SATO Shun secured a top-six finish in his debut at the World Figure Skating Championships!
At the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston (March 27-29, 2025), SATO competed in the Men’s Singles and earned a commendable 6th place. In the short program, he successfully executed the bold and difficult quadruple Lutz at the start and the triple Axel toward the end, finishing 5th with a score of 91.26 points. In the free skating on the 29th, he opened with a perfect quadruple Lutz, followed by successful consecutive jumps, earning 179.30 points. The total score of 270.56 points put him in sixth place overall.
This competition serves as a qualifier to determine how many skaters each country or region can send to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. SATO’s outstanding performance helped meet the requirement that the combined placements of the top two skaters be 13 or less, securing Japan a maximum of three spots in the Men’s Singles.
SATO earned 6th place (Photo：NIKKAN SPORTS/AFLO)
HIGUCHI Wakaba returns to the World Figure Skating Championships after a three-year absence, earning 6th!
HIGUCHI participated in the Women’s Singles at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston (March 26-28, 2025), securing a top-six finish. In the short program, she successfully executed all three jumps and achieved Level 4 in spins and steps, the highest difficulty level. Setting a new personal best, she came in 4th with 72.10 points, just 2.48 points behind the leader. In the free skating on the 28th, she cleanly landed a double Axel, a triple Lutz-toe loop combination, and a triple loop, scoring 132.48 points. The total of 204.58 points earned her a brilliant 6th-place finish overall.
With HIGUCHI’s contribution, Japan fulfilled the requirement – top two placements adding up to 13 at most – earning a maximum of three Olympic berths in the Women’s Singles, in addition to the three secured in the Men’s.
HIGUCHI finished 6th, with a new personal best score in the short program (Photo：Mainichi/AFLO)
At the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston (March 27-29, 2025), SATO competed in the Men’s Singles and earned a commendable 6th place. In the short program, he successfully executed the bold and difficult quadruple Lutz at the start and the triple Axel toward the end, finishing 5th with a score of 91.26 points. In the free skating on the 29th, he opened with a perfect quadruple Lutz, followed by successful consecutive jumps, earning 179.30 points. The total score of 270.56 points put him in sixth place overall.
This competition serves as a qualifier to determine how many skaters each country or region can send to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. SATO’s outstanding performance helped meet the requirement that the combined placements of the top two skaters be 13 or less, securing Japan a maximum of three spots in the Men’s Singles.
SATO earned 6th place (Photo：NIKKAN SPORTS/AFLO)
HIGUCHI Wakaba returns to the World Figure Skating Championships after a three-year absence, earning 6th!
HIGUCHI participated in the Women’s Singles at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston (March 26-28, 2025), securing a top-six finish. In the short program, she successfully executed all three jumps and achieved Level 4 in spins and steps, the highest difficulty level. Setting a new personal best, she came in 4th with 72.10 points, just 2.48 points behind the leader. In the free skating on the 28th, she cleanly landed a double Axel, a triple Lutz-toe loop combination, and a triple loop, scoring 132.48 points. The total of 204.58 points earned her a brilliant 6th-place finish overall.
With HIGUCHI’s contribution, Japan fulfilled the requirement – top two placements adding up to 13 at most – earning a maximum of three Olympic berths in the Women’s Singles, in addition to the three secured in the Men’s.
HIGUCHI finished 6th, with a new personal best score in the short program (Photo：Mainichi/AFLO)