Figure skating: Miyahara to skip planned season opener in Finland

Japan's top female skater Satoko Miyahara will withdraw from next month's Finlandia Trophy where she had been scheduled to open her season, the Japan Skating Federation said Monday.Miyahara, who sat out the latter half of last winter due to a stress fracture in her left groin area, has healed steadily from her injury but wants to save her energy and place priority on preparing for the Grand Prix series, federation director Yoshiko Kobayashi said.The 19-year-old was initially planning to take part in the Finlandia Trophy in Finland on Oct. 6-8, but now her first competition of the upcoming W…READ FULL ARTICLE