Japan’s Rio Nakata captures Junior World men’s title in Debrecen
2025 World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Men
Japan’s Rio Nakata rose from second place to capture the Men’s title at Junior Worlds on Friday in Debrecen, Hungary. Minkyu Seo of the Republic of Korea slipped to second to settle for silver, while Slovakia’s Adam Hagara soared from fifth place onto the last spot on the podium. All three of the men made the podium at last year’s event as well, with the top two skaters in different positions.
Rio Nakata
Skating to a Spanish-themed short to “Aroul” and “Uccen,” Nakata opened with a very good triple Axel, followed by a triple flip and triple toe-triple toe. His routine included level-four spins and footwork and he received the highest program component scores. The 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist placed second with a new personal best of 86.04 points.
“I practiced a lot for the sake of today, so I’m happy that I was able to score 86 points with a clean performance in this venue,” said the last year’s silver medalist. “In last year’s competition, I had painful memories, so I was nervous going into this. But looking back now, I’m happy with my performance today. I was very nervous, well, rather than being nervous, maybe it’s more correct to say that I was anxious. But I did not feel it during my performance. I was able to enjoy my skating. Since I can’t win unless I skate flawlessly, I felt anxious thinking about what would happen if I made even one mistake.”
In the free skate, Nakata stepped out and put a hand down on the opening quad toe but quickly recovered to land a quad toe-triple toe. The 2024–25 Japan national silver medalist then landed five more clean triple jumps, including two triple Axels. He exuded character in his routine to music from Pirates of the Caribbean which also featured two level-four spins. With a new personal best score of 162.95 points, he placed first in the free skate and moved up to first place overall (248.99).
“When I made a mistake at the beginning, I felt very stressed, but after that I calmed down,” said the 16-year-old. “I was able to hang onto it until the end, and I think the biggest thing I got from this competition, well, I failed my first toe loop, but I think the second one was the best one. At first, I thought it was going to go bad. When I had the step out. After that, I wasn’t sure if I could do the Axel, but I decided to trust my training up until now, to not let it all go to waste.”
“I practiced up until now for this, to get gold here,” Nakata summed up. “There are many people around here, so I am not showing my emotions too much since it won’t be nice. I will get very happy once I’m back to the hotel.”
Minkyu Seo
Seo’s flawless short program to Moonlight Sonata featured a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip. All spins and footwork garnered a level four, and the defending champion earned many positive grades of execution (GOE) on all elements. He placed first with a new personal best of 86.68 points going into the free skate.
“I am very happy about my skate and my score today,” said the 16-year-old. “Before this, my personal best was 80, and now getting 86 is amazing! Yes, I am the defending champion here, but I take every competition as new, so it doesn’t really affect me that I won last year. I think today I really skated securely and beautifully, and that’s what led to this high score and success. In the free skate, I want to skate clean, but also really show my performance and acting skills.”
The 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist put out a delightful free skate to “Singin’ in the Rain” which featured seven solid triple jumps. The only mistake came at the beginning of his routine when he fell on his solo triple Axel. All three spins were rewarded with a level four and high grades of execution (GOE), and he earned a season’s best of 154.77 for second place. However, his total score of 241.45 was not enough to maintain his lead and he slipped to second place overall.
Seo said he was very nervous going into his free skate, but that overall, “it was a happy day.”
“I had many competitions this season and I am happy to end it with a medal at the Junior World Championships,” said the skater from Daegu.
The skater was asked about the comments circulating the internet regarding his short program compared to one of Yuzuru Hanyu’s programs.
“I haven’t seen this,” responded Seo. “I feel like I cannot be compared with Yuzuru Hanyu. He has so many achievements but hearing that someone compared me with him makes me feel really good. For next season I really want to work on my quads. I see Rio with his quads, and I really want to do it as well.”
Adam Hagara
Slovakia’s Adam Hagara gave a clean performance in his short program to “Another Love” which included a triple Lutz-triple toe, triple Axel and triple flip. All three spins and the footwork were a level four, and the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic silver medalist placed a close fifth with 80.89 points.
“I’m very glad about my skate today, especially since yesterday, after my performance, I actually felt very sick,” said the 18-year-old. “My temperature was high, but today, luckily, I’m feeling much better. I still took some medication, but with the help of that, I’m actually feeling good right now.”
“The level of the junior competition here is very high, but we’ll see what the free skate brings,” Hagara added. “I feel like the free skate is my strong point. Since this is my very last junior competition, I do feel a little bit nostalgic. But somehow, this competition feels more like a Junior Grand Prix rather than Junior Worlds to me, which actually helps with the nerves. So, yeah, I’m glad with how everything turned out today.”
The 2024 World Junior bronze medalist gave a flawless free skate to place third in the free skate. His “James Bond” routine featured eight solid triple jumps, including two triple Axels. He also picked up a level four on two spins, earning a new personal best score of 153.04 points for third place. With 233.93 points total, he rose to two spots to third place overall.
“I am so happy!” said the four-time national champion. “I don’t know how I did it, but I did it. I can’t breathe right now anymore. It was definitely hard. My illness comes and goes, but I could definitely feel it during the skate, I just tried not to show it. I’m super happy with how it went. I did my job, and I’m so glad.’
“Now, I will concentrate on Senior Worlds and my upcoming exams,” he added. “I’ll see how that goes. I really hope to gain the Olympic spot. I’m also happy with the score, finally, I got over 150 in an ISU competition!”
Jacob Sanchez
USA’s Jacob Sanchez produced a solid and powerful short program to “Music” by John Miles which featured a triple Axel, Rippon-style triple flip, and triple Lutz-triple toe. Only the triple flip received an edge call, but his footwork and two spins were rewarded with a level four. The 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final champion finished third (82.88) going into the free skate.
“I felt a little bit insecure during the warm-up, but once I stepped out there on the ice for my performance, I felt super confident,” said the two-time national junior medalist. “The history of this season, being undefeated in juniors, boosted my confidence a lot. I really wanted to present this short program, which has brought me so much luck, one more time at the best of my abilities because it was the last time I performed it.”
“I’m really trying to focus on myself at this competition and enjoy every moment,” Sanchez added. “I’m still competing with the necklace that Rio (Nakata) gave me as a good luck charm. During competitions, I always wear the black one, and once I get back home, I switch to the golden one. Preparation had its ups and downs. I was a little bit burned out, but in the last week, things got much better again, and I got myself together.”
The 17-year-old only made one mistake in the free skate, but it was costly. He opened with a solid triple Axel-triple toe and solo triple Axel, but popped a triple Lutz in the second half, adding a double Axel to the sequence. However, his mature routine to “Io ci sarò” featured four more clean triple jumps, as well as two level-four spins. The skater from New York placed fifth in the free skate and slipped to fourth place overall (147.53/230.41).
“Yeah, it’s a bit unfortunate. I was so close,” noted Sanchez. “I actually felt very confident today. I think I did the two triple Axels at the beginning the best I’ve ever done in competition. Then the unfortunate mistake happened, but I still think I had a really good season, and I’m happy with it.”
Sanchez plans to take a small break and then will do a choreography session with Rohene Ward for his new free skate next season.
“I’m very excited about that,” he said. “After that, I’ll be choreographing with Alex Blake, my current choreographer, on my new short program. I’m really excited about both of these!”
Habin Choi
Habin Choi from the Republic of Korea placed sixth in the short program with a new personal best of 77.22 points. His routine to music from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack featured a triple Axel, triple flip, and triple Lutz-triple toe.
“I’m very happy about my skate today, but I think I can do even better,” said the 15-year-old, whose idol is Nathan Chen. “The goal for this competition is just to do my very best. In the free skate, I want to show my quads.”
Choi was focused and calm in his free skate to music from the film Tae guk gi, opening with a quad Salchow. However, he took a fall on an underrotated quad toe. He landed a total of five clean triple jumps, including two triple Axels. The only other error was an edge call on a triple flip. All three spins were graded a level four, and he placed fourth after posting a new personal best score (by more than 20 points) of 150.06. With a total score of 227.28, he moved up to fifth place overall in his debut at this event.
“I made a mistake on the quad toe, but everything else went well, so I’m very happy about that,” said the skater from Seoul. “I’m very glad I could be in the top six at my first Junior Worlds. For next season, I want to include the quad flip in my program. I’ve already landed it in practice. Also, I really liked the flower crown that was thrown to me on the ice!”
Shunsuke Nakamura
Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan gave an upbeat routine to music by the Backstreet Boys which featured a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe, and triple flip. All spins and footwork were graded a level four, and he picked up a new personal best of 81.29 points for fourth place.
“I’m relieved I had good scores,” said the 19-year-old, who was fourth last year. “I had confidence that I would not make any mistakes in my short program, so I think I was in my best condition in the competition thanks to that. I was nervous, so I’m relieved that I did well. This is the last competition for juniors, so I wanted to give a strong performance. I feel good about that. I was able to deliver a good performance on this big stage. I’m also happy because I think this contributed to my own growth as well. I will do my best in the free program as well so that I can show a strong performance.”
Nakamura took a fall on his opening quad toe in his routine to “Lamentations of the Heart” and “Io ci sarò,” but quickly recovered to land a triple Axel-double toe. He also produced five more triple jumps and two level-four spins, scoring a new personal best of 144.40 points for eighth place. With a total score of 225.69, the five-time Junior Grand Prix medalist placed sixth overall.
“I had a mistake at the beginning but after that I was able to switch my mindset,” said Nakamura. “So, I think it went well. The part where I wasn’t able to perform solidly until the second half is something I see as a learning experience and a part of my growth. I also feel that it was a performance where I was able to reset my mindset and connect with myself. I felt that I wanted to turn, but I started to rotate early and couldn’t get enough height for the quad toe. The spin and the quad toe jump were tough.”
“I made mistakes both in the short and free program, but I was able to regain my control,” he added. “Through this competition, I was able to grasp the feeling of approaching a match with a strong mindset, so I think this will lead to my growth.”
Rounding out the top 10
Germany’s Genrikh Gartung had a good showing in his debut at this event, placing seventh overall (218.94) with all new personal best scores.
“I am very happy with the result,” said the 17-year-old. “Even though there were some unusual mistakes that I don’t usually make, like on the spin and the loop. I didn’t come here with the expectation of getting into the top 10 or even top eight, but of course, I’m very glad that I did. I just came here wanting to do my best. It’s possible that after I landed the two quads, I got a little bit too excited, and that’s why I popped the loop.”
Arlet Levandi of Estonia placed eighth (218.90) followed by Sena Takahashi of Japan (216.45).
“Oh my god, I am so happy!” said Levandi. “I always dreamed of landing the triple Axel on a big stage, and I actually did it. It just feels incredible! I’m almost lost for words right now. It’s just such a different experience doing it in competition compared to practice. I think the difference today was that I really didn’t think too much, I just let my muscle memory take over.”
Levandi will keep his free skate for next season but plans to work on a new short program with Benoît Richaud next season.
Takahashi, who medaled at both Junior Grand Prix events this season, said he felt frustrated but enjoyed skating.
“I was nervous so I was surprised but I could regain my control so I’m glad,” said the 15-year-old from Kyoto. “Even though I made some mistakes, I got a good score. So I’m happy. I was nervous, but I was able to enjoy skating until the very end, and I could bring out a good performance.”
Crowd-favorite Yanhao Li of New Zealand finished 10th in the group with 215.85 points.
“Well, today wasn’t too good, but mentally, I actually felt at 90%,” said the 16-year-old. “I know that for me, it’s all mental. It’s been a long and hard season, so I really want to take some rest now. I’m especially looking forward to having some cheat food next week; I’ve been waiting for that! After that, I’ll go back to training and work on my quad toe. It’s been very close recently, so I’ll have some time during the offseason to really focus on it.”
Related Info:
The post Japan’s Rio Nakata captures Junior World men’s title in Debrecen appeared first on Golden Skate.