Mao Shimada secures historic three-peat at Junior Worlds

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01 Mar 2025 21:21

2025 World Junior Figure Skating Championships: Women

Japan’s Mao Shimada convincingly took Junior World title on Saturday, making history with a third consecutive win in the Women’s event. Jia Shin of the Republic of Korea soared to her fourth consecutive silver medal at this event, while USA’s Elyce Lin-Gracey captured bronze in her debut.

Mao Shimada

Skating to the inspiring song “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, the two-time and defending World Junior champion landed a solid double Axel, triple flip and triple Lutz-triple toe. She exuded joy throughout as she racked up many positive grades of execution (GOE) on all elements, including three level-four spins and footwork. The skater from Kyoto placed first with a new personal best of 74.68 points.

The 16-year-old relayed that she felt everything went well despite being more nervous at this event than others this season.

“I was able to enjoy my skate until the very end, without forgetting to smile,” said Shimada. “Rather than the results, since this is the final competition this season, I felt really strongly about wanting to end on a good performance. I couldn’t stop thinking about that and I think that led me to feel very nervous.”

“I couldn’t quite get 74 as a score before, so I’m really happy to have achieved that,” she added. “This short program is one of my favorites. It was my favorite, ever since the first time I saw the choreography. Since it was a program based on a story I already knew, I’m truly happy to have been able to end it in a good way.”

Shimada delivered a beautiful, yet technically demanding, free skate to “Mado Kara Mieru.” She nailed her opening triple Axel before landing a quad toe and then reeled off seven more solid triple jumps. All four spins were graded a level four and topped her personal best with a score of 156.16 for first place. With a total score of 230.84, she distanced herself by nearly 40 points from the rest of the competitors.

“More than winning for the third time, I’m very happy that I was able to bring out a performance I’m satisfied with,” said the three-time Junior Grand Prix Final champion. “I think I was able to do everything I can. I had a lot of frustrating experiences in the past, and some competitions I didn’t have many happy memories because of my mistakes. This time, to be able to get my season’s best score, and to get over 150 for the first time, I’m very happy. I was really happy when I landed my first two jumps, but I still had the rest of the performance to go, so I focused and wanted to land all of my jumps. I’m happiest about how I was able to bring out the best free skate.”

Jia Shin

Shin took a fall on a triple Lutz-triple toe but recovered to land a double Axel and triple flip in the short program. Her expressive routine to “Adios Nonino” also featured three level four spins and footwork, but the mistake was costly. The three-time World Junior silver medalist placed seventh (63.67) going into the free skate.

“I’m quite disappointed,” said Shin. “I trained really well for this competition, and I actually felt confident. But I will train more and hope to do a clean free skate.”

“I was a very long time in juniors, and I do want to end it with a good performance,” the 16-year-old added. “I know next season I will perform in seniors, but I don’t really think about it much yet at this point. I really like training in Canada with Brian Orser. I think he is a really good coach. In Canada, everything is new and exciting for me, but I really like it. I organized my school like this, that I do online school, but in April, I have to go back to Korea to take a big exam.”

The 2024 Youth Olympic silver medalist showed very good connection with the music in her elegant performance to Liebestraum. Her routine featured six triple jumps and two level-four spins. The only mistake came when she took a fall on the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe. Still, she earned a season’s best of 126.96 for second place in the free skate. With a total score of 190.53, she soared to second place overall.

“I’m not so happy because I made a mistake today,” said Shin. “The four years I skated in Junior Worlds and juniors felt like a really, really long time for me. I’m excited to move up to senior next season, but it kind of feels surreal for me. I really know I need to work on my skating skills so that I will be a good senior. Also, the Olympic Games is something that feels very far away for me right now. It has to come closer before I start thinking about it.”

Elyce Lin-Gracey

Lin-Gracey placed a close fourth (66.11) with an eloquent short program to “Broken Vow” that included a triple Lutz-triple toe, double Axel and triple flip. She showed good extensions in her jumps and also displayed two level-four spins.

“I’m actually so grateful for this opportunity to skate here,” said the 17-year-old. “I’m so thankful to my federation for putting their trust in me and sending me here because, honestly, after Nationals, I thought my season was over. I’m really glad that I had a good skate today and that I could justify their trust.”

Lin-Gracey said that thus far, her career has been full of surprises, alluding to the fact that she was surprised at being selected for the Four Continents last year and for Junior Worlds this year.

“I do want to help Team USA earn more spots for next year’s Junior Worlds and the Junior Grand Prix,” she added. “I’m going to try my best to achieve that.”

The three-time Challenger Series medalist delivered a near-solid and dramatic free skate to music from Cléopâtre. The only notable error was a step out of the back end of her opening triple Lutz-triple toe. She otherwise landed an additional five triple jumps, including two triple flip combinations. Two spins were rewarded with a level four, and she placed third in the free skate and overall (122.60/188.71).

“It wasn’t perfect, but I am very proud of what I did today and that I put together a good skate,” said Lin-Gracey. “I really wanted to do my best to secure these spots for Junior Grand Prix for the U.S. ladies because I know the Junior Grand Prix is such a great experience. When I was doing Junior Grand Prix, I was lucky to have 14 spots available, and I am very glad that me and Sophie both put out good free skates today.”

The teen is looking forward to going to a “junior world” camp in Boston later this month.

“A lot of us Junior skaters will be able to watch Worlds and then have a camp there,” she explained. “It was supposed to be earlier, but with everything that happened, we put it on hold. I will be going to California for a bit and will take a little vacation and then go back to Colorado and train there.”

Ami Nakai

Ami Nakai of Japan put out an expressive routine to music from Les Parapluies de Cherbourg for third place (66.84) in the short program. She had a tight landing on a double Axel and received an edge call on the triple flip. However, the triple Lutz-triple toe was clean, and all three spins were graded a level four.

Naki revealed that she was the more nervous than she had been all season. So much so that her legs were shaking and she wasn’t able to gather any strength.

“There were a few moments where my jumps felt a bit unsteady, but I think overall it was good,” said the 16-year-old. “Last (year) I did not have any pressure, and I approached my performance with the mindset of skating for everyone, but this time, I felt a lot more pressure and ended up skating with that on my mind. Because of that, I was much more nervous than before.”

“My coach told me to skate my own way, and it will be fine since I practiced all this time,” she continued. “I also know for myself how much effort I’ve put into this. I think I improved slightly more. I think I was most nervous towards the end of my performance, but during the step sequence at the end, I was able to skate with joy and put my heart into the it.”

Nakai attempted two triple Axels in her free skate, but both were underrotated. She fell on the first and stepped out the second, not completing the combination. However, she stayed true to the choreography throughout her routine to selections from Cinderella. She also put a hand down on an underrotated triple flip but landed two triple Lutz combinations. All three spins were graded a level four, and she placed sixth in the free skate and fourth overall (119.05/185.89).

The 2023 World Junior bronze medalist expressed frustration on her mistakes, but felt she gave it her best shot.

“I wanted to challenge the Axel, and because I was able to take it seriously, I feel like my opportunities to attempt it might slightly decrease in the future,” Nakai lamented. “But rather than focusing only on results, I think for seniors, the process is more important. So, while I’m still a junior and I want to gain as many experiences as possible. That’s why in this situation, I chose to go for two Axels, and I really thought a lot towards challenging it. When it came to attempting the Axel twice, I strongly felt that I absolutely cannot hesitate. Also, I understood clearly that I must not make mistakes on my other jumps, so this became a really valuable experience for me.”

Stefania Gladki

Stefania Gladki of France placed ninth in the free skate with a new personal best score of 62.62points. Her expressive short program to “Please Don’t Make Me Love You” featured a double Axel, triple flip and triple Lutz-triple toe à la Rippon style.

“I think I made progress compared to Junior Worlds, from last year,” said Gladki. “I am very happy with my skate today, and I feel very honored to skate here. I think I did well. For now, I will not try the quad in competition, but maybe next season.”

The 2024-25 Junior Grand Prix finalist gave a remarkable free skate to Moulin Rouge, displaying lots of personality throughout. Her routine included seven triple jumps, including two triple Lutz combinations. All three spins were also rewarded with a level four, and she placed fifth with 121.67 points, just shy of her personal best. With a total score of 184.29, she rose to fifth place overall in her second appearance at this event.

“I am very happy about the skate today,” said the national champion. “Very pleased. I did cut my finger during a spin, but it happens all the time, so I’m not worried about it. It’s nothing new for me. I will go right away back to work, get new programs, but I don’t know yet what they will be. And I will have some vacation in May.”

Inga Gurgenidze

Inga Gurgenidze of Georgia delivered a strong short program to “Tango Time” that featured a triple flip, double Axel, and triple Lutz-triple toe. All three spins were graded a level four, and the 2024 NRW Trophy champion scored a new personal best of 67.47 for second place.

“I feel really good,” said the 15-year-old. “I skated my best today and I skated with confidence. Skating at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgia really helped me, and competing in Georgia was such a big pleasure. It also gave me the confidence that I can win.”

She was supported by pair skater Luka Berulava right after her performance, and commenting on the team spirit in Team Georgia, she said: “Yes, we are such a good team. We’re always supporting each other and always cheering for each other, even when we are not on site but watching on TV. My goal for this competition is to skate two clean performances.”

Gurgenidze produced an intense free skate to “107 Steps” and “Cvalda” but made costly mistakes to place 11th (115.57). She stepped out of her opening triple Axel, which was underrotated, as well as a double Axel later in the program. The triple loop was also underrotated, and she received an edge call on both triple flips. With 183.04 points total, she slipped off the podium to sixth place overall.

2022 JGP Egna bronze medalist was not happy with her performance, relaying that she felt a lot of pressure.

Elina Goidina

Elina Goidina of Estonia showed good extensions on her jumps in her intriguing short program to music from the Fifth Element. Her routine included a solid triple Lutz-triple toe, double Axel and triple flip. Two spins were graded a level four, and she scored a new personal best of 64.15 points for sixth place.

“I was actually quite relaxed today during my skate,” said the national silver medalist. “I felt very good, and I’m really glad I was able to achieve higher points than at my last Junior Worlds. I’ve improved my spins and my steps, so the goal for tomorrow is to skate clean again, but this time also with good spins and steps.”

The 14-year-old from Tallinn showed good effort in her free skate to music from Angels and Demons. The only mistakes came when she stepped out of a triple flip after falling on a choreographic slide. Otherwise, she landed a total of six solid triple jumps while displaying good spins throughout. The 2025 European Youth Olympic Festival silver medalist placed eight in the free skate and seventh overall (118.03/182.18).

“I’m very upset right now,” said Goidina. “I don’t know what happened in the choreo sequence, and I made a mistake on my flip. I have no explanation. I don’t know what happened. I will have to work very hard for next season. That’s what I really want to do right now. I can do the quad salchow and the triple Axel on the floor already very well, so I really want to do it on the ice next season.”

Rounding out the Top 10

Kaoruko Wada of Japan, who was fifth in the short program, placed eighth overall (181.65) in her debut at this event. The 2024–25 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist gave a beautiful free skate to selections from Titanic, but five of her jumps were deemed landed on the “quarter,” while two were underrotated.

“There were some things I was a bit unsure about in terms of my score, but I was very satisfied with my performance itself, so I’m glad,” said the 15-year-old. “Compared to my short program, there were a lot more people in the audience. I think being able to skate in that atmosphere made for an amazing experience.”

“Compared to my short program, I was able to skate without being overly hesitant, and I didn’t get nervous,” Wada added. “I think thanks to that, I was able to skate freely with ease. Even if I didn’t do any mistakes, and I had a satisfying performance, I couldn’t get very high scores this time. So, I will challenge to get better at my rotations of the jumps and such. Both in the short and free programs.”

Wada also added that she was able to identify more areas for improvement and felt like this was a valuable learning experience.

“Next season, I want to firmly work on the challenges I discovered this time, and I will work even harder so that I can return to the Grand Prix Final and the World Junior Championships again,” she summed up.

Leandra Tzimpoukakis of Switzerland earned all-new personal bests in her debut at this event, placing ninth (179.66).

“I am so happy! To be honest, I was so nervous all day,” said the 15-year-old. “Even during my performance, there were nerves all the time. But I somehow managed to handle it, and I’m very proud of that. I am so happy I once again did everything. I’m so glad I could land the triple Axel in competition. Even though it was not fully rotated, it’s a very big achievement for me.”

Tzimpoukakis was proud of her whole season in general, and glad that she was able to make the top 10 given there are so many strong skaters in Switzerland.

“It’s important to secure the spots for us,” she said. “I’m really so excited already to get new programs and prepare for the next season.”

Hana Bath of Austria rounded out the top 10, also earning new personal best scores in her second appearance at this event. She landed a triple Axel-double toe in the free skate, placing fourth (122.05) in this segment. Last year she was 26th overall.

“I’m very happy that I landed my triple Axel!” said the 14-year-old. “This was the first time like this in competition. I think the training in Japan really helped me to improve it. I usually start the program with the loop to warm up my legs a little bit, that helps me, and then I go for the triple Axel. It was planned as a triple Axel-triple toe, but I did a triple Axel-double toe, which is also okay for me.”

Moving forward, she would like to work on quads.

“I’ve tried them in practice but not yet in competition,” Bath revealed. “And I also really want to work on my skating skills.”