Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada win 2009 Japanese nationals

The 2009 Japanese Figure Skating Championships concluded today and I'm in the process of watching it all on YouTube. As far as results go, Daisuke Takahashi soundly won the men's event with a total of 261.13 points. Nobunari Oda came in second with 244.30 points and Takahiko Kozuka came in third with 236.13 points. Takahashi and Oda have made in onto the Olympic team, and I'm certain  Kozuka will take the third remaining slot for the men.

The ladies results were closer with Mao Asada taking the title with 204.62 points, followed by Akiko Suzuki with 195.90 points, Yukari Nakano with 195.73 points and Miki Ando with 185.44 points (Photo above, from left to right, Suzuki, Asada and Nakano). Japan is also sending three skaters for the ladies field and Ando is definitely on the team as she had an amazing Grand Prix season. I'm certain Asada will be as well as a four-time national champion but her season has been rocky and Suzuki and Nakano have had semi-breakout seasons. It will be very interesting who the Japanese Federation selects as the third team member. [UPDATE: Suzuki is in, Nakano is out of the Olympic team.]

In pairs, only one team competed so Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran won the pairs, and in ice dance, the brother and sister team of Cathy and Chris Reed took first place, ahead of Emi Hirai and Taiyo Mizutani.

Top ten results for men at 2009 Japanese Figure Skating Championships:

FPl	Name	Points	SP	FS
1	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	261.13	1	1
2	Nobunari ODA	244.30	3	2
3	Takahiko KOZUKA	236.13	2	3
4	Tatsuki MACHIDA	215.02	4	4
5	Yasuharu NANRI	201.01	7	6
6	Yuzuru HANYU	195.22	13	5
7	Kento NAKAMURA	188.39	10	7
8	Keiji TANAKA	187.26	9	8
9	Akio SASAKI	179.83	12	9
10	Takahito MURA	177.78	5	14

Top ten results for ladies at 2009 Japanese Figure Skating Championships:

FPl	Name	Points	SP	FS
1	Mao ASADA	204.62	1	1
2	Akiko SUZUKI	195.90	4	2
3	Yukari NAKANO	195.73	2	3
4	Miki ANDO	185.44	3	4
5	Kanako MURAKAMI	176.61	5	5
6	Haruka IMAI	166.16	7	6
7	Fumie SUGURI	161.29	6	9
8	Ayumi GOTO	159.15	8	8
9	Nana TAKEDA	158.81	12	7
10	Yukiko FUJISAWA	157.88	9	11

Final results for pairs at 2009 Japanese Figure Skating Championships:

FPl	Name	Points	SP	FS
1	Narumi TAKAHASHI / Mervin TRAN	151.17	1	1

Final results for ice dancing at 2009 Japanese Figure Skating Championships:

FPl	Name	CD	OD	FD	Points
1	Cathy REED / Chris REED	1	1	1	163.37
2	Emi HIRAI / Taiyo MIZUTANI	2	2	2	119.49

Grand Prix Final 2009: Yu-Na Kim wins gold, Miki Ando silver

Final results of senior ladies competition at 2009-2010 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Tokyo, Japan:

FPl	Name	Nat	Points	SP	FS
1	Yu-Na KIM	KOR	188.86	2	1
2	Miki ANDO	JPN	185.94	1	2
3	Akiko SUZUKI	JPN	174.00	5	3
4	Ashley WAGNER	USA	162.07	6	4
5	Joannie ROCHETTE	CAN	156.71	4	5
6	Alena LEONOVA	RUS	156.55	3	6

2009 NHK Trophy: Miki Ando from Japan wins gold

Final results of ladies event at 2009-2010 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series - NHK Trophy (Nagano, Japan):

FPl	Name	Nat	Points	SP	FS
1	Miki ANDO	JPN	162.55	2	2
2	Alena LEONOVA	RUS	160.85	5	1
3	Ashley WAGNER	USA	155.99	1	3
4	Yukari NAKANO	JPN	152.35	3	5
5	Laura LEPISTO	FIN	152.19	4	4
6	Cynthia PHANEUF	CAN	142.03	7	6
7	Yan LIU	CHN	126.49	6	10
8	Annette DYTRT	GER	126.01	9	9
9	Oksana GOZEVA	RUS	123.97	11	7
10	Shoko ISHIKAWA	JPN	119.63	10	11
11	Becky BERESWILL	USA	118.42	12	8
W/D	Sarah MEIER	SUI		8

 

Miki Ando at Stars, Stripes and Skates: Photo gallery

Here's Miki Ando at the Stars, Stripes and Skates ice show to benefit the Heritage Foundation of 9/11. The event was held on September 26 in Danbury, Connecticut. Miki was joined by Johnny Weir, Nobunari Oda, Derrick Delmore, Cathy and Chris Reed, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein, and Felicia Zhang and Taylor Toth. She wore an amazing gold, shimmery dress for her number and I couldn't think of anyone who could possibly wear it like her, except maybe Michelle Kwan. Miki and Michelle both have that exotic look about them (I think) and Miki definitely WORE THAT DRESS. Hm...Maybe that's what I'll start calling it from now on -- The Dress.

To view a slideshow of Nobunari Oda's performance, click here.

Miki Ando performs new freeskate at Stars, Stripes and Skates

Here's Japanese superstar Miki Ando performing her freeskate to Rome and Marco Polo at the Stars, Stripes and Skates benefit on September 26. The two-time Japanese national champion, 2007 World champion and 2009 World bronze medalist took time before the show to chat with me about preparations for this Olympic year and her programs this season. She couldn't talk too much about the short but she said she was excited about the long because she was telling the story of a woman's life and what she was feeling inside. She also thought that last year's freeskate was not really story-centered so she was looking forward to playing a character that the audience could relate to. Miki's Grand Prix assignments are the Rostelecom Cup and the NHK Trophy but she said her focus must also be on her nationals in December, since that's when the Olympic team is selected. Is there any doubt that she will be on the Japanese national team?