The World Figure Skating Championships opened in Tokyo, and in the first event, the rhythm dance in the first half of ice dance, Japan couple Yanaka Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi placed fourth out of six groups with scores close to their personal bests.
The World Figure Skating Championships, which kicked off in Tokyo on the 13th, will be a team competition contested by six countries, including Japan, the United States, and Canada, and the ranking will be based on the total of points in the four events of men's and women's singles, pairs, and ice dance.
On the first day of the competition, there will be a short program for the first half of the men's and women's singles and a rhythm dance for the first half of ice dance.
In ice dancing, the couple Muramoto and Takahashi, nicknamed "Kanadai," appeared as the first member of the Japan national team, and showed sharp movements from the beginning to the Latin music, which is the theme of rhythm dance.
In the first half, both twizzles made one-legged turns, earning the highest rating of the Level Four, and the following midfield step also earned a Level Three rating that surpassed last month's World Championship.
Then, in the step of sliding in a straight line from one end to the other on the rink, which was the highlight of the second half, the edge control even matched each other's breath perfectly, and at the end, the venue was livened up with a spectacular lift.
"Kanadai" scored 6.4, surpassing last month's World Championships and placing fourth out of six groups with a performance that approached her personal best.
Takahashi: "I want to end with the best performance"
MURAMOTO Yanaka smiled, saying, "This season Japan's rhythm dance was not particularly convincing in the second half, but at the end of the season, we finally managed to put it together in a good way.
TAKAHASHI Daisuke commented on the cheering from the audience, "Being able to speak out made me realize once again how wonderful it is to be able to feel the power of the audience live while sliding through it."
For the free dance in the second half, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "Sixteen years ago, the last time I skated at this venue was 'The Phantom of the Opera' when I was a single, and now the two of us will skate 'Opera' at this venue again, so I want to end this season with my best performance."