Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto impressed in the short program on Friday, positioning herself well to defend her title at what she has stated will be her final NHK Trophy. Sakamoto, who announced her retirement plans following next year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics back in June, skated to “Time to Say Goodbye” flawlessly, executing a triple lutz, a double axel, and a triple flip-triple toe loop combination en route to a season-best score of 77.05. This put her nearly 10 points ahead of Kazakhstan’s Sofia Samodelkina, who secured the second spot with 67.75. South Korea’s You Young claimed the third position with a score of 67.66.
Having won three consecutive world championships up to 2024, Sakamoto had to settle for second place at this year’s worlds in Boston in March. The 25-year-old skater also clinched the women’s singles bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Despite finishing as the runner-up to her 17-year-old compatriot Ami Nakai at the Grand Prix de France last month, Sakamoto entered her home Grand Prix with the goal of reestablishing her dominance.
Expressing her thoughts, Sakamoto mentioned, “I was a bit nervous upon arriving here, but I managed to overcome that and deliver a solid program. I successfully completed all my jumps and aim to carry that momentum into the free skate tomorrow.”
As Japan’s top contender for an Olympic medal, Sakamoto will face tough competition from Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian in Italy. Petrosian, a 17-year-old who has secured two consecutive national titles and remained unbeaten over the last two seasons with eight straight domestic victories, earned her Olympic qualification by winning the gold medal at the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating qualifier in Beijing in September.
Meanwhile, 2024 European Champion Loena Hendrickx made her return to the Grand Prix series after sitting out the previous season due to injury. Despite landing her first two jumps successfully, Hendrickx stumbled on her third, a triple flip, and concluded the short program in fourth place with 62.45 points. She secured her Olympic qualification by finishing third at the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating qualifier.
In the men’s short program, local favorite Yuma Kagiyama took the lead. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist executed a quad lutz at the beginning of his routine, followed by a quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination and a concluding triple axel, amassing 98.58 points. Kagiyama expressed satisfaction with his jumps but regretted the errors in spins and steps.
Kagiyama’s compatriot Shun Sato followed in second place with 96.67 points, with South Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan securing the third spot with 91.60 points.
