It was wonderful to see Higuchi Wakaba / 樋口 新葉 return to figure skating after an 8 month absence due to a stress fracture shin injury. She performed in Japan to Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ at the Prince Ice Worlds ice show in Yokohama, and has stated that she hopes to return to competitive skating next season. She was warmly welcomed back to the ice by the audience, at KOSE Shin-Yokohama Skating Centre, who shouted “Wakaba-chan, welcome back!”
Wakaba, who recently graduated from Meida University, says she has not decided on an exact date for her return to competition but was quoted as saying, “I want to get back to my original level of competition.”
She won a bronze Olympic medal with Team Japan at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, and also finished 5th in the individual figure skating event at the same Olympics, so it would be great to see this talented skater back on the international competition circuit.
This was initially reported by nikkansports.com with beautiful photos by Yuzo Karimata.
We’re so happy that Wakaba has recovered from her injury and we can’t wait to see what Wakaba-chan does next! Stay tuned for more updates…
Note: If you notice any inaccuracies or mistranslations in our figure skating coverage, please let us know at @KikiTheRedPanda on Twitter.
