2026 Junior Worlds - Women FS

SidelineSkater said:
Guilty dogs bark. Again. Nothing but predictable from you.
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Lmao. You're right, though. I haven't been predicting instant senior success for most juniors moving up this Olympic cycle, especially for the women. The age minimum increase pretty much guarantees that senior women will have to be physically mature and most adult women aren't able to land the ultra-C elements with any consistency. Mao has already pretty much lost the 4T she had a few seasons ago. I di think her 3A will probably survive, but we already saw at the Olympics that a 3A alone doesn’t ensure a win.
 
her grace said:
Rough junior worlds for SUI and USA to go down to only 6 JGP spots next season and with no chance of getting more. :(
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For Switzerland it’s the same number of spots as this season. Korea is also a big loser in terms of spots, but maybe they’ll pick up a few.

For the US ladies, given the limited number of JGP spots, Sherry and Logan should definitely move up to challengers and contending for a SA host spot.
 
Junior Women FS playlist of videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuiPiC1Hk8eJn09CgXIGYMdQTzu-cvQMG

Mixed zone quotes & photos:
GOLD #4 Mao Shimada: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl9tB1CJ3r/
SILVER Hana Bath: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl-OJmCNHK/
BRONZE Mayuko Oka: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl-mQPCKFf/
Sophia Shifrin: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl2IKxCB-i/
Yihan Wang: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl5rXqiLK_/
Inga Gurgenidze: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl1OixCNue/
Jiyu Huh: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl1qXkiNNg/
Valeriya Ezhova: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl0eayiDpG/
Angela Shao: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlvNxsiHw0/
Mei Okada (5th in FS/1st to skate) - scroll down for her comments: https://x.com/online_on_ice/status/2030380985347711387
Auto-translation of what Oka said after her FS:
The words of encouragement from so many people gave her strength, and she tackled the FS to shake off her SP regrets💥
Her opening 3A ended in failure, but she showed remarkable focus by landing all the remaining jumps😭👏🏻
She also achieved Level 4 on all spins✨
She felt confident about the improved PCS elements she's been working on, earning good scores🙆🏻‍♀️
Her FS placement was a strong 5th⚔️
"Neither SP nor FS turned out as I envisioned, but performing on this World Junior stage will connect to my future and was a really valuable experience🔥"
Looking ahead to next season…
🗣️I want to compete in the JGP Final and make my way back to this World Junior stage✊🏻
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Leandra Tzimpoukakis: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlp8bAjFSv/
Sophie Joline von Felten: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlwWL2CBnk/
Yuseong Kim: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlovZMjEVM/
Elina Goidina (7th in FS): https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlmXJ0DHcG/
Alica Lengyelova: n/a
Stefania Gladki: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlnIuFjFaG/
Maria Eliise Kaljuvere (8th in FS): https://www.instagram.com/p/DVljSBKDBIr/
Anna Gerke: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlpWDhjKlP/

ETA - 3 photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVl7OxxCFHY/
 
Can’t believe I watched all the groups in the junior women’s free skate today…though I watched delayed so I could FF through ice makes, etc. I’m a fan of several skaters in the lower groups, including the Devine Maria Elise Kaljuvere! Seems like all the women who qualified could do quite good triple lutz jumps.

Hana Bath I’m predicting will be the next Kaori Sakamoto when she gets to seniors. She has the power skating, which the judges really reward in senior women, plus she may have even better jump technique than Kaori. Which is saying a lot! Keep working on the second mark Hana. Does she train in Japan? Not sure where her coach (Rio’s dad) is located.

I am definitely a Mao fan but I think Hana should have had the win. Mao is more the full package when she is on (which was not the case here) with the artistry I prefer. But we will see if that translates to seniors. I suspect she will be up there. I worry for her because she has already had to keep a ridiculously high standard in juniors for soooo long. I feel like there is extreme pressure on her to be perfect and be the next great one. She shows it on her face. Alysa Liu can talk about that.

Very disappointing result for the U.S. women. It may be years before the Alysa Liu effect shows up in juniors for the U.S. Though I think there are quite a few raw talents in the pipeline. If I were Sophie, given how much she loves to jump, I would relocate to Malinina camp, but keep working a lot with Melissa & Denis. Malinina can really teach the lutz. 😉 She would do better with programs like Inga G. And Angela is a gorgeous skater but she too could use a camp that can really help her jump technique. Angela exceeded her personal best here, which is great for her.

Ted and Mark making such a huge deal numerous times about world record 4 junior titles. We all know if it weren’t for the age limit Mao would have been a one time junior world champion, just like most top junior skaters back when they could move up to seniors at an earlier age 😁
 
mtnskater said:
Keep working on the second mark Hana. Does she train in Japan? Not sure where her coach (Rio’s dad) is located.
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Yes, Hana Bath relocated to Japan - "Chiba, Funabashi" according to her ISU bio - around 2 years ago.

"Bath was born on 6 March 2010 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia to an Australian father and Japanese mother. Bath was raised in Perth and in December 2024, moved to Osaka, Japan, where her grandmother lives." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hana_Bath
 
[Removed double post - there was a slow server issue that may be is resolved now]

Ice Skating International Online has uploaded video of the post-FS press conference on their YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-xHI4oWFGQ

Edited to add/copy out the ISU's Press Conference highlights document:

Mao Shimada (JPN) Junior World Champion 2026
My goal today was to just finish my performance, not being nervous or anything just to finish. I was exhausted.
However, I was able to finish my program and I think the fact that I never gave up led to this result of four consecutive
wins. (on not feeling well) Yesterday, I was bedridden. I thought, OK, there's nothing I can do but to withdraw.
However, when I woke up this morning, I was feeling a little bit better. However, I went to the practice this morning,
and then I wasn't able to perform the run-through. I was only able to jump until my second jump and then I wasn't able
to skate. I wasn't even sure [if I can compete] up until I skated during the six-minute warm up. My coach said, I'll help
you when you collapse. So that kind of changed my gear and thought, OK, I got to do this. (on what this fourth World
Junior title means to her) This World Junior Championship was especially special for me. Having four consecutive
wins is not that easy. I had more struggles than good times. Going into senior, this will be reset. I'm going to start
fresh. I think I would be in the position where I can challenge myself and push hard. I want to really give it my all and
perform well going into senior events.

Hana Bath (AUS) Junior World silver medalist 2026
I could skate my best today. I wanted to really enjoy his Junior World Championships and I've been able to do that last
year as well so this year I also wanted to perform to the crowd and show everyone what I could do and I'm very happy
with what I could do today. (on learning the triple Axel) I've been working on the triple Axel since I was around 10 and
to get it consistent it took maybe about four years or five years. Only last year was I was able to consistently land
them. All my coaches that I have have helped me through times that I've like lost the triple Axel and they've all helped
me get it back. (on sitting in a medal position after the Short Program) I didn't really think about the result much. After I
found out I was third after the short program, I was very happy that I could do that and for the free skate I just wanted
to do my best and just enjoy the performance that I did. (on winning the first Junior World medal for an Australian
Single Skater) I am really proud to represent Australia and I'm really happy that I could win this for our country. I feel
like I want to work harder, just from now on and work on lots more things. I hope that from now on we can have more
skaters in Australia and reach high level and get better as a country. (on her next goals) I think improving all the parts
of skating in general and just doing my best in all the competitions next year as well.

Mayuko Oka (JPN) Junior World bronze medalist 2026
I had some mistakes on my jumps, but I was able to enjoy my performance until the end, and I was able to keep
myself calm and focused. (on her first World Junior Championship) This was my first World Juniors. My goal was to
give it my all and really constantly challenging myself to improve. I realized that focusing on my own performance was
the most important. I wasn't super nervous.
 
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mtnskater said:
Hana Bath I’m predicting will be the next Kaori Sakamoto when she gets to seniors. She has the power skating, which the judges really reward in senior women, plus she may have even better jump technique than Kaori. Which is saying a lot! Keep working on the second mark Hana. Does she train in Japan? Not sure where her coach (Rio’s dad) is located.
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I`m also increadibly impressed by her. She`s bigger boned than many and that may give her some power. When she gets to seniors and improves her 2nd mark she`s going to be for formidable.
 
I read Kaljuvere’s birth date 7/3/2009 wrong: she just turned 17 yesterday, March 7, not missing the deadline with a July 3 birthday. If she turns senior next season, she won’t be fighting with Goidina for a single spot at Jr. Worlds. It’s still sad that Estonia is down to one spot by such a slight margin, especially since Goidina’s 7th in the FS might have been higher had she not been the 5th to skate.
 
jlai said:
Congrats Aussie WIlly and MissKarne!
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:lol: Thanks. I have just come on here after a weekend at our inaugural Australian Adult Nationals. I somehow woke up at 2.30 in the morning just in time to see her skate. So incredibly impressed with Hana. It was the talk of the weekend at the event. Managed to get some stuff on the website and social media.

It bodes well for Jnr GP spots next season and I think a couple of the young ones will be age eligible for next season too. So we may some more competitive skaters being able to take part in the ISU events. Mia Zeng has triple everything (good quality) plus is incredibly musical and beautiful presentation. She did go for the 3A at nationals last year. And Angela Guo also has a good range of triples. Here are the FS protocols from AFSC last year.

 
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Oka and Bath are by far the highlights for me. Oka was so fast flying around the ice, I think I wasn't a fan of her at all at Japanese Nationals but here she won me over. Bath has such power and pleasant. Mao overrated and boring but nothing else new, sorry to here she was feeling bad but she skated the same meh to me.

Sophie's skating is so disappointing and I don't know what they can do to make it work. Trusova without the quads and Frida to match. :wuzrobbed
 
muffinbiscuit said:
How did she get in final group?
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Who? The final FS group was:

Warm-Up Group 4
19 Yihan WANG CHN 6 63.44
20 Inga GURGENIDZE GEO 5 64.28
21 Sophia SHIFRIN ISR 4 65.38
22 Hana BATH AUS 3 66.95
23 Mayuko OKA JPN 2 69.77
24 Mao SHIMADA JPN 1 71.90
 
I didn't even realise that Hana was born where I now live in Hobart. :lol:

All I can think is good thing she didn't grow up here because the rink when we had it was tiny and not well run and now we don't even have one.
 
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