Mao Shimada won her first senior Grand Prix event on Sunday, taking the women's title at Skate Canada in Kelowna with a total of 235.44 points, according to Yahoo!ニュース. The 18-year-old scored 153.33 in the free skate, the highest free program mark recorded this season, and led the field after the short program as well.
Estonia's Nina Petrokina finished second with 221.07 points after a free skate of 143.83. Isabeau Levito of the United States took third on 212.22, and Japan's Sakura Miyake placed fourth with a personal-best 210.09, including 138.14 in the free.
Why it matters
Shimada arrived on the senior circuit with a junior record that had no equal: 39 straight wins, among them four consecutive world junior titles, Yahoo!ニュース reports. Her debut suggests that dominance may carry over. The 235.44 total also improved on the personal bests she set in the free skate and combined score at the Kinoshita Group Cup, a Challenger Series event, in September.
Two big jumps and a clean sheet
Skating in a brightly colored costume, Shimada opened her free program with a triple axel that she landed cleanly, then followed it with a quadruple toe loop. She went on to land a triple lutz-triple toe combination and three combination jumps in all, and earned the maximum level four for her spins and step sequence. The performance drew a standing ovation from the arena, and Shimada was smiling as she left the ice.
According to 日テレNEWS NNN, Shimada described the outing as an 82-point skate with room left to grow, a remark that points to how much she believes she can still add. The same outlet noted that her score surpassed the season's previous best, set by Ami Nakai, who is the same age.
A Japanese sweep of the top four
Miyake's fourth place gave Japan two skaters in the top four and underlined the depth of the country's women's field. Her 210.09 beat her previous career best. Petrokina's silver was the closest challenge to Shimada, though the gap of more than 14 points left little doubt about the outcome.
The result was reported by Yahoo!ニュース and other Japanese outlets, several of which framed it as a statement debut for a skater who had never before competed on the senior Grand Prix. The event was the second stop on this season's Grand Prix series.
What to watch next is whether Shimada can repeat the jump content under the pressure of a deeper field, and whether her scores keep climbing as the series moves toward its final.
