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Sota Yamamoto (JPN) celebrates with the crowd after topping the leaderboard in the men's Short Program. © ISU

Sota Yamamoto shone on home ice in the Men’s Short Program to come out on top as the first day of competition at the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy came to a close in Sapporo. He surpassed his teammate and ISU World Champion, Shoma Uno, and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa in a competition of many mistakes.

Skating to “Yesterday”, Yamamoto was but definitely today’s man as the only skater to put perform a clean program. The Grand Prix de France silver medalist hit a quad toe-triple toe combination, a quad Salchow, triple Axel and earned a level four for his three spins to achieve a personal best of 96.49 points.

“This season I have been quite consistent in my short program and today I was able to land all my jumps, so I’m happy to do that,” the Japanese skater said. “Going into tomorrow (Free Skating), I just want to do what I did today. I do not have a great record at the Grand Prix so far. Making the Grand Prix Final is a goal, but don’t want to think too much about it and just focus on what I need to do.”

Top seed Uno skated last and opened his program to “Gravity” with a quad flip. But there was a bit too much gravity involved when he went down on his quad toe and had no combination. The 2022 Olympic bronze medalist recovered to complete a triple Axel and difficult spins and footwork, still managing a season’s best of 91.66.


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World Champion Shoma Uno (JPN) has ground to make up in the Free Skating after a mistake in the Short Program. © ISU

“There was one mistake. Compared to my short program at Skate Canada I did a good job, and in my next competition I want to nail that quad toe,” Uno said. “I am very aware that this competition has some weight and I hope to make it to the Grand Prix Final. This is my second competition (of the season) and in the Short and Free Skating there are some mistakes. I believe each time I skate I identify what the challenges are and I hope to have a finished product at the end of the season.”

Siao Him Fa’s emotional performance to “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” was highlighted by a quad toe-triple toe combination, but he touched down on his triple Axel and stepped out of his quad Salchow. The Grand Prix de France Champion scored 87.44.

“It didn’t go as I planned but I am positive about tomorrow and will continue to work this way,” the 2022 Lombardia Trophy Champion said.

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An emotional performance from France's Adam Siao Him Fa's prevented a Japan 1-2-3. © ISU

Siao Him Fa tried not to think about the pressure of making the Grand Prix Final after his win in France: “I was really concentrated on the two Grand Prix at first. Now that there is a possibility for me to get to the final I still try to focus on the (individual) event, because this is the main goal for me. If I can do the Final, it will be a plus.”

Kazuki Tomono (JPN) missed his quad Salchow to place fourth and remains close to the podium on 85.07 points. Nika Egadze (GEO) finished fifth (84.47) points while 2022 ISU Four Continents Champion Junhwan Cha (KOR, 80.35) disappointed in sixth after making two mistakes on his jumping passes.

Overview of the competitors

Women’s Category:

Reigning ISU World Champion Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) is the hot favorite, but she has to watch out for teammate Rinka Watanabe who came out of nowhere to beat her earlier this season at the ISU Challenger event Lombardia Trophy. Both women won their first ISU Grand Prix and aim at making the Final. Grand

Schedule of the event

The schedule is as follows:


Friday, November 18:              Pairs & Women’s Short Programs, Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program
Saturday, November 19:         Pairs & Women’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 20:            Exhibition Gala

 

The NHK Trophy in Sapporo (JPN) November 18-20, 2022, is the fifth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the Series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.

The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.

Selection Criteria

In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.

Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).

 

Grand Prix Standings

Men                  Women             Ice Dance         Pair Skating

 

Where to Watch

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.

Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #GPFigure.

 

ISU Grand Prix Schedule

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:

21 - 23 Oct, 2022          Skate America, Norwood (USA)

28 – 30 Oct, 2022          Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)

04 - 06 Nov, 2022         Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)

11 - 13 Nov, 2022          MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)

18 - 20 Nov, 2022          NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)

25 - 27 Nov, 2022          Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)

08 - 11 Dec, 2022          Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)

 

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.