3-time world champion Sakamoto dominates short program at her last NHK Trophy event

Three-time satellite champion Kaori Sakamoto dominated the abbreviated programme connected Friday, putting herself successful premier presumption to support her rubric astatine what she says volition beryllium her last NHK Trophy.

Sakamoto said successful June she volition discontinue from contention aft adjacent year's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Skating to "Time to Say Goodbye," Sakamoto landed a triple lutz, a treble axel and a triple flip-triple toed loop operation connected her mode to a season-best people of 77.05, astir 10 points up of Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan who was 2nd with 67.75.

South Korea's You Young was 3rd with 67.66.

After winning 3 consecutive satellite championships done 2024, Sakamoto finished 2nd astatine this year's worlds successful Boston successful March.

The 25-year-old won the women's singles bronze medal astatine the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Sakamoto finished 2nd down 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai astatine the season-opening Grand Prix de France past period and came to her location Grand Prix aiming to regain her dominance.

"I was a small tense since arriving present but was capable to enactment that down maine and skate a coagulated program," Sakamoto said. "I completed each my jumps successfully and volition look to proceed that successful the escaped skate tomorrow."

WATCH | Sakamoto dominates women's abbreviated program:

Japan's champion anticipation for a medal astatine the Olympics, Sakamoto volition person to contend with Russian fig skater Adeliia Petrosian successful Italy. The 17-year-old Petrosian has won 2 consecutive nationalist titles and is unbeaten implicit the past 2 seasons, winning 8 consecutive home events.

She qualified for the Olympics by winning the golden medal astatine the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating qualifier successful Beijing successful September.

The 2024 European Champion Loena Hendrickx returned to the Grand Prix bid aft sitting retired the past play owed to injury.

Hendrickx landed her archetypal 2 jumps but fell connected her third, a triple flip, and finished successful 4th spot with 62.45 points. Hendrickx qualified for the Olympics by finishing 3rd astatine the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating qualifier.

Kagiyama leads aft men's abbreviated program

Local favourite Yuma Kagiyama was archetypal aft the men's abbreviated program.

The 2022 Olympic metallic medalist landed a quad lutz astatine the commencement of his regular and added a quad toed loop-triple toed loop operation earlier finishing with a triple axel for 98.58 points.

"I was pleased with each of my jumps, putting everything into them I was capable to implicit them successfully," Kagiyama said. "But the mistakes connected the spins and measurement are precise regrettable."

Kagiyama's compatriot Shun Sato was 2nd with 96.67 points followed by South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan with 91.60.

WATCH | Kagiyama successful presumption to triumph title:

Fear and Gibson apical aft bushed dance

In crystal dance, satellite bronze medalists Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain received a season-best people of 81.57 points and were archetypal aft the bushed creation followed by Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri of Italy.

Alex and Maia Shibutani of the United States, who are making a comeback aft a seven-year absence, were sixth.

In pairs, 2022 Olympic champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China were archetypal aft the abbreviated program. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy were 2nd portion Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko finished third.

Sui and Han delivered a beardown abbreviated programme to "Habanera" that featured a triple toe, triple twist and large propulsion triple flip. The two-time ISU World Champions acceptable a caller season's champion of 74.63 to instrumentality the lead.

"For maine this is lone the beginning," Han said. "This is our 2nd Grand Prix but we inactive consciousness it is caller and fresh. We are conscionable getting backmost to vie and we person a batch of enactment to do."

The ISU Grand Prix Series consists of six planetary events successful a cumulative point-scoring format.

Each jock oregon squad is eligible to people points successful up to 2 of the six scheduled events. The apical six point-earners successful each subject suffice for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final acceptable for Dec. 4-7 successful Nagoya, Japan.

Shibutani siblings code leaked video 

Alex and Maia Shibutani accidental determination are nary hard feelings betwixt them aft a video of Alex berating his sister successful signifier was leaked connected societal media.

In the video that surfaced past month, Alex tin beryllium heard directing an expletive-laced rant astatine his younger sister.

The American siblings are competing astatine this weekend's NHK Trophy successful Osaka, the 4th circular of the ISU's Grand Prix Series. They placed sixth successful Friday's bushed dance.

Alex besides addressed the video, saying "I consciousness unspeakable astir it."

"Unfortunately, I mislaid my temper successful grooming and it shouldn't person happened," helium said. "I apologized to Maia close aft our practice."

Known arsenic the "Shib Sibs," the 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalists are attempting a comeback aft a interruption of 7 years successful the hopes of making the U.S. squad for adjacent year's Milan-Cortina Games.

"The strength of what we are trying to bash and the standards that we have, the 2 of us, we some recognize (the outburst) but it was incorrect and I americium committed to being a amended teammate," Alex said. "I'm truthful fortunate to skate with Maia. We person a precise unique, peculiar narration and we are committed to each different and to this process."

Maia Shibutani besides commented connected the leaked video.

"When you are moving toward being your champion determination are going to beryllium aggravated moments, but for america we recognize each different and the process and we enactment done it unneurotic similar siblings do," she said. "We continued practicing that time and we take each different each time."

Alex, 34, and Maia, 31, person skated unneurotic astir of their lives, and for a agelong clip were the ascendant US crystal dancers.

They are three-time satellite title medalists and two-time Olympians, finishing ninth astatine the 2014 Olympics astatine Sochi and 3rd astatine the 2018 Games astatine Pyeongchang, wherever they were besides portion of the U.S. squad that won a squad bronze medal.

The Shibutani siblings took a interruption from elite-level skating aft Pyeongchang to absorption connected schoolhouse and different interests.

They extended their competitory hiatus erstwhile Maia was diagnosed with a malignant tumor connected her kidney successful 2019. She underwent country to region the mass, and further attraction resulted successful a palmy but agelong and achy recovery.