Sakamoto Kaori wows home crowd to lead Japanese Grand Prix after short program

Sakamoto Kaori saw the opportunity in front of her.

Skating last in the women's singles short program at NHK Trophy in Tokyo on Friday (12 November), the Japanese Olympian delivered a smooth and inspired performance to lead at the fourth stop on figure skating's Grand Prix Series ahead of the Winter Games Beijing 2022.

The PyeongChang 2018 participant scored a 76.56 and was delighted when her score flashed up, boosting her past teammate Kawabe Mana, the surprise of the afternoon, who is in second with a 73.88.

The Republic of Korea's You Young is in third with a 68.08 and Alysa Liu of the U.S. fourth with a 67.72.

The NHK Trophy will mark the first Grand Prix this season that will not be won by a Russian in women's singles. The event lost Skate America winner and reigning world bronze medallist Alexandra Trusova earlier this week due to a foot injury, and then on Friday her training mate Daria Usacheva injured herself on a jump and fall during the six-minute warm-up, needing to be carried away from rinkside.

Her withdrawal was announced minutes later; the Russian Figure Skating Federation subsequently announced that the 15-year-old had sustained a torn ligament in her right hip near the femur. "This injury does not require very long-term treatment and rehabilitation," the federation added.

Injuries have been a central theme to this event, as home hope Kihira Rika was also forced out due to an ankle injury.

But it was Kawabe, just 17, who came in place of Kihira, and the teen made the most of her appearance, landing a triple Axel and unexpectedly in the top three after the short.

Busy Friday features world champion teams

The weekend of skating kicked off with the pairs as reigning world champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov put out a commanding performance to lead over Russian teammates Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, 78.40 to 75.78.

Japan's Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi sit third, scoring a 73.98.

In ice dance, another team of reigning world champions from Russia are in the lead, with Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov skating internationally for the first time this season, edging ahead of Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates 86.33 to 86.02 after the rhythm dance.

Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson are third with a 76.43.

Read more on the pairs short program and rhythm dance below.

MORE: Fear/ Gibson thriving in Montreal environment

Sakamoto steely after Usacheva fall

The season has been a roller coaster of drama, and Friday was no different with Usacheva going down during the six-minute warm-up and immediately leaving the ice. She was carried away by a Russian team member and did not return. Her injury was confirmed in a press release from the International Skating Union.

There was no given for the 21-year-old Sakamoto, skating last and in front of a home crowd, but she was strong from start to finish, her double Axel slick to open, though she was called for an unclear edge on her triple Lutz. She closed her Gladiator short with a triple flip-triple toe combination, which all but guaranteed her a spot at No.1 going into the free skate.

"I practiced well yesterday and was calm today from beginning to end," Sakamoto shared. "I was a bit nervous in warm-ups and feeling my way through but I managed to regroup. My jumps were as good as ever and felt comfortable. Tomorrow hopefully I can turn in another clean skate."

She added: "I don’t have a big jump so I have to rely on perfecting all the other elements and I think that played well to the judges."

Big jumps came from Kawabe, You and Liu as well, the second, third and fourth-place skaters each attempting a triple Axel. It was only Kawabe who stood up on hers, however, a beautifully executed one that earned her a +2.06 Grade of Execution (GOE).

"I was shooting for 70 and would have been happy with something in the latter 60s," said Kawabe, who rewrote her personal best by almost eight points. "The score was much better than I expected. I’m thrilled and shocked at the same time."

You and Liu fell on their opening triple Axels, as did Liu's compatriot Amber Glenn, who is in sixth (63.43). Lim Eun-soo of Korea is fifth (65.23).

The Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics champion You continues to rely on her triple Axel, the jump that helped her to bronze at Skate America. She will need it again on Saturday to secure a podium spot.

"I really wanted to land my triple Axel [today]," she said. "I made mistakes [with] my Axel at Skate America and unfortunately I fell again. There’s still tomorrow and I really want to win. Hopefully I don’t feel as disappointed as today."

Pairs: Mishina/Galliamov keep momentum going

As for now, there appears to be no letting up for the surprise world champions from last season, Mishina/Galliamov, who opened their Olympic campaign with a win at Finlandia Trophy last month.

They were strong in each of their elements during their Esmerelda short program. The duo earned a level four on their opening triple twist, then positive Grades of Execution (GOEs) for a throw triple flip and side-by-side triple Salchows. Only their side-by-side spins were lacking in unison.

Mishina said the team was delighted to be skating in front of a big crowd, and that they had worked on making the program showcase a more mature version of their skating.

Tarasova/Morozov, three-time world medallists, won their opening Grand Prix last month at Skate America. But Tarasova fell on their opening side-by-side triple toe loops, called for under-rotating it, too, though the rest of their program was strong, earning them the highest program component score of the afternoon (36.20).

"We made some mistakes throughout, the jump in particular didn’t go well at all," Morozov told reporters in Russian. "It’s disappointing for sure but we’ll regroup for tomorrow."

It was Japan's Miura and Riku who won the silver medal behind Tarasova/Morozov in Las Vegas last month in what was their first fully-international Grand Prix. They brought the home crowd to its feet with a moving skate to Hallelujah, breaking into bright smiles upon finishing.

"Being completely honest, I wasn’t expecting a personal best," Miura said of their 73.98. "Our goal every time is to improve on our previous score. I think we’ve been consistent as of late, which we’re happy about.

She added: "It’s been a while since we last skated in front of the home crowd. It’s great to have an opportunity to show how much we’ve improved."

Team USA finished fourth-fifth with strong performances from Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc (70.75) and Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov (64.95).

Dance: Sinitsina/ Katsalapov strong in season debut

While Mishina/Galliamov were making their Grand Prix debut in week four of the series this season - so too were ice dancers Sinitsina and Katsalapov, who actually hadn't skated internationally yet this season due to a back injury for Katsalapov.

"Today I feel good, I feel really good," Katsalapov said. "I have a lot of people around me who help to deal with this problem. Every day I am working an extra two, three hours after training."

He displayed no discomfort on ice as he and Sinitsina took a 0.31 lead over Chock/Bates, and it was actually Sinitsina who received a Level 3 mark on the duo's twizzles.

"We feel great; we are so happy about the rhythm dance," added Sinitsina. "I think we did a good job."

While Chock/Bates sit second behind the Russians, they earned a career-best 86.02 for their Billie Eilish medley, outscoring the top team in the total element score and bettering their previous best from Four Continents in 2020 (85.76).

The Americans' Montreal training mates Fear/Gibson are 10 points back but in the top three, just 0.03 ahead of the fourth-place team, from Spain, Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavan.

While Canada's Marjorie Lajoie and Zach Lagha are fifth, the battle for Japan's lone Olympic spot in ice dance is sure to be fierce this season.

Muramoto Kana and Takahashi Daisuke, the Vancouver 2010 men's singles bronze medallist, are ahead of Komatsubara Misato and Koleto Tim, 70.74 to 68.13. Muramoto/Takahashi became the first Japanese duo to top 70 in an ISU competition.

"We knew we were up first for the rhythm dance so we kept that in mind. We felt pretty confident," Takahashi said of their pole position. "There were some nerves but I think we gave it our best shot. ... We want to show how much we’ve improved in the last year. We’re taking it one competition at a time and not thinking about the [Olympic] qualification process at all."

MORE: 'Chapter 2' for Olympic medallist Takahashi in ice dance