In sixth senior season, Yamamoto Sota captures first Grand Prix gold, edging out teammate Miura Kao at Skate Canada
The short program leader, Yamamoto withstood surging free skates from Miura and Matteo Rizzo of Italy. Canada's Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps triumphed in pairs.
Figure Skating
Eight years since he landed on the figure skating world junior podium, Japan's Yamamoto Sota, now 23, is a Grand Prix champion.
The short program leader at Skate Canada International in Vancouver, Yamamoto withstood strong free skates from teammate Miura Kao and Matteo Rizzo of Italy to win on Saturday night (28 October), scoring a 258.42.
Miura, 18, was just a mere 0.53 points behind Yamamoto at 257.89, while Rizzo registered a 246.01. Miura and Rizzo went 1-2 in the free skate.
Pre-event favourite, reigning world silver medallist Cha Jun-hwan, came unglued in the free after placing second in the short. He fell three times and completed just one combination, finishing in eighth overall.
Skate Canada is the second of six Grand Prix stops in the ISU Series, which will culminate with December’s Grand Prix Final in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Tomono Kazuki of Japan was third after the short but also struggled in his free, finishing at 245.12 to place fourth. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov was fifth at 241.65.
It was Yamamoto's ninth career GP appearance (including the Final), having won silvers at both Grand Prix of France and NHK Trophy in Japan last season before nabbing the same medal at the GP Final in Turin. He was 15th in his debut at the World Championships in March.
Yamamoto makes it a Japanese sweep in singles, joining teammate Sakamoto Kaori as SCI champion.
Earlier in pairs, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps thrilled their home Canadian crowd with victory, smashing their personal best scores with a 142.39 in the free for a 214.64 overall.
They are the first Canadian pair to win their home GP since Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in 2017.
Men: Yamamoto, Miura go 1-2 for Japan
It was a turbulent men's free skate, with Rizzo leap-frogging from eighth place after the short for his bronze while Cha fell from second to ninth. (He was 11th in the free skate.)
"I was able to get very good results in juniors, but since then I have suffered very many injuries," Yamamoto said via an interpreter. Because of the injuries, "I couldn't reach my full potential. I really couldn't imagine being here today. Last season was a very happy one for me, and I hope to continue [this form] moving forward."
Miura, the reigning world junior champion himself, continues to show strong results on the senior circuit. This is his third Grand Prix silver medal (along with Skates America and Canada in 2022), while he also captured the gold at Four Continents this past February.
Miura expressed disappointment, however, with his overall performance here, saying he is determined to level up his skating.
About his jump onto the podium, said Rizzo: "You have to believe in something to earn it. I knew that I could go on the podium. I always think in men's figure skating, everything is possible."
That much proved true on this night, though none of the men were clean in their free skate, the weekend belongs to Yamamoto, who shook off a fall midway through the long program on a triple Axel and landed three quads in his "Exogenesis Symphony Part 3."
Pairs: Stellato-Dudek/ Deschamps thrill home crowd
Are Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps the best pairs team in the world right now?
Their performance Saturday night could argue as much, their scores as good as any from last season as the duo soared to victory in its Skate Canada debut as a pair.
"Today was a good performance," an under-stated Deschamps said. "We have worked hard and we were able to show it off today."
Added Stellato-Dudek: "Last season, all season, we fell short of doing a clean program, so it felt really good to have a check mark next to every element this performance."
The team looks sharp at the outset of the season, with the World Championships set for March in Deschamps hometown of Montreal, where they train. They are the oldest team - by far - in pairs in the world: Deanna is 40 and Max 31.
Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary jumped from fourth to silver (187.78), while Italians Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise claimed the bronze (181.42).
Skate Canada 2023: Schedule
All times listed in local Vancouver time, Pacific Daylight Time. (GMT -7)
Sunday, 29 October
14:00 – Exhibition gala
You can see the full official schedule here.
Skate Canada 2023: How to tune in
American fans can catch the action via livestream on Peacock throughout the weekend. NBC will host a recap show at noon ET the following weekend, on Saturday (4 November).
See the full U.S. broadcast schedule here. Canadians can watch on CBC and its subsequent platforms.
For international fans, the ISU provides a "where to watch" page here. Some regions may be geo-restricted when it comes to availability.