Wakaba Higuchi

Wakaba Higuchi
Higuchi in December 2014
Personal information
Native name	樋口新葉
Country represented	Japan
Born	January 2, 2001 Tokyo, Japan
Height	1.51 m (4 ft 11 ^1⁄2 in)
Coach	Koji Okajima
Choreographer	Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe
Skating club	Nihonbashi Jogakan Junior High School FSC
Training locations	Tokyo
Began skating	2004
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	185.57 2015 Junior Worlds
Short program	61.27 2015 Junior Worlds
Free skate	125.65 2016 Junior Worlds
Medal record Competitor for  Japan Figure skating: Ladies' singles World Junior Championships 2015 Tallinn Ladies' singles 2016 Debrecen Ladies' singles Junior Grand Prix Final 2014–15 Barcelona Ladies' singles

Wakaba Higuchi (Japanese: 樋口新葉, born January 2, 2001) is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist (2015, 2016), the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a two-time Japan senior national medalist (bronze in 2015, silver in 2016).

Personal life

Wakaba Higuchi was born January 2, 2001 in Tokyo, Japan.^[1] She is the youngest of three children — her brother, Daisuke, and sister, Saki, are five and eight years older respectively.^[2]

Career

Early career

Higuchi began skating at age three.^[2] She appeared internationally on the novice level for three seasons beginning in 2011–12. She won novice titles at the Gardena Spring Trophy, International Challenge Cup, and Asian Trophy.

At thirteen, Higuchi was invited as a guest skater to skate in the gala at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan.

2014–15 season

In the 2014–15 season, Higuchi became age-eligible for international junior competitions. Having opened her season at the Asian Trophy, she made her Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut in Ostrava, Czech Republic, taking silver. With a gold medal at her second JGP event in Dresden, Germany, she qualified for the 2014–15 JGP Final. Higuchi won the Japanese national junior title in November before competing at the JGP Final in Barcelona, Spain. Ranked fifth in the short program and third in the free skate, she finished third overall, behind Evgenia Medvedeva and Serafima Sakhanovich. She then took the bronze medal in her senior national debut at the Japan Championships. In her first appearance at the World Junior Championships, she won the bronze medal after placing third in the short program and second in the free skate.

2015–16 season

At the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Higuchi suffered from a back injury.^[3] Competing in the JGP series, she finished 5th in Linz, Austria before winning silver, behind teammate Marin Honda, in Zagreb, Croatia.

After repeating as the national junior champion, Higuchi edged Mao Asada by 1.6 points for the senior silver medal at the Japan Championships. In March, she competed at the World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Ranked fifth in the short program and second in the free skate, she was awarded her second consecutive bronze medal, behind Honda and Sotskova.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2015–2016 [1][4][5]	Mambo Fantasy by Aldemaro Romero choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	The Mask of Zorro by James Horner choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor You Can't Stop the Beat (from Hairspray)
2014–2015 [6]	Beloved Czardas by Vittorio Monti choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	Piano Concerto in F by George Gershwin choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	Somewhere Only We Know performed by Lily Allen
2013–2014	Beloved Czardas by Vittorio Monti choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	Beloved Czardas by Vittorio Monti choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe
2012–2013	City Lights The Reel Chaplin: A Symphonic Adventure Part 2 by Charlie Chaplin choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe	Don Quixote by Ludwig Minkus choreo. by Noriko Sato, Nanami Abe

Competitive highlights

Higuchi at the 2015 World Junior Championships

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[7]
Event	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16
Junior Worlds				3rd	3rd
JGP Final				3rd
JGP Austria					5th
JGP Croatia					2nd
JGP Czech Rep.				2nd
JGP Germany				1st
Asian Trophy		2nd N.	1st N.	1st J.
Challenge Cup		1st N.	1st N.
Gardena	1st N.
National[7][8]
Japan Champ.				3rd	2nd
Japan Jr. Champ.		7th	8th	1st	1st
Levels: N. = Novice, J. = Junior

Detailed results

(Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships – Worlds, Four Continents, and Junior Worlds. At team events, medals awarded for team results only.)

2015–16 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
14–20 March 2015	2016 ISU World Junior Championships	Junior	5 58.08	2 125.65	3 183.73
24–27 December 2015	2015–16 Japan Championships	Senior	3 67.48	3 127.87	2 195.35
21–23 November 2015	2015–16 Japan Junior Championships	Junior	1 66.83	1 122.40	1 189.23
7–11 October 2015	2015 ISU JPG Croatia	Junior	1 60.77	2 114.29	2 175.06
10–13 September 2015	2015 ISU JPG Austria	Junior	8 46.55	4 110.24	5 156.79
2014–15 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
2–8 March 2016	2016 ISU World Junior Championships	Junior	3 61.27	2 124.30	3 185.27
26–28 December 2014	2014–15 Japan Championships	Senior	3 64.35	3 117.47	3 181.82
11–14 December 2014	2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final	Junior	5 60.37	3 117.72	3 178.09
17–18 November 2014	2014–15 Japan Junior Championships	Junior	1 63.98	1 123.97	1 187.95
1–4 October 2014	2014 ISU JPG Germany	Junior	1 58.99	1 117.15	1 176.14
3–6 September 2014	2014 ISU JPG Czech Skate	Junior	5 52.75	1 116.93	2 169.68
7–10 August 2014	2014 Asian Trophy	Junior	2 57.05	1 109.85	1 166.90
2013–14 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
6–9 March 2014	2014 Challenge Cup	Novice	1 40.35	1 90.74	1 131.09
22–24 November 2013	2013–2014 Japan Junior Championships	Junior	19 42.37	6 100.44	8 142.81
8–11 August 2013	2013 Asian Trophy	Novice	3 31.73	1 72.57	1 104.30
2012–13 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
6–9 March 2013	2013 Challenge Cup	Novice	1 41.30	1 75.13	1 116.43
17–18 November 2012	2012–2013 Japan Junior Championships	Junior	6 51.20	9 91.88	7 143.08
7–12 August 2012	2012 Asian Trophy	Novice	1 43.06	2 64.49	2 107.55
2011–12 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
13–15 April 2012	2012 Gardena Spring Trophy	Novice	1 45.56	1 63.51	1 109.07

References

1. "Wakaba HIGUCHI: 2015/2016". International Skating Union.
2. Flade, Tatjana (April 11, 2015). "Higuchi shows promise for Japanese ladies". Golden Skate.
3. Xiong, Wei. [web.icenetwork.com/news/2015/12/27/160527558/miyahara-outshines-asada-to-remain-champion "Miyahara outshines Asada to remain champion"] Check |url= value (help). Ice Network. Ice Network. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
4. Prince Ice World 2015 (Television production) (in Japanese). Japan: BS Japan. 17 May 2015.
5. Dreams on Ice 2015 (Television production) (in Japanese). Japan: Fuji TV. 22 June 2015.
6. "Wakaba HIGUCHI: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015.
7. "Competition Results: Wakaba HIGUCHI". International Skating Union.
8. "樋口 新葉/HIGUCHI Wakaba". Japan Skating Federation. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014.

External links

Media related to Wakaba Higuchi at Wikimedia Commons

• Wakaba Higuchi at the International Skating Union