World Figure Skating Championships Ladies event 22.March.2023

ISU World Figure Skating Championships is in Japan this year! I think every skater can agree that Japan truly is the best place for big skating events. The arena holds over 30 000 spectators and the fans are amazing. The kiss’n’cry features cherry blossoms and everything looks so polished, clean and lovely. Worlds is also the best event, because it marks the end of season for most skaters, so they really go out there to get the most out of the season.

Who are we cheering on at World figure skating championships?

As I have done ice dance and also single skating, these two are definitely my favourite disciplines. I love the different ice dance programs showing off incredible emotions and choreography. I love seeing men do powerful programs with huge jumps and difficult steps. In ladies event I love when they go out of their comfort zone and explore themes that are not slow..I feel like due to the difficult technical level that skaters must reach, they opt for more easier programs, which to be frank can be quite boring..but thankfully that isn’t the case for all ladies. So anyway, I’m watching and cheering for men, ladies, ice dance. I watched pairs, but I know too little about the sport. I’m very happy to see Alexa&Brandon medal once again.

Ladies event 22.March – Kaori, Loena, Niina

Ladies SP was Wednesday morning for us. First of all – Niina Petrokina – omg! An absolutely historic result for this Estonian skater who I’ve seen grow up into a beautiful young lady. I even competed with her on my last season before quitting competitions. It was her first year in seniors and I admit already then I looked at her and I couldn’t believe all the triples she was doing sooo easy. So honestly well-deserved placement for her, very glad to see that her work is paying off. Another European in the top 6 was Loena Hendrickx from Belgium. Having met her and seeing how hard she works, it’s a pity that she has gone into this competition with a small injury. It’s refreshing to see athletes being honest and transparent and sharing the struggles they have faced over months. I hope she won’t lose faith in herself, because she is in my opinion one of the most polished skaters of our time. I do think she got judged rather generously, but I’m always happy to see Europeans or my friends in the top, so I hope she does well in the free. Kaori – love her. She really seems to be enjoying herself and what she is doing. She seems to have a bit of ‘dgaf’ attitude and I love that. Her program is interesting, she shows extremely high quality of elements and that’s really all I’m looking for as a spectator – quality, interesting choreo, personality.

Kimmy, Bradie, Isabeau

It’s incredible to see Kimmy (our covergirl) ace so many of her programs this season. Despite her young age, you can tell she puts a lot of effort into the artistry and quality of her elements. Of course her jumps could use a lot more power and height, but I’m sure she can get there.
Another one that I’m so impressed with is Bradie – coming back from an injury and timing your season as perfectly as she did. What a woman! This is something I truly admire about the more mature skaters. Their ability to come back from injuries and perform at an even higher level as they used to. Also, let me point out – her spins are amazing, the difficulty and speed! Whoa.
I must admit Isabeau Levito just doesn’t impress me. Call me old-fashioned, but I just enjoy skaters with more maturity. Nothing against her, interested to see how she will perform in a few years with more years under her skates.

Thoughts

All in all, I think it was a very interesting event. There will be a lot to see in the free skating and I’m excited to see how it all folds out. If you ask me, I really don’t have a preference for the podium. I just hope we will see fair judging, happy and smiling athletes and some fun programs with great choreo tomorrow.
What are your thoughts on the ladies event? Let me know in the comments and see you later for the mens recap as I’m watching it now!🤗

* see the results here


Kaori Sakamoto at press conference. Photo by @goldsk8

Johanna x JIV