NAGANO TRIUMPHS

Time differences across many parts of the world, proved to be no barrier for the many thousands of fans that tuned in to watch the 2020 All Japan Championships play out at the Big Hat Arena in Nagano. With only 2,300 spectators in attendance — who were asked to refrain from cheering and throwing anything onto the ice — it was a much quieter affair than usual.

Though we had seen a number of Japanese skaters compete at NHK Trophy in late November, this was the first outing of the season for three of the nation’s top stars: Rika Kihira, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno.

POWER AND GLORY

Despite having no competitions since February 2020, Rika Kihira left no doubt she is still the leading lady in Japan. The 18-year-old headed into nationals as the reigning champion and emerged with her second consecutive title.

Kihira nailed the opening triple