TOKYO, 26 December 2005 — Fumie Suguri captured her fifth national figure skating title yesterday and secured one of three spots for Japanese women at the Turin Winter Olympics.
Suguri, who was second after the short program, was virtually flawless at Yoyogi Arena to finish with 194.16 total points. Teen sensation Mao Asada was second with 188.10 points after a free skate that included two triple axels.
Former world champion Shizuka Arakawa, who led after the short program, was third with 187.36 points and will be joining Suguri in Turin along with Miki Ando, who finished sixth. Ando will be making her Olympic debut. Suguri was fifth at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics while Arakawa will be making her first Olympic appearance since Nagano in 1998.
Daisuke Takahashi, who won the men’s national title on Saturday, will be Japan’s lone men’s skater in Turin.
Nobunari Oda was originally awarded the gold medal in the men’s finals but the decision was reversed after judges reviewed the scoring.
Skating to Piano Concerto No. 2, Suguri opened with a triple lutz-double toeloop and completed seven triples before getting a standing ovation from the near-capacity crowd.
“This is a good result for me,” said Suguri, who was second at the NHK Trophy earlier this month. “I’m relieved that I was picked but at the same time I’ll need to do a lot more to improve on my performance.” Suguri, a two-time world bronze medalist, has struggled recently with injuries but showed signs of returning to top form yesterday just in time for the Olympics.
Asada turned 15 in September, less than three months past the July 1 deadline the International Skating Union set for eligibility for the Winter Olympics. The ISU made the rule change in 1996 on medical advice.
Asada, who was third after the short program, skated to the Nutcracker Suite and said she was happy to become the first woman to nail two triple axels in a free program.
Arakawa, who was the world champion in 2004, looked set to finish on top until she failed to execute a triple salchow-triple toeloop-double loop combination late in her routine.
Yoshie Onda finished fourth with 186.06 points while Yukari Nakano was fifth with 175.66 points. Onda and Nakano will be substitutes for Turin.
Two-time defending champion Ando came into the national championships leading all Olympic contenders in points, but was a disappointing sixth with 173.36 points. Still, it didn’t hurt her chances of making the Olympic team.
Meanwhile, Mao Asada has been left out of the Japanese squad for the Winter Olympic Games because she is too young, the Japan Skating Federation said yesterday.
Asada upset two-times world champion Irina Slutskaya of Russia to win the women’s title at the Grand Prix Final here a week ago, prompting calls among Japanese fans and politicians to let her skate in Turin.
