This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.
After dominating the Junior Grand Prix season, Japan got off to a rocket start in the senior campaign as world champion Kaori Sakamoto won the women's event at the season-opening Skate America in Norwood, Massachusetts, on Sunday, October 23, while Kao Miura took second place in the men's competition on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Sakamoto led wire-to-wire, finishing with a total score of 217.61 points. World junior champion Isabeau Levito of the United States came in second at 206.66, while her compatriot Amber Glenn was third on 197.61.
Ilia Malinin of the US claimed the men's title with 280.37, landing a massive quadruple axel in his free skate in front of the home crowd. Miura, last season's Japan junior champion, finished with a tally of 273.19, while South Korea's Junhwan Cha came in third at 264.05.
Sakamoto, the bronze medalist at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year, skated to "Elastic Heart" in her free skate and landed six triples on the way to victory. She earned level fours on all of her spins and a level three on her step sequence.
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, here, and find him on Twitter @sportsjapan.
