All-Japan Figure Skating Championships 2023: Uno Shoma a class apart in topping men's short program
The defending champion produced a flawless skate to pry open a 10-point lead as the Japanese nationals get under way in Nagano.
Figure Skating
Uno Shoma was in a league of his own as the men’s defending champion jumped out to the short-program lead at the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships 2023 on Thursday (21 December).
Uno opened his squeaky clean performance at the Big Hat in Nagano with a quadruple flip and compounded the damage with a quad toe-double toe combo followed by a triple Axel.
The three minutes of quality earned the two-time world champion a 104.69 and a sizeable lead over Yamamoto Sota (94.58).
Kagiyama Yuma sat in third on 93.94 after falling on his opening quadruple Salchow.
Despite putting one hand on a sixth national crown - which would tie him for second best all-time - Uno said he was not in the best of form on this night.
“I could tell the moment I stepped on to the ice that I wasn’t in very good condition,” he said. “I had to figure out how I could get the best out of myself given the situation so I thought I did well in that regard.
“I want to make sure I finish top amid the intense competition. I hope to keep it up in the free.”
Kagiyama was far from pleased after his program, with the winner automatically punching his ticket to the ISU World Championships in March.
The Beijing 2022 Olympic silver medallist said he would have to dig real deep to unseat Uno from the lead.
“Pure frustration,” Kagiyama said. “There’s a one-of-one atmosphere and tension at the nationals that I felt from warm-ups.
“Before I knew it, I fell. I was too careful. But it’s a good thing I regrouped to land a quad, a triple toe and triple Axel.
“I have nothing to lose now. I want to be aggressive from the start in the free.”
The men’s free skate is on Saturday. Friday features the women’s short program.