KADOMA, Osaka Prefecture – Kaori Sakamoto skated the finest performance of her career on Saturday to win the NHK Trophy in commanding fashion. It was the first Grand Prix victory for the 20-year-old and signaled that she has put the struggles of last season behind her.
Sakamoto, the 2018 Japan champion, performed her free skate to “The Matrix” and skated with both passion and precision on the way to recording a career-high total of 229.51 points in the win.
Wakaba Higuchi, the 2018 world silver medalist finished a distant second at 200.98, while Japan junior champion Rino Matsuike came in third on 198.97, also a career best tally.
Yuma Kagiyama retained the lead after the short program to capture the men’s title with a superior showing. The 17-year-old landed three clean quadruple jumps in the triumph and registered 275.87.
Kazuki Tomono (226.62) was second, with Japan junior champion Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda (217.56) rounding out the podium in third.
Sakamoto landed seven clean triples and earned level fours on all of her spins and step sequence in the dominating effort. The Kobe native led by almost six points heading into the free skate and easily pulled away.
“Last season I was not able to skate this program clean, because I lacked stamina,” Sakamoto stated. “During the six-week quarantine I worked hard off the ice and it paid off. It was tough, but I told myself I need to go through it. I never want to feel the same as I did last season.”
Higuchi was pleased to land her elusive triple axel that was called a quarter under-rotated by the judging panel.
“The triple axel made me really happy,” Higuchi commented. “Finally I landed it in competition. However, it was difficult to maintain my focus since I was getting tired, so I will need to improve that for nationals.”
Kagiyama, the bronze medalist at last season’s Four Continents Championships, competed to “Avatar” and roared out of the gate, landing three quads in his first five jumps. He skated smoothly until late in the program when his lone mistake came as he singled the back end of a planned triple lutz/triple loop combo. The 2020 Youth Olympic champion received level fours on all of his spins and a level three on his step sequence this night.
“Being at the top of the podium in my first Grand Prix was a great experience for me,” Kagiyama noted. “Today I wanted to put everything out there and that is the way that I practiced and that is what I did.”
Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto retained their lead after the rhythm dance to capture the ice dance title. The duo won by 22 points with 179.05 with their performance to “Une histoire d’amour” in the free dance.
Rikako Fukase and Eichu Cho (157.89) moved up to take second place, while Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi (157.25) came in third in their competitive debut.
“We have a starting point now and know what we need to improve on,” Takahashi said. “In today’s free dance I made a mistake and I hate that. Even in practice I don’t make such a big mistake on the twizzle and other mistakes in transitions.”
