NAGANO – After 10 months away from competition, Yuzuru Hanyu is halfway to regaining the national title he last won in 2015 after an electrifying performance in the short program at the Japan Championships on Friday afternoon.
The superstar, looking sharp in a black and gold-sequined outfit, opened with a nice quadruple salchow to “Let Me Entertain You,” then landed a quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination jump, and went on to execute a beautiful back counter triple axel.
The only real blemish for the two-time Olympic champion came after the triple axel when he was given no score on his change foot sit spin. Hanyu missed a revolution on his final position in the spin. He quickly recovered, earning a level four on his step sequence in his next element and also his final spin.
Hanyu earned a score of 103.53 points and will take a nearly five-point advantage over Yuma Kagiyama, who is second with 98.60, into Saturday’s free skate.
Four-time defending titlist Shoma Uno is in third place at 94.22.
Defending champion Rika Kihira holds a commanding lead with 79.34 after the women’s short program. Kaori Sakamoto is a distant second at 71.86, while Mai Mihara is third on 69.55.
The women’s free skate is set for Sunday.
Kagiyama was steady in his effort to “Vocussion,” and is poised to make the podium for the second year in a row after coming in third behind Uno and Hanyu last year in Tokyo.
“To be honest, I enjoyed it, but it is not a good performance in terms of points,” Hanyu stated. “I want go tomorrow while making corrections. For the time being, I have not been able to improve my technical skills.”
Added Hanyu, “the song selection is from Jeffrey Buttle. At first, I was looking for a piano song, but could not decide on one. I was given a few songs, but they didn’t feel right. Looking at the news and the situation in the world, I hope that bring songs will be a little brighter.”
The 17-year-old Kagiyama, whose father Masakazu was a three-time winner of this event, began his routine with a quad salchow/double toe loop combo, which he had planned to be a quad/triple. He bounced back immediately, hitting a superb quad toe loop, and recorded level fours on all of his spins.
Uno fell on his planned quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination. Uno, the silver medalist behind Hanyu in Pyeongchang, went down hard after opening with a sharp quad flip to “Great Spirit.”
Uno rallied to land a nice triple axel and received level fours on all of his spins. He will have a lot of work to do in the free skate, however, if he is to become the first man since Minoru Sano in the 1976-77 season to win five consecutive national crowns.
“Sometimes I feel like running away,” Uno said. “I think I have been waiting for (this tension) as a competitor.”
Keiji Tanaka (83.61) is in fourth place, while Shun Sato is fifth on 83.31.
Kihira skated to “The Fire Within” and put forth a strong effort that included a fine triple axel and a one-handed cartwheel during the program. Her only hiccup came on the landing on the back end of her triple flip/triple toe loop combo, which was not clean.
“It was a very good performance,” Kihira stated. “I was disappointed because I wanted to exceed 80 points.”
Sakamoto doubled the back end of her planned triple flip/triple toe loop combo and received a level three on her step sequence in what she considered a disappointing performance after her victory at the NHK Trophy last month.
“It’s a pity that I can’t produce it even though I’ve practiced so much,” Sakamoto commented. “I feel frustrated.”
Mihara continued her comeback with a smooth skate to “It’s Magic.” She posted level fours on all of her spins and step sequence and received a standing ovation from the appreciative crowd.
“It’s only good if you make no mistakes in both the short program and free,” Mihara said. “It just a free way to show what you have been practicing without thinking about your ranking or score.”
Mako Yamashita (67.28) is in fourth place, while four-time national champion Satoko Miyahara (66.48) is sixth following her season debut.
The ice dance will get underway on Saturday with the rhythm dance.
