Nakai Ami, Kataise Takeru Amine take short program lead at Baltic Cup in Gdansk
Competition continues Friday (7 October) with the women's free skate
Figure Skating
It was a Japanese sweep Thursday (6 October) during the men's and women's short programs at the Baltic Cup in Gdansk, Poland. The event is part of the International Skating Union's Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
Nakai Ami leads the women's competition. She scored a 69.00, a personal and season's best for the 14-year-old. Second and third place belong to a pair of South Korean women with Kwon Minsol earning a 66.81 ahead of Shin Jia's 63.72.
The event's 45th performer, Nakai performed to George Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm.' She was clean on all three of her jumping passes, executing a double Axel to open, followed by a triple Lutz, triple toe combination and a triple loop.
In the men's event, Kataise Takeru Amine earned a 79.06 to top the leader board. American Robert Yampolsky (77.39) was second, followed by Japan's Nakata Rio (76.15).
Kataise enters this 2022-23 season after solid finishes at the Japanese championships a year ago when he took fourth in the junior event and 14th in seniors. His short program in Gdansk included a solid triple Axel, a triple loop and a triple Lutz, triple toe combination.
Competition continues Friday (7 October) with the women's free skate scheduled for 2:15pm local time. The men's free skate will get underway on Saturday (8 October) at 12:15pm local.