

 

[Coco]

Years ago there was talk of a Masters division and gosh, it would be great if she had an avenue to continue without needing to push the difficulty.

 

[Jay42]

oh that was so wonderful. ALso how Ami celebrated with her and they jumped up and down. Happy tears here - such a wonderful wonderful skater! I hope she is not retiring?

I swear she's been retiring since the first time I saw her about 3 or 4 years ago. Maybe winning here will convince her it's worth sticking around for another year or two. She's so lovely.

I have to say it was pretty great waking up this morning to see Yuna had won. I didn't want to be too optimistic that it would happen but I wanted so badly for it to happen and I'm so happy for her that it did.

 

[skatfan]

I managed to remain spoiled for the women’s tree free and I’m so glad I did! Thrilled for Yuna, and thought Brady was robbed a bit of her bronze. But well skated for the most part

 

[kwanette]

Yuna was going to retire in 23-24 season..when I ..like so many ohers discovered her at NHK..Then after earning her first ever GP medal..senior or jr..at NHK 24..she made the decision..for another season..Her performances at JPN Champs and today were glorious..I am so happy she decided to stay..

 

[viennese]

Yuna visited NYC last summer to work with Alex Johnson and Chelsea Thedinga on this La La Land program - is one of my absolute faves this season!

Aoki was so effortless and free in both the short and long. Two of my favorite performances this whole season.

 

[Kateri]

Yuna was incredible, one of the greatest skates I've ever seen. I swear, at times, she was expressing different instrumental lines with different parts of her body at once - but it was all natural and seamless.

The Olympic-winning skate that's not even gonna be at the Olympics!

 

[mtnskater]

Joining the crowd to say how much I enjoyed Yuna Aoki. I’ve said for awhile she is my favorite Japanese female skater. Very very happy to see her win. I didn’t know she could jump this well. Really wish the world could see her beautiful skating at the Olympics. Along with Isabeau Levito my two favs in women’s skating. This is the kind of skating that brings new fans to the sport.

Honestly don’t understand how Mone continues to be scored so high with major mistakes in each program. Seems unfair. I do enjoy her, but mistakes should lower her score and placement in my book.

I think Sarah and Star didn’t have enough time to recover and regroup from the huge pressure of U.S. Nationals. I gotta say I really dislike Sarah’s free this year and feel it does her no favors. I’m hoping she might work with someone else next year for choreography. She is usually a very good competitor so I expect she will figure it out.

Ami is very delightful with the joy she exudes in her skating. To me she still presents a bit juniorish in contrast to Yuna and even Mone. But she sure is fun to watch at her level of development.

Finally major props to Bradie…great job. I felt she should have been on the podium.

 

[Bunny Hop]

Oh wow - Yuna Aoki was fabulous! Great skate and I want her lovely blue dress. Was worth watching just for that skate.

 

[Sylvia]

Yuna visited NYC last summer to work with Alex Johnson and Chelsea Thedinga on this La La Land program - is one of my absolute faves this season!

I was happy to see Alex Johnson's post today about his experience working with Yuna on her FS:

Alex Johnson on Instagram: "Yuna - “A skater’s skater” When Yuna approached me about choreography last summer, I was in complete shock. I had seen her skate at NHK a couple years back and became an instant fan. Her heart, her edge quality, her port

2,660 likes, 72 comments - alexmartinj on January 25, 2026: "Yuna - “A skater’s skater” When Yuna approached me about choreography last summer, I was in complete shock. I had seen her skate at NHK a couple years back and became an instant fan. Her heart, her edge quality, her port de bras, her...

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