Stars Yuma Kagiyama and Kaori Sakamoto Lead After the NHK Trophy Short Programs

Yuma Kagiyama led a 1-2-3 finish by the Japanese men in the short program at the NHK Trophy in Tokyo on Friday, November 8. The Beijing Olympic silver medalist put on a sublime show, displaying all of his skills on the way to taking the lead with a score of 105.70 points.

Kao Miura racked up a personal best of 102.96 and is in second place, while Tatsuya Tsuboi tallied 85.02 in third at Yoyogi National Stadium

American Andrew Torgashev stands in fourth place on 84.36.

Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto put on a scintillating display on the way to grabbing a commanding lead in the women's short program. The 24-year-old registered 78.93 points, giving her a more than seven-point advantage over Mone Chiba going into the free skate.

Chiba totaled 71.69 in second, while Yuna Aoki scored 69.78 in third to give Japan a 1-2-3 sweep of both short programs.

Alysa Liu of the United States is in fourth place with 65.03.

Kagiyama Exhibits Fantastic Form in Short Program

The 21-year-old Kagiyama skated to "The Sound of Silence" and ran through his elements with near flawless precision. He opened with a big quadruple salchow, followed by a superb quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination jump, and went on to land a smooth triple axel.

The three-time world silver medalist earned level fours on all of his spins and step sequence before a home crowd that was enraptured. Kagiyama even threw in a clockwise spin near the end of his routine, rotating in the opposite direction of which he normally does.

"I think the skating was very good," Kagiyama stated. "From beginning to end I did it as I practiced, and I think I was really able to get into the performance while looking around."

Added Kagiyama, "I exceeded the goal of 100 points in the short program that I set yesterday. My personal best (108.12) was at the Olympics, so I wanted to get 108 points, but it was quite difficult."

Miura Surpasses 100-Point Mark at NHK Trophy

The 19-year-old Miura made it close with his performance to "Conquest of Spaces," starting with a nice quad salchow/triple toe loop combo. He then landed a solid triple axel, and also hit a beautiful quad toe loop.

Miura, the 2023 world junior champion, was clearly thrilled to break the 100-point mark in the short program for the first time in his career.

"One hundred points was a thick wall to break through," Miura noted. "I got 99 points before, but I never exceeded 100 points. It was great I was able to surpass it."

Miura has been dealing with a thigh injury, but gutted it out this night.

"I think I was able to make money with my short program, but if I am careless, I will get hurt," Miura commented.

The 21-year-old Tsuboi competed to "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor" and started with a strong quad salchow, followed by a triple axel. He received an edge call on the front end of his triple lutz/triple toe loop combo, but notched level fours on all of his spins.

Sakamoto Superb on Way to Opening Big Lead

The Kobe native skated to "Resurreccion del Angel" and was on the mark from start to finish. She opened with a double axel, followed it with a triple lutz, and landed a triple flip/triple toe loop combo later in the program. Sakamoto racked up level fours on all of her spins and step sequence.

It was a fantastic performance by a star skater clearly at the top of her game.

"I was very happy that I got 78 points," Sakamoto remarked. "Recently, it has been below 75 points. I was able to be calm from beginning to end and concentrate in a good sense of tension."

Chiba, 19, was outstanding in her own right to Donna Summer's "Last Dance." The Sendai native had an edge call on the front end of her triple lutz/triple toe loop combo, but cleanly hit her double axel and triple flip.

She put out an inspiring effort while displaying lovely line and edge with music that seemed perfect for her.

"I think it was good that I was able to have fun in the step sequence," Chiba said. "The free skate will require a lot of concentration, so I want to tighten my mind more than today and do my best."

Aoki competed to "Adios Nonino" and was stable with the exception of an under-rotation on the front end of her opening triple lutz/triple loop combo. The 22-year-old received level fours on all of her spins and a level three on her step sequence to put her in medal position in the free skate.

Miura, Kihara Hold Lead in NHK Trophy Pairs Competition

Earlier on Friday, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara took the lead in the pairs short program with 71.90. Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava are a close second at 70.28, while Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the US are third on 69.15.

Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi are in fifth with 60.32.

Two-time world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the US are on top in ice dance after the rhythm dance with 86.32, ahead of compatriots Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko in second at 79.64.

Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius took third with 77.91.

Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita (64.30) are ninth, with Azusa Tanaka and Shingo Nishiyama (59.15) in 10th.

The NHK Trophy will continue on Saturday with the free dance and pairs, men's and women's free skates.

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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.