What looked like an easy walk in the park for Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, turned out to be anything but. Both were beaten by South Korean rivals on Thursday, February 13.
Kagiyama and Sakamoto led after their respective short programs, but could not hold on in their free skates. They were forced to settle for silver medals instead of gold. Kagiyama led Jun Hwan Cha by more than seven points after Tuesday's short program, while Sakamoto led Chaeyeon Kim by just over three points.
Mistake-filled free skates by Kagiyama and Sakamoto helped Cha and Kim come from behind to top the podium at the quadrennial regional competition.
Cha won with a total score of 281.69 points, with Kagiyama second at 272.76. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov took the bronze on 246.01. Shun Sato finished a disappointing fifth with 232.10.
Kim claimed the gold with a tally of 219.44, with Sakamoto coming in second on 211.90 and Hana Yoshida placing third at 205.20.
Multiple Stumbles for Kagiyama in the Free Skate
The 21-year-old Kagiyama fell twice in his free skate to "Ameska" and "Romanza" and managed only a level three on his step sequence. Kagiyama went down on a quadruple lutz and a triple axel. He did land two quads and five triples but doubled the back end of a planned triple toe loop/triple toe loop combination jump midway through his program.
"I'm working on a few things with my program at the moment," Kagiyama was quoted as saying by olympics.com. "Of course, the performance was very frustrating but I wasn't afraid to try, which I think will pay off at the worlds."
Added Kagiyama, "I have to improve the quad lutz by a lot but before that, I need to make sure I execute the quad flip as that gets the program going. But I left it all out there tonight. It's a little bit different from the (Finlandia Trophy) when I felt like I had more to give."
For Cha, an Impressive Display at the Asian Winter Games
Cha, the world silver medalist in 2023, landed two clean quads and six triples on the way to victory in his free skate to "Balada para un Loco." He notched level fours on two of his spins and his step sequence. The lone blemish on the 23-year-old's scoresheet was an under-rotation on his final jump (a triple loop).
Sakamoto Frustrated After Free Skate
Sakamoto, the three-time defending world champion, fell once in her free skate to "All That Jazz" and was unable to land even one triple/triple combination jump. The 24-year-old did hit five triples and earned level fours on two of her spins.
"I wanted to win of course so this result is frustrating, to say the least," Sakamoto said, according to olympics.com. "[And] I need to learn from this and make it count at the next one."
Added Sakamoto, "I was locked in through the first half of the skate but I fell apart after that, which means I'm not there fitness-wise and had a lapse in concentration. I have to adjust for the world championships, [and] finish with no regrets.
"But I know what went wrong and where," Sakamoto continued. "I'm not going to beat myself up about this and [will] turn it into a positive."
Strong Performance for Kim
Kim, the 2024 world bronze medalist, executed a smooth free skate to "Whisperers from the Heart" and "Love Dance." The 18-year-old hit seven clean triples and recorded level fours on all of her spins and step sequence.
Kim paid tribute to Sakamoto after the triumph.
"She is such a great skater, so I never expected to surpass her," Kim stated. "But at the same time, I always hoped to win one day. Beating her at the Asian Games, such a prestigious event, is a great honor and very meaningful to me."
Disappointing Start for Yoshida
Yoshida fell on her opening triple axel in her free skate to "S.O.S. d'un Terrien en Detresse," but did land five clean triples and registered level fours on two of her spins and step sequence.
Japan Nets 2 Medals in Ice Dance, 1 in Pairs
Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita were victorious in the ice dance on Wednesday, February 12, with a total mark of 173.31. China's Junfei Ren and Jianing Xing came in second at 171.25. Meanwhile, Azusa Tanaka and Shingo Nishiyama picked up the bronze on 163.71.
Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi captured the bronze in pairs on the same day with 168.35. Uzbekistan's Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitriy Chigirev (176.43) won the gold, while North Korea's Tae Ok Ryom and Kum Chol Han (168.88) took the silver.
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
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