Tokyo, 11 December, /AJMEDIA/
Shoma Uno won his first men’s championship at ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final on Saturday, continuing a stellar weekend for Japanese skaters.
Uno, the reigning world champion, entered Saturday’s free skate with a 5.13-point margin over compatriot Sota Yamamoto after Friday’s short program, but a personal best 204.47 in the free skate saw Uno win handily with a 304.46 total at the Palavela in Turin.
A two-time Olympic medalist who has twice been a Grand Prix Final runner-up with two third-places at the event, Uno became the first Japanese to win the men’s title since Yuzuru Hanyu won it four years in a row from 2013 to 2016.
“Because I watched everyone deliver magnificent performances, I was able to skate with a sense of anticipation about what kind of program I could achieve,” Uno said. “All the work I’ve done in practice was on display.”
“Now I want to keep at it until I can skate programs I’m satisfied with.”
Yamamoto was second with 274.35, while American teenager Ilia Malinin was third with 271.94. The rising star, the only skater to successfully execute a quad axel in competition, included his trademark jump in a free skate that put him on the podium after placing fifth in the short program.
Japan’s Shun Sato who, like Malinin, is just 18, was fourth.
On Friday, Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won Japan’s first-ever pairs medal at the event.
They finished 1.30 points ahead of Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, who beat them at the world championships earlier this year, with Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii third.
