Junior Queen Shimada (JPN) collects record 7th JGP gold in Bangkok (THA)

FIGURE SKATING

Junior Queen Shimada (JPN) collects record 7th JGP gold in Bangkok (THA)

14 Sep 2025

The action was on at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Bangkok,Thailand at the fourth JPG event of the season when some of the best young Skaters of the World lit up the ice with their memorable performances. Three-time and reigning ISU World Junior Champion Mao Shimada (JPN) collected her seventh gold on the Junior Grand Prix (and the tenth if you add the Junior Final). 2025 ISU World Junior Champion Rio Nakata (JPN) jumped into the Junior Final with his second JGP win this season. Pair Skaters Rui Guo/Yiwen Zhang (CHN) booked their ticket to the Final as well with their victory while Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) were golden in the Ice Dance event.

Relive all the action and catch the winners’ interviews on the ISU YouTube channel.

Junior queen Mao Shimada (JPN) pockets another gold

Rising star Mao Shimada of Japan keeps pushing the limits and collected a record seventh gold medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix – ever since starting to compete in the series in fall 2022, she stood on top of the podium. Skating to “Get Happy” and “Sing Sing Sing”, the three-time ISU World Junior Champion won the Short Program in style. Shimada landed six clean triple jumps and impressed with her excellent spins in her Free Skating to “Miracle”. However, the Japanese Junior Champion fell on her opening quad toeloop attempt and also stumbled on the triple Axel. Nevertheless, Shimada celebrated a clear victory with 199,07 points. This competition wasn’t easy for the Shimada as she is coming off an injury.

Mao Shimada (JPN) performs at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bangkok (THA)

“I have been injured since last month”, the 16-year-old revealed. “So I was a little bit worried about this competition. I still tried to do well, despite the situation.” Even if things do not go perfectly in the competition, Shimada knows what she has to do to stay on track. “I remind myself that the whole program is three-and-a-half minutes, so I never give up after one or two mistakes,” she offered.

JGP Riga Champion Mei Okada, also from Japan, skated to the silver medal with two strong performances. She set a new personal best with 190,99 points and with her gold and silver medals has reached the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Jeongyul Hwang (KOR) claimed the bronze, her first JPG medal in her third year on the circuit.

“Gladiator” Rio Nakata (JPN) strikes again

Japan’s reigning ISU World Junior Champion Rio Nakata is on a mission – he wants to keep winning this season and he wants to enjoy each event. He is on track after his second victory on the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bangkok. Nakata dominated the competition and scored a runaway victory with more than 20 points to spare. He was in the lead with his fierce Flamenco Short Program and followed up with a flawless Free Skating to “Gladiator” that was highlighted by a quad Salchow, quad toe and seven triple jumps. Nakata achieved a new seasons best in the Free Skating and totaled 246.20 points.

Rio Nakata (JPN) performs at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bangkok (THA)

“Last year, my goal was to win the Final and Junior Worlds and I couldn’t win the Final. I came back strong for Junior Worlds,” the 17-year-old shared. “This year, I want to stay strong the whole season, keep going up. I want to enjoy when I go and skate. In the Final, I want to do three quads and two triple Axels. The Grand Prix Final is going to be in Japan, so I want to enjoy and who supports me, I want to make them happy,” he continued.

It was an exciting competition with the top four Junior Men scoring over 200 points. Patrick Blackwell (USA) landed two quad toes in his Free Skating to claim the silver, his first JGP medal, on 222.17 points. New Zealand’s Yanhao Li earned the bronze on 210.29 points. While Blackwell kept his chance to qualify for the Final at his next event, Li, who placed fifth at JGP Riga, will not return to the Final this season.

Rui Guo/Yiwen Zhang (CHN) qualify for Junior Final

2025 JGP Ankara silver medalists Rui Guo/Yiwen Zhang of China overtook two-time ISU Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalists Jazmine Desrochers/Kieran Thrasher of Canada to win their first JGP gold medal. Sitting in second following the Short Program, Guo/Zhang produced a quadruple twist, throw triple flip and difficult lifts in their Free Skating to music from “The Greatest Showman” to score a personal best in the segment and 163.03 points overall.

Rui Guo/Yiwen Zhang (CHN) perform at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bangkok (THA)

“We feel today’s performance was much better than last time,” Zhang said. “We feel we have made progress.” The couple now has some time to prepare before the Junior Final in December and Guo has a plan: “We want to improve our technical elements, such as the solo jumps, throws, twists and lifts so we can have an even better result. We want to make our elements better and more beautiful.”

Desrochers/Thrasher put out a mature performance to “Since I’ve Been Loving You” but she missed a double Axel and the throw triple Salchow and they settled for silver on 160.65 points, which was a personal best for them. Sofia Jarmoc/Luke Witkowski (USA) took their first JGP medal, the bronze (149.66 points).

Aboian/Veselukhin (USA) celebrate first JGP title

Up and coming Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) danced off with their first JGP gold after winning two medals in the series in the past season. The ISU World Junior competitors won Rhythm Dance and defended their lead in the Free Dance to music by Yoav Goran. The team couldn’t have had a better start at their first JGP of the season with a personal best of 153.96 points.

Hana Maria Aboian/Daniil Veselukhin (USA) perform at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bangkok (THA)

“When we’re skating there is this feeling that we have to perform everything that we want to do,” Aboian noted. “But then there is also this layer that allows us to really build upon our characters. In this specific program, we are the goddess Nike and her sculptor. I come to life and throughout the program I feel like there’s different battles and there’s different moments but every moment has its own emotion flourish,” she continued.

“At the end, it (the Free Dance) is a great victory and we’re just really happy. We’re enjoying every beat of the program,” Veselukhin added.

The couple is slated to compete again in the last event in Abu Dhabi (UAE), aiming to make their first Junior Final. JGP Ankara silver medalists Charlie Anderson/Cayden Dawson (CAN) earned a second silver medal and will have to wait and see if this will be enough to get into the Final. Lea Hienne/Louis Varescon (FRA) picked up the bronze medal like they had at JGP Ankara.

A total of 107 young athletes from 39 countries competed in Bangkok.

What will happen in two weeks?

In two weeks, Baku (AZE) will welcome for the first time in history an ISU Junior Grand Prix event. At the fifth competition of the series, more and more Skaters are looking at securing a spot in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final:

The 2024 ISU World Junior Champion Minkyu Seo (KOR) headlines the Men’s field and following his victory in Ankara wants to book his ticket to the Final.
JGP Ankara Champion Mayuko Oka (JPN) wants to continue her success and get into the Final in her first international junior year while ISU JGP Finalist Yuseong Kim (KOR) is aiming at improving from her fifth-place finish at JGP Riga.
JGP Varese bronze medalist Yihan Wang (CHN) hopes to return to the Junior Final with another podium finish in Baku.
JGP Varese silver medalists Ambre Perrier Gianesini/Samuel Blanc Klaperman (FRA) lead the Ice Dance competition and are eager to make the JGP Final for the first time.

Check out the ISU Junior Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:

Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance

Full entry lists, results and further information are available on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

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The schedules of each ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below: