Miura Kao, 17, leads Skate Canada, besting teammate Uno Shoma in short program

For the second consecutive week, 17-year-old Miura Kao is turning heads in the figure skating world.

After winning his first-ever Grand Prix medal at Skate America (with a silver), Miura soared into first place at Skate Canada International (much like a week ago) with a 94.06 in Mississauga Friday night (28 October), leading teammate Uno Shoma, the reigning world champion and three-time Olympic medallist.

Uno, 24, was able to tack on only a single toe-loop onto his lone jump combination in the short program, totalling 89.98.

Matteo Rizzo, the 2019 European Championships bronze medallist, sits third with a 81.18.

Canada's Keegan Messing, meanwhile, is fourth after falling on his opening quad and failing to do a combination. He scored a 79.69.

Earlier, in the pairs short program, reigning world silver medallists Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi of Japan eased into the lead with a 73.39, Miura saving their throw triple Lutz landing. They have a six-point lead heading into the free.

All four disciplines are set to conclude on Saturday (29 October). Canadian skaters lead in both women's singles and ice dance, with Madeline Schizas searching for her first Skate Canada title (or Grand Prix gold of any kind) and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier after their second straight Skate Canada win - and third overall.

Miura: 'I carried the momentum'

Skaters often voice their desire to "skate clean" at a competition and Miura did just that: He hit a quad Salchow-triple toe-loop combination before knocking down a triple Axel and quad toe to finish his program.

"I carried the momentum from Skate America," he told reporters after.

Miura said he gained confidence last season having won bronze at Four Continents [in February], which "drove me to win," he said, proving to him that he can compete on the world stage. He suffered from Covid-19 earlier in the year, as well, but said he has fully recovered.

For the second week in a row he'll skate last in the free skate, having done so after Ilia Malinin in Boston - and this time he will follow Uno, his elder compatriot.

Miura said it was difficult to skate after Malinin's history-making quad Axel, but that that experience will help him Saturday night (29 October) here. 

The combination miss, Uno said, is something the he has struggled with at home in practice and aims to work on moving forward.

"I've been struggling with [that combination] for a while," Uno said. "I hope to do well tomorrow."

Uno recently spoke about Malinin's impact on him, and said on Friday that he maintains a singular focus on improving his own skating: "I want to hold on to where I am [in the sport] while also building and building to the next level."

American Camden Pulkinen was fifth (75.07), while Conrad Orzel of Canada rounded out the top six (69.69). Deniss Vasiljevs, the reigning European bronze medallist is seventh after popping his quad toe attempt - a jump he is just learning to put into his program.

Pairs: Miura/Kihara set big goals after injury

Skating to Elvis Presley's "You'll Never Walk Alone", Miura/Kihara invited the crowd in as they always do with their exceptional energy. Aside from the throw Lutz, the Japanese team received positive Grades of Execution (GOEs) across the board, including for their opening triple twist and side-by-side triple toe-loops.

"Excellent first effort," coach Bruno Marcotte told them as they left the ice.

Miura/Kihara have been back on training ice for only about five weeks after Miura suffered from a left shoulder injury this off-season in July while doing shows in Japan. While the team says they are in a "chasing" mode because of the injury, they also see themselves as one of the top teams in the world moving forward.

"Coming off of the Beijing Olympics, we were able to get the confidence that we can aim for the top - with all the top teams," Kihara said via an interpreter. "We're going to continue to do that for the next four years. We're going to aim to absolutely reach our goals, but [try to do so] healthily."  

The American team of Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe sit in second place with a 67.39, while Italy's Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii are third at 66.66.