Junior Grand Prix Final 2022: 5 rising figure skaters to watch out for
Who are the next big names to watch out for in skating? We take a look at five ahead of the Junior Grand Prix Final - and just over a year away from the Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024.
Figure Skating
Not only has figure skating entered a new Winter Olympic quadrennium with Milano Cortina 2026 glistening in the distance, but the Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 are just over a year away – and offer a stage to showcase the rising junior stars of the sport.
This weekend (8-10 December) some of those top junior skaters will compete at the same venue as established seniors at the Grand Prix Final, with the Junior Grand Prix Final set to take place simultaneously at the Torino Palavela in Turin, Italy.
It’s been a season of transitions in junior skating, with many skaters – including reigning singles champions Ilia Malinin and Isabeau Levito – graduating to the senior ranks. Russia also remains banned by the International Skating Union (ISU), meaning none of its top skaters are competing internationally, either.
Who are the next big figure skaters to watch out for? We name a few of them here.
Lucas Broussard, 16 (USA)
Move over, Malinin. The American Broussard was born in Luxembourg but calls Seattle home, and has the only double-gold season in men’s singles on the JGP circuit, winning in both Poland and Italy.
A back injury put Broussard out of world juniors last season, but he’s excelled in the new Olympic quad and will look to up his technical difficulty in Turin: “We’re going to see if the quad toe can go in” to the program, he said after his second GP win of the season (watch above).
Broussard, who's coached by Darin Hosier and Corrie Martin, is yet to skate on any other major stages aside from the JGP this season.
Another American, 18-year-old Robert Yampolsky, will also compete at the Junior GPF.
Nakamura Shunsuke, 17 (JPN)
It was Nakamura, who was just 0.14 points away from being the double gold medallist this season, taking silver behind Broussard in Egna, Italy, in October.
But the Japanese star has made a slow climb up the junior ranks in his figure skating-rich nation, finishing in fourth at junior nationals this year in a fifth appearance. Famed coach Hamada Mie (as well as Sato Hiroaki) oversee his training, while choreographers include familiar names like Cathy Reed and Tom Dickson.
Nakamura will be joined by compatriots Kataise Takeru Amine and Nozomu Yoshioka in Turin, while another Japanese teen - Miura Kao, 17, who competed on the junior level just a year ago - joins the likes of Malinin and other senior skaters at that level.
Shimada Mao, 14 (JPN)
Not only does Shimada have the highest junior score of the season, her 217.68 topped any women’s score in skating – including the seniors.
The 14-year-old has been one to watch for the last couple of years, namely because of her big-jumping abilities, including the quad toe-loop - and triple Axel. She’s also got quite the namesake: Her mother was a fan of Olympic medallist and world champion Asada Mao, naming her daughter after the skater.
She is the reigning and two-time Japanese junior champion, and will make her debut at senior nationals later this month, going head-to-head with the likes of reigning world champ Sakamoto Kaori.
Shimada won both of her Grand Prix stops this season, in Czechia and Poland.
Yoshida Hana, 17 (JPN)
Like Shimada, Yoshida won both of her Grand Prix appearances this season, and – along with Nakai Ami – the Japanese trio makes up half the women’s JGP field. (The other half features three skaters from the Republic of Korea.)
Yoshida owns the rare triple Axel in her jumping repertoire (still just one of 19 women to ever do so), and she has two podium finishes at Japanese juniors in 2020 and 2021. She shares a coaching team with Nakamura (mentioned above), and has also worked with Lori Nichol on choreography.
Not to be left out, Nakai also has a triple Axel in her jumping set.
Shin Ji-a, 14 (KOR)
If Shimada and Yoshida (and Nakamura) represent the continued power of Japanese skating internationally, Shin is part of a new wave of young skaters from the Republic of South Korea who are making inroads at the top level.
The reigning world junior silver medallist, Shin is the only singles medallist from 2022 (male or female) to stay in the junior ranks – because of her age. Compatriots Kim Chae-yeon and Kwon Min-sol will also feature at the Junior GPF, splitting the women’s field evenly between Japan and the Republic of Korea - as mentioned above.
While Benoit Richaud choreographed her free skate this season, Shin did her short program, having done both programs in seasons past. She was the junior national champion in 2021, while finishing fourth last season among top skaters like Yelim Kim and You Young.
And yes, that's Shin photographed with Vancouver 2010 champion and two-time Olympic medallist Yuna Kim.