Kaori Sakamoto won the Short Program with confidence at Skate Canada

The second round of the ISU Grand Prix is the next stage of preparation of international athletes for the main starts. Of course, there were certain favorites here too, based on the previous season, but no one could cancel the nerve factor. It was all the more interesting to watch the competition, which directly influences the selection to the finals of the commercial series.

Last year’s champion Rinka Watanabe, unfortunately, did not cope with the short program. If last season the Japanese was in one of the leading positions in her national team, this year the figure skater does not yet stand out among her principal rivals. The main issue is the lack of triple axel. It is known that the skater in the off-season got a leg injury, which could not but affect the performance. On the plus side, the girl fruitfully worked on a non-banal production to the soundtrack of “Avatar”. But to remain without a cascade as a Grand Prix finalist is an unacceptable luxury. 57.52 points – seventh position.

Instead, her teammate Rino Matsuike unexpectedly broke into the top three. From the point of view of musical choice, the Japanese did not surprise the audience – the musical “Moulin Rouge” has long been part of the so-called golden fund of figure skating. But the athlete almost cleanly coped with the production. Delicate and clean skating led the skater to the third intermediate position – 66.29 points. Against the high scores was an undercurl on the triple lutz-triple toeloop cascade.

Korea’s Chae Yong Kim came very close to the leader. Last season the athlete was just coming out of the junior category, combining her performances with adult tournaments. Now she practically does not differ from most of the top figure skaters. Beautiful and gentle is a common feature of all Korean women. They are not characterized by trying on unexpected images. The only flaw can be called an unclear rib on a triple flip in the second half – 70.31 points. A little less than her personal record, but excellent for the start of the season.

Well, the lead was expectedly seized by Kaori Sakamoto. It would have been foolish to expect anything but first position from her. In fact, that’s what would have happened in almost any rental, except for a complete collapse. In general, the lyric sat perfectly on Kaori, though a bit out of place in the context of the bright last few seasons. The figure skater is perfectly capable of presenting completely different images on the ice, which Kaori confirmed at the Grand Prix. The judges paid attention only to a triple lutz and an unclear rib – a frequent mistake of Sakamoto. 75.13 points – a confident leadership of the Japanese woman after the first day of the tournament.
Foreign athletes clearly showed that even a 3-3 cascade is a significant difficulty for many. Because of mistakes, some of them urgently insure themselves with double toeloop. And in the best case – intentionally perform toeloop cascade to increase the base and potential GOE. Kaori’s current skating is definitely not ideal, this skater can do much better. However, such a performance will be enough for the third consecutive world title. Women’s figure skating without the Russians in stagnation. In this swamp, Sakamoto herself will soon get bored.
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