Sakamoto leads another Japanese sweep in Tokyo
2024 NHK Trophy | Women
Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, who led a Japanese sweep two weeks ago in Halifax, N.S., Canada, repeated the victory in Tokyo at NHK Trophy on Saturday. This time it was teammates Mone Chiba and Yuna Aoki who took the silver and bronze, respectively, at the Yoyogi National Stadium.
Kaori Sakamoto
The 2022 Olympic bronze medalist showed lots of speed in her masterful short program to an Astor Piazzolla medley. She landed a solid double Axel, triple Lutz and triple flip-triple toe while picking up a level four on all spins and footwork. She finished first in this segment with 78.93 points.
“I was focusing on each single piece, and I think I was able to concentrate,” said the 24-year-old. “So I believe it was the best performance that I could put out today.”
The three-time World champion came pretty close to her personal best from 2022 Worlds, placing first with 152.95 for her fun routine to “All That Jazz.” She landed a total of seven triple jumps with only the flip being underrotated. Her entertaining routine racked up many positive grades of execution (GOE) and she was awarded a level four for all three spins. Her total score of 231.88 clearly set her apart from the rest of the field by just over 19 points.
“It was a good sense of tension, I was nervous in a good way, and I thought I was able to enjoy myself,” said the 2024 Skate Canada champion. “I don’t know why, but I had that confidence that I could enjoy myself. I wanted the audience and the judge to have a smile on their faces. I wanted to enjoy skating myself, and naturally, I was able to jump well.”
“At the very end, on the choreography sequence, it was really physically tough,” she continued. “But once I skated in front of my coaches, they shouted, ‘You can do well!’ and with their voices, I was able to go through the final jump. I was able to pay attention to the last spin as well, and the pose at the very end, it was it was a bit shaky. I was so happy about the performance and that’s why my I was (so overjoyed).”
The top three skaters were asked if they could have characteristics from the other two skaters, what would they be?
Sakamoto pointed out that Chiba was “really serious” about her training.
“She became a senior last year, and her performances have become more and more stable,” said Sakamoto. “The short program, I really love her short program this year!”
With two wins under her belt, Sakamoto has qualified for the Grand Prix Final next month.
Mone Chiba
The 2024 Four Continents champion received an edge call on the front end of her opening triple Lutz-triple toe, but that was the only glitch in the short program. Her entertaining routine to “Last Dance” by Donna Summer also featured a double Axel and triple flip, as well as level four spins and footwork throughout. She picked up a new personal best of 71.69 points for second place.
“I wanted to really have fun and show a dazzling smile,” said Chiba. “I also wanted to make sure that I was careful about each single element to be very deliberate with my physical movement. And I think I was able to concentrate, so that was very good.”
Skating to “Ariana Concerto No. 1: II. Adagio Sostenuto,” the Japanese silver medalist landed a total of four solid triple jumps. She landed the front end of a triple flip-triple toe on the quarter, as well as the solo triple flip. The triple Lutz was also underrotated, but she displayed very good level four spins throughout. She finished second in the free skate and overall (140.85/212.54).
“I was able to create a great performance, it was good,” said the 19-year-old. “At this NHK Trophy, I was able to get the silver medal for the first time. I’m so happy about it.”
Chiba will compete in two weeks at Cup of China.
Yuna Aoki
The skater from Chiba earned a new personal best of 69.78 for a strong short program to “Adiós Nonino.” She underrotated the front end of a triple Lutz-triple loop, but the double Axel and triple flip were solid. She also earned a level four on all three spins, placing third in this segment.
“I was able to concentrate until the very end,” said the 22-year-old. “I was able to nail my Lutz in the beginning, but I know that I missed one rotation, so I want to make sure that I improve upon that.”
The skater admitted to being disappointed in her seventh-place finish at Skate America.
“I knew that I still had been given an opportunity, so I told myself to rebuild myself,” explained Aoki. “I spent one week really focusing on practicing so that I could be ready for this recovery. And then I saw the Japanese men perform, and I told myself I’m going to try as hard so that I can get the same kind of applause.”
Aoki placed fifth (125.29) in the free skate with her routine to “Popsical” by Chloe Flower. Many of her jumps were deemed underrotated or landed on the quarter, but there were no falls. All four spins and footwork received a level four, and she finished third overall with 195.07 points.
“There were no large mistakes, but there was lack of spinning, rotation, and I wasn’t so satisfied with that,” said Aoki. ” But as a result, I was able to reach the podium, so I’m really happy about it. I’ve never stood on the podium during the Junior (Grand Prix) series, so at this age, just standing on the podium, I’m so grateful for it. I’m so glad that I was able to continue until now.”
Alysa Liu
USA’s Alysa Liu finished fourth in the short program. In her opening jump, the front end of a triple flip-triple toe was landed on the quarter while the toe was underrotated. However, the double Axel and triple Lutz were solid. She received a level four on two spins and scored 65.03 points.
The 2022 World bronze medalist placed fourth in free skate with 125.72 points. She underrotated the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe as well as the last jump in a triple Lutz-Euler-triple Salchow. The first half of a triple Lutz-double toe was also underrotated, but the footwork and change combination spin were graded a level four. She finished fourth overall with a total score of 190.75.
Bradie Tennell
USA’s Bradie Tennell took fifth place in the short with 62.05 points. She landed the front end of a triple Lutz-triple toe on the quarter while the back half was underrotated. Only two spins were graded a level four.
While the 2020 Four Continents bronze medalist took a fall on a double Axel in her free skate, the rest of the program was fairly solid. The only other mistakes were an underrotated triple flip and the first half of a triple Lutz-double toe-double loop. All spins were graded a level four. The 26-year-old maintained fifth place overall with a total score of 190.25.
Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann placed sixth overall (180.28), followed by Seoyeong Wi of the Republic of Korea (173.77), Austria’s Olga Mikutina (169.93), and USA’s Lindsay Thorngren (169.03).
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