GUNMA, Apr 14 (News On Japan) - At the All-Japan Gymnastics Championships, which also serve as a selection event for the Paris Olympics, 19-year-old ace gymnast Miyata Shoko clinched her first victory in the women's finals.
The championships, contested in the women's individual all-around, reached its third day on the 13th in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture. The Japanese women's team for the Paris Games will consist of five members, and the representatives will be selected based on the combined scores from the preliminaries and finals of the All-Japan Championships, carrying these scores into the NHK Cup in May.
Miyata, who led the preliminaries on the 11th, started strong by perfectly executing a difficult "Yurchenko double twist" on the vault, scoring 14.333 and taking the lead in this event. Her second event, the uneven bars, which she has been focusing on, was performed with stability, earning her a high score of 13.700, surpassing her preliminary performance. In her final event, the floor exercise, she showcased her characteristic expressive performance, scoring 13.166, and without any major mistakes across all four events, Miyata achieved a combined total of 109.798, winning the championship with a margin of more than two points over second place.
The runner-up was 16-year-old Kishi Rina, who placed 11th at last year's World Championships, the highest position for the Japanese contingent, and on the 13th, she improved her score by successfully performing a difficult "Silivas" move on the floor, totaling 107.463. Third place went to 15-year-old Nakamura Haruka, who won the individual all-around at last year's World Junior Championships. She executed a series of high-difficulty skills on the balance beam, scoring an impressive 14.100, and finished with a total of 107.131.
Source: NHK
