All-Japan All Around Championships 2023: 14-year-old Yamaguchi Sara is top finalist and on verge of national stardom
Holding off world balance beam champion Watanabe Hazuki, the junior world silver medallist inches closer to Antwerp with a comprehensive effort on the first day of the Tokyo meet.
Artistic Gymnastics
Eight days before her fifteenth birthday, Yamaguchi Sara is on the cusp of becoming the best female gymnast in Japan.
Yamaguchi topped the women’s preliminaries of the All-Japan All Around Championships on Thursday (20 April) in Tokyo, throwing down the gauntlet to her older peers eyeing a spot on the Paris 2024 team.
Yamaguchi had a score of 54.566 points across the four events. She topped the balance beam (14.200), over reigning world champion Watanabe Hazuki, who was second overall (53.598).
The All-Japans is a qualifier for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp this fall.
“I’m in a position to medal,” Yamaguchi said. “I think some people crumble under the pressure when they go through near the top. I hope I’m not one of them.
“It just happened to be. But hopefully I can prove the day after tomorrow that it wasn’t a flash in the pan and perform as well as I can.
“My motto is ‘walk the talk.’ I’m glad I have something to show for today.”
Last year, Yamaguchi won the beam and floor at the national apparatus finals but couldn’t compete at the Worlds in Liverpool because of the age limit.
Earlier this month, the teenager netted silver at the junior World championships in Turkey despite having a fever the day before competition. Yamaguchi said she also cluttered her performance there with mistakes.
Her goal for the All-Japans had been to compete in the first group but she’s managed more and then some.
The women’s final is on Saturday.
“After the World juniors, there was a lot that didn’t go right. But I managed to pick it up for this competition and I’m glad the work is paying off,” Yamaguchi said.
“I won a medal at the World juniors despite making mistakes which gave me a lot of confidence.
“Tomorrow, I need to go over what I did wrong today and hopefully in the final, not worry about the others and do what I need to do.”
Friday will feature the men's Olympic and world champion Hashimoto Daiki in the prelims.