Shoma Uno Places 2nd at Internationaux de France

From November 17 – 19, this year’s edition of Internationaux de France took place in Grenoble. This was the fifth event in the International Skating Union’s 2017 – 2018 Grand Prix Series. Shoma Uno came in second at this event, making him the only entry out of Japan’s three at this event to medal.

Shoma came in second place with a total score of 273.32, 10.39 points behind Spain’s Javier Fernandez. Shoma’s short program received a score of 93.92, putting him in second place behind Javier, whose short program received a score of 107.86. Shoma fell during his opening jump, a quad flip. “It was really tough,” he said. “I didn’t think I would be able to execute my jumps. I was just doing it out of a sense of responsibility.”

Shoma’s free skate was the top one of the event, with a score of 179.40, ahead of Javier’s second place free skate, which received a score of 175.85.

With his win at Skate Canada and his second place finish at Internationaux de France, Shoma now advances to this season’s Grand Prix Final, as the top ranked man. “This tournament was very difficult. (I was recovering from the flu so) I couldn’t adjust myself before the tournament,” Shoma said after his free skate. “I have no sense of accomplishment. My goal is to do my best during the Grand Prix Final.”

Mai Mihara came in fourth place with a total score of 202.12, missing third place to Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond by 4.65 points.

Yuna Shiraiwa finished in sixth place with a total score of 193.18. Her short program received a score of 66.05, while her free skate received a score of 127.13. All three scores are new personal bests. After the short program, Yuna said, “I’m glad that I rewrote my personal best. I concentrated on skating like I usually do during practice, so I wasn’t afraid.”

This coming weekend sees Takahito Mura, Satoko Miyahara, and
Kaori Sakamoto taking the ice at Skate America in Lake Placid, New York.

Shoma Uno

Short program