Hana Yoshida takes second Grand Prix gold in Helsinki
2024 Finlandia Trophy | Women
Japan’s Hana Yoshida, the 2023 Cup of China champion, won her second Grand Prix gold medal at Finlandia Trophy on Saturday in Helsinki. Teammate Rino Matsuike rose from fourth to capture the silver, while Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann claimed the bronze—her first Grand Prix medal.
Hana Yoshida
The 2023–24 ISU Grand Prix Final bronze medalist gave a solid skate to “Temen Oblak,” placing first in the short program with a season’s best of 67.87. The only error was quarter underrotation on the back end of her triple Lutz-triple toe. The double Axel and triple loop were clean and the skater from Kyoto displayed level-four spins and footwork throughout.
“I was pretty nervous today, but I was able to concentrate so I think I did my best,” said Yoshida. “Tomorrow I will be skating last again so I think I will be okay. During the loop, I really didn’t know where I was, but I was somehow able to save it because I was so concentrated. I know I can do even better, but I focused on every element today and that I think lead to my new personal best.”
The 2024 Skate Canada bronze medalist took a fall on an underrotated triple Axel but was otherwise near solid in her free skate. The triple flip received an edge call, and the triple loop was landed on the quarter, but she produced a total of four solid triple jumps. The skater also showed very good level four spins and footwork in her beautiful skate to “S.O.S. d’un terrien en détresse,” and finished second in this segment. With a total score of 199.46, she managed to hang on to first place overall by only 0.26 points.
“After falling on my triple Axel, I knew I would still be okay if I landed all of my other jumps,” Yoshida later said. “I was nervous here, but overall, I was calmer and more confident compared to Skate Canada.”
“I am very happy I could win here and to have qualified for the Final,” summed up the 19-year-old. “Performance-wise, I know I can do even better, and I hope to do that in the Final. I am surprised and happy that I was able to make the Final three times in a row and I really want to show my best performance there.”
Rino Matsuike
The 2024 Skate Canada silver medalist took a fall on a triple flip but landed a triple Lutz-triple toe and double Axel. Her beautiful short program “One Day I’ll Fly Away” also featured level four spins, particularly the layback, and she scored a new season’s best of 64.82 for fourth place.
“I had some mistakes, so I feel a lot of frustration and regret,” said the skater from Nagoya. “But compared to the time in Canada, both the layout and the scores—well they’re not good, but I think it was close to what I had in mind. So along with the feelings of frustration, right now, I mostly also feel a little relieved.”
Matsuike noted that the intended triple flip was meant to be a combination jump.
“My coach said before I jumped, ‘do a lutz-toe,’ but it felt like I would have failed if I did a triple-triple,” she explained. “At first, I thought I’d do a single jump or a triple-double. When I landed the Lutz, I felt like I’d be able to do it and added a triple. I think I was able to do that well. I think that’s one part of me that improved since Canada.”
The 20-year-old gave a beautiful performance to “Lux Aeterna” in the free skate, showcasing good flow and edges. The only errors came when she landed the front end of a triple flip-double Axel sequence on the quarter and doubled a Salchow. She landed a total of five clean triple jumps and earned a level four on all spins. While the skater received a one-point deduction for a time violation, she still placed first in the free skate with 134.38. Her total score was 199.20.
“I did one mistake on the Salchow today, but for the rest, I think it was very good!” said Matsuike. “I was indeed very nervous, but I tried not to think about the Final too much and just skate. I am very happy now. I really aim to perform well at nationals, and it’s my big goal to go to international competitions afterwards.”
Lara Naki Gutmann
The three-time Challenger Series medalist nailed her contemporary short program to music from Squid Game. She produced a solid triple toe-triple toe, double Axel and triple Lutz. Two spins and the footwork were graded a level four, and she earned a new personal best of 67.06 for second place.
“I am so happy!” said Gutmann, who finished sixth last week at NHK Trophy. “I wasn’t sure how I would be able to skate (as I am) still being a bit jetlagged from Japan. And the warm-up didn’t go well. But still I found the energy. The 67 is amazing! Now I did the triple toe-triple toe consistently three competitions in a row. Maybe I can think of more difficult combinations soon, but we will see.”
The three-time Challenger Series medalist earned a new personal best (131.43) for third place in the free skate with her expressive routine to “Wayward Sisters” and “Sheltering Sky.” She turned out a triple flip and landed a double Axel and triple loop on the quarter but was otherwise solid. Both triple Lutz jumps were clean, and all spins and footwork were graded a level four. She finished third overall with a total score of 198.49.
“I am so happy!” said the three-time Italian national champion. “I was really nervous as this was my first time being in a medal position after the short program and winning a medal at such a big event. I think it went really good today, the Free at Denis Ten Memorial was even better, but I am very satisfied.”
Gutmann shared that she has worked on her “mental side” and also started working with a new trainer.
“I think the difference is that I started more believing in myself, ” said the 22-year-old. “I started skating because of watching the Olympic games in Torino in 2006. It is of course my big goal to participate on the home (ice of the) Olympics in Milano.”
Sarah Everhardt
USA’s Sarah Everhardt placed third (66.28) with her crowd-pleasing routine to “Reel Around the Sun” from Riverdance. Her short program featured a solid triple toe-triple toe, double Axel and triple Lutz. The skater also picked up a level four on all three spins.
“I am usually a bit nervous ahead of my skate, but I calmed down when the music was on and during the skate,” said the 17-year-old. “At every event I gain new experience and it’s such a cool event here. I am glad I could show another clean skate today.”
Everhardt added that she was using the triple toe-triple toe combination during the Grand Prix as she feels more “secure” with it.
The 2024 U.S. national pewter medalist placed fifth (124.89) in her free skate to The Firebird. Four triple jumps were landed on the quarter, resulting in costly negative GOEs.
“I feel a bit upset right now, but I will get over it,” said Everhardt. “There were a few technical issues today. Overall, I felt more free and relaxed in comparison to Finland, so this is something positive. At the beginning of the season, I was dreaming of getting one Grand Prix, and having the chance to skate at two is amazing. This Grand Prix season is a great experience for me. Now I will take one or two days off and then I will work hard and prepare for nationals which will be very important for me.”
Ahsun Yun
Ahsun Yun of Japan landed a triple Lutz-triple toe, double Axel and triple flip in her dramatic short program to music from Oppenheimer. The only error was an edge call on the front end of her combination jump. She also earned a level four on her footwork and two spins, placing fifth with a season’s best of 63.16.
“I was a little bit nervous today, but I feel really good,” said the 17-year-old. “I learned that I would skate here about a week ago and that made me really happy. I trained a lot and worked a lot on my mental state. Last season didn’t go well and that made me sad but this year it’s better. My goal is to just skate clean programs.”
The 2024 CS Nepela Memorial champion put out a good free skate to Scheherazade, placing sixth (124.52). She received an edge call on the front end of her opening triple Lutz-triple toe and later popped her solo Lutz. She landed a total of five jumps and picked up a level four on two spins and the footwork. She finished fifth (187.68) overall.
“I did a mistake at the end of my performance today, so I am not completely satisfied,” said Yun. “But I reached my goal to skate and place in the last group. I think this was a good experience on the Grand Prix for me.”
Lorine Schild of France placed sixth overall (182.36) followed by Niina Petrokina of Estonia (178.66), Japan’s Mai Mihara (174.74) and USA’s Lindsay Thorngren 170.64.
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