KADOMA, Osaka Prefecture – Four Continents bronze medalist Yuma Kagiyama took the lead after the short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday night at Ractab Dome with a sharp program save for one mistake. The 17-year-old topped the field with a total score of 87.26 points going into Saturday’s free skate.
Kazuki Tomono is in second place with 83.27, while newly crowned Japan junior champion Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda is third on 79.22.
Last season’s Junior Grand Prix Final winner Shun Sato (72.04) had a tough go of it and is seventh.
Kaori Sakamoto moved out to a comfortable lead after the women’s short program with a tally of 75.60. She is nearly six points ahead of Wakaba Higuchi (69.71), who is second.
Kagiyama, last season’s bronze medalist at nationals behind Shoma Uno and Yuzuru Hanyu, skated to “Vocussion” and opened with a nice quad salchow/triple toe combination jump, then executed a sublime quad toe loop. Kagiyama looked to be on the way to a career-high score, but singled his planned triple axel.
He finished strong after the miscue, and ended up with level fours on all of his spins and step sequence.
Kagiyama bemoaned the only blemish on his otherwise sterling evening.
“In the first half of the program I did the way I practiced and I thought I was going to have a clean performance, but then I got a little tired in the second half and I popped the axel,” Kagiyama stated.
The 20-year-old Sakamoto put on a spirited performance to “Concerto En Re Mineur” and “Bach A La Jazz.” She began with a fine double axel, followed that with a solid triple lutz, and went on to land a triple flip/triple toe loop combination. Sakamoto staked herself to the big advantage despite getting just level threes on two of her spins and step sequence.
Higuchi fell on her opening triple axel, but bounced back to land a triple lutz/triple toe loop combo and a triple flip.
Mako Yamashita is in third with 67.56, while new Japan junior champion Rino Matsuike (65.74) is fourth.
“I was able to skate a good short program and I feel relieved,” Sakamoto commented. “It was the first time that I had the (triple) lutz (in the short program) for five years and I was able to skate clean.”
Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto overshadowed the debut of icon Daisuke Takahashi in ice dance. Komatsubara and Koleto were in the groove to music from “Dreamgirls” and have a firm lead with 70.76.
Takahashi, a five-time singles champion at the NHK Trophy, made his first appearance in competition with partner Kana Muramoto and the duo is in second at 64.15.
The 34-year-old Takahashi, the first Japanese man to win an Olympic medal and a world championship, looked resplendent in bright yellow pants with a white shirt and black suspenders.
“The atmosphere is completely different from singles,” Takahashi noted. “I was nervous at our practice session this morning. Kana kept saying, ‘Let’s enjoy this!’
“We did make some mistakes which we need to address, but if we can perform at this level in the free dance that would be great,” Takahashi added.
