Shoma Uno captures gold on home ice at NHK Trophy as Vincent Zhou finishes 2nd
Jim Armstrong | The Associated Press | Posted: November 13, 2021 2:50 PM | Last Updated: November 13, 2021
Canada's Marjorie Lajoie, Zachary Lagha finish 5th in ice dance event
Japan's Shoma Uno landed four quadruple jumps on Saturday to win the NHK Trophy and bolster his prospects for the figure skating event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
First after the short program, the Olympic silver medallist received 187.57 points for a personal-best total of 290.15. Vincent Zhou of the United States was second with 260.69 followed by South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan with 259.60.
Ottawa native Nam Nguyen finished in 10th spot (208.39) after earning 64.28 points in the short program and 144.11 points in the free skate.
Uno opened with a quad loop and followed with a quad salchow in his routine to "Bolero." His only major mistake came when he could only manage a double flip instead of a quad.
"I was able to execute the jumps as I do in practice," Uno said after also having two quad toe loops. "Completing those jumps early gave me a little breathing room in the second half of the routine."
WATCH l Uno shines on home ice to win gold:
With Saturday's win, Uno also qualified for the Dec. 9-12 Grand Prix Final in Osaka.
Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu was forced to withdraw due to a right ankle injury.
Zhou, second after the short program, planned to open his routine with a quad lutz but could only manage a single. He recovered after that with four quad jumps but finished the free skate in sixth place with 161.18 points.
Zhou is the 2019 world bronze medallist and was coming off his first Grand Prix title at Skate America, where he upset favourite Nathan Chen.
Cha fell on his second element, a quad salchow, but landed the rest of his jumps. He finished fifth in the free skate but it was enough to maintain third place from the short program.
WATCH l Canada's Nguyen finishes 10th in men's event:
Sakamoto successfully defends women's title
In the women's event, defending champion Kaori Sakamoto held on to her advantage from the short program to win the free skate and lead a 1-2 finish for Japan.
Sakamoto's routine doesn't feature a triple axel. She opened with a double axel, a triple lutz and a triple flip-double toe combination. The 21-year-old then added a triple salchow, a triple flip-triple toe and a triple loop for a season-best score of 146.78 and a total of 223.34.
"One month ago it would have been hard to imagine today's result," Sakamoto said. "I don't have a big element so I have to make sure I skate clean."
WATCH l Sakamoto wins gold in women's event:
Mana Kawabe fell on her opening triple axel but landed seven triple jumps in her routine to "Miracle" and scored 131.56 points for 205.44 overall.
South Korea's You Young also fell on her opening triple axel but went on to land five triples to finish third with 203.60 points.
Alysa Liu of the United States opened with a triple axel but it was slightly under-rotated and she finished in fourth place with 202.90 points.
Mishina, Galliamov triumphant in pairs event
World champions Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Galliamov of Russia skated to the second Grand Prix gold medal of their careers in the pairs event.
Mishina and Galliamov led after the short program and received a score of 148.88 for their free skate for a total of 227.28.
The silver went to Russian teammates Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov on 213.27, while Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took the bronze medal with 209.42.
Canada's Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud finished sixth overall in the pairs event with a total score of 167.98. The duo were sixth after the short program with 56.97 points, and they claimed the same spot following the free skate (111.01).
Sinitsina, Katsalapov earn ice dance gold
World ice dance champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia won the free dance to claim the gold with a total of 215.44 points.
WATCH l Sinitsina, Katsalapov top ice dance podium in Tokyo:
Two-time world medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States took the silver on 210.78. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain were third on 191.91.
Canadian ice dance duo Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha posted a season-best fifth-place finish with 187.38 total points. They were fifth after the rhythm dance with 74.45 points, and they finished fourth in the free dance after posting a score of 112.93.
The next Grand Prix event is the Nov. 19-21 Internationaux de France.
WATCH l Canadian ice dancers Lajoie, Lagha finish 5th: