Kaoruko WADA (JPN) | Junior Women Free Skating | Gdansk 2025

Our next skater represents Japan, born in Nagoya, Kuroko Wada. An incredible quality of skater in Kuroko Wada, struggling in this short program. That's the reason that she finds herself low down after that first portion of the competition. And she'll skate her free program here to piano sonata. Japan's Kuroko Wada completes her free skate, and I think the reaction to that performance from Kuroko is partly because she's delivered such brilliance in the past in the Junior Grand Prix. In the opening fall in the triple lutz will have, of course, been difficult to swallow when you know immediately on that first jumping pass that you're unable to replicate the amazing scores that you have achieved previously. Yeah, you know, searching to get back to where she was, and, you know, athletes at the top of the game that have a bit of a dip, either because of an injury or whatever the case may be, to get back to where they felt and the confidence that they had, it's a bit of another mountain to climb, but that's also part of the journey. Take a look at some of the elements. You can see that foot just under-rotated when the landing has to take the fall here. Triple flip. Gets the free leg back just in time up into the triple toe loop, which is under-rotated. Quarter on the flip landing and under-rotated on the toe loop. And I think for Kuroko, as we see this second of the flips, just see there's a question mark over the edge of the take-off. Should be a backward inside edge, looking like a little bit of a backward outside. And also, you know, the rotation position is open, going up, and then, watch this, slow, open, going up, and then spinning down. That's much better. She had enough time to get the free leg out. I think the timing of the take-offs early on in the program, the triple S later, that was better. Let's take a look. No, that's clean, that's good. So she got on a little bit better later in the program. Yeah. And what Kuroko does have is have the skating skill that others haven't had. So she, thus far, showcasing much deeper edge set, much more command and control of the edges, but I think, just struggling a little bit. Interestingly, I did see yesterday that there's a crowdfunding created for Kuroko to support her ambitions and to help her with her training costs, and so that's something that we just have to acknowledge that these athletes are doing, endeavoring to continue getting support to follow their dreams. Free program score for Kuroko Wada from Japan. 113.36, that is first in the free program. Total competition score of 166.77 as she takes over the lead. Seven skaters yet to come.