Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto dominated the short program on Friday, putting herself in prime position to defend her title at what she says will be her final NHK Trophy. Sakamoto said in June she will retire from competition after next year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Skating to a season-best 77.05, she led by almost 10 points over Kazakhstan’s Sofia Samodelkina.
At the NHK Trophy, the fourth stop of the ISU Grand Prix figure skating series in Osaka, Japan, Kaori Sakamoto topped the women's short program with 77.05 points. Skating to “Time to Say Goodbye,” she landed a triple lutz, double axel, and triple flip-triple toe loop combination. Second was Kazakhstan’s Sofia Samodelkina with 67.75, followed by South Korea’s You Young at 67.66.
After three straight world titles through 2024, Sakamoto placed second at the March 2025 worlds in Boston. The 25-year-old earned women's singles bronze at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She finished second to 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai at last month's Grand Prix de France. “I was a little nervous since arriving here but was able to put that behind me and skate a solid program,” Sakamoto said. “I completed all my jumps successfully and will look to continue that in the free skate tomorrow.”
In the men's short program, local favorite Yuma Kagiyama led with 98.58 points. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist opened with a quad lutz, added a quad toe loop-triple toe loop, and closed with a triple axel. “I was pleased with all of my jumps, putting everything into them I was able to complete them successfully,” Kagiyama said. “But the mistakes on the spins and step are very regrettable.” Shun Sato of Japan was second at 96.67, with South Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan third at 91.60.
The rhythm dance in ice dance saw Great Britain’s world bronze medalists Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson first with a season-best 81.57, ahead of Italy’s Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri. U.S. siblings Alex and Maia Shibutani, on a comeback after seven years, placed sixth. Addressing a leaked practice video from last month showing Alex berating Maia with expletives, Alex said, “I feel terrible about it. Unfortunately, I lost my temper in training and it shouldn’t have happened. I apologized to Maia right after our practice.” Maia added, “When you are working toward being your best there are going to be intense moments, but for us we understand each other and the process and we work through it together like siblings do.” The 2018 Olympic bronze medalists, three-time world medalists, took a break after Pyeongchang for studies and other pursuits; Maia recovered from kidney tumor surgery in 2019.
In pairs, 2022 Olympic champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China led with 74.63 after a strong short to “Habanera,” including a triple toe, triple twist, and throw triple flip. “For me this is only the beginning,” Han said. “This is our second Grand Prix but we still feel it is new and fresh. We are just getting back to compete and we have a lot of work to do.” Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were second, with Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko third.
The ISU Grand Prix features six events, with athletes earning points in up to two; the top six per discipline advance to the Final on December 4-7 in Nagoya, Japan. Sakamoto, Japan’s top Olympic medal hope, faces competition from unbeaten Russian Adeliia Petrosian, who won gold at the September ISU Skate to Milano qualifier in Beijing.