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Shoma Uno and Yuma Kagiyama Finish 1-2 in Short Program at World Championships

Three-time Olympic medalist Shoma Uno delivered a virtuoso performance in Montreal as he attempts to capture his third consecutive world title.

Published

8 months ago

March 22, 2024

Jack Gallagher

Shoma Uno skates in the men's short program at the 2024 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada, on March 21. (KYDO)

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Shoma Uno is halfway to a third straight world title after a commanding performance in the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Canada, on Thursday night, March 21.

The three-time Olympic medalist followed a stunning skate by compatriot Yuma Kagiyama with a virtuoso effort of his own and leads heading into Saturday's free skate as he tries to become the first man to win three consecutive world crowns since Canada's Patrick Chan did it from 2011-13.

Uno is on top with 107.72 points, with Kagiyama, the Beijing Olympic silver medalist, close behind at 106.35. Grand Prix Final champion Ilia Malinin of the United States is third on 105.97.

Jason Brown of the US is in fourth with 93.87, while Kao Miura is well back in 10th at 85.00.

Skating before an appreciative crowd at the Bell Centre, home of the NHL's legendary Montreal Canadiens, Uno, Kagiyama and Malinin showed why they are the three best male skaters in the world, with each delivering on the big stage.

Time Off Did Not Hurt Shoma Uno

The 26-year-old Uno, who has not competed since winning his sixth straight title at the Japan Championships in December 2023, looked in top form and clear of the nagging injuries he dealt with at last year's worlds.

The star skated to "I Love You Kung Fu" and "Clair de Lune" and opened with a fantastic quadruple flip, followed by a quad toe loop/triple toe loop combination jump. He rolled through the rest of his program, hitting a nice triple axel and racked up level fours for all of his spins and step sequence with sublime movements.

The crowd gave Uno a standing ovation as he completed his routine.

"I'm glad that all of my hard work paid off and I was able to perform well today," Uno stated. "I felt really well while skating and the audience was great and they pushed me to skate and perform even better."

Added Uno, "Although my combination jump was not the best one I could have done, my first jump received very high marks, which helped me to get a high score overall."

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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, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.