Kao Miura (JPN) wins the Men’s Free Skating during the ISU Grand Prix in Espoo, Finland © ISU
Kao Miura (JPN) skated off with his career-first ISU Grand Prix gold medal as the Grand Prix Espoo. kicked off Friday in Espoo (FIN) with the Men’s Free Skating. The Grand Prix Espoo is the fifth of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The best Figure Skaters of the world compete in the series and collect points towards the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN) on December 7-10.
Kao Miura (JPN) strikes gold
ISU Four Continents Champion Kao Miura of Japan clinched gold, narrowly eclipsing teammate Shun Sato by just a little over a point. France’s Kevin Aymoz rose from fifth to take the bronze.
Overnight leader Miura skated last and reeled off a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow another quad toe and five triple jumps including two Axels in his dynamic program to “Attack on Titan”.
The 2023 ISU World Junior Champion lost some points on his spins. Miura was ranked second in the Free Skating with a season’s best of 181.02 points, but overall held on to first place at 274.56 points.
“I was able to show what I can today, but my spins were not very good. When I go home I will work on my spins,” Miura said.
“I think I made it to Grand Prix Final, so I will work towards that and then we will have Japanese Nationals. Last year I had a little disappointment at Nationals and this time I want to make sure I’m performing well.”
He explained why he took out the quad loop. “The jump that I fell on in the warm up was the quad loop, the most difficult element I perform. This competition is important for me to win and, after seeing how Shun performed, I dropped the loop to do the maximum to win.”
Sato turned in an excellent performance to the “Four Seasons“ by Antonio Vivadi in an arrangement by Max Richter. The Skate America bronze medalist produced a quad Lutz, two quadruple toeloops as well as five triple jumps and two level-four spins to set a new personal best of 182.93 points. Overall he racked up 273.34 points.
Shun Sato (JPN) in the Men’s Free Skating during the ISU Grand Prix in Espoo, Finland © ISU
“I was not nervous today,” Sato told the press. “I am happy to give a good performance for my fans and I hope to keep the momentum. Next month we are going to have Japanese Nationals, this is an important competition for me and I want to condition myself for that.”
Aymoz stood in fifth place following a fault-ridden Short Program, but the Frenchman pulled himself together to put on a fierce performance to “Bolero“ by Maurice Ravel.
Kevin Aymoz (FRA) in the Men’s Free Skating during the ISU Grand Prix in Espoo, Finland © ISU
He completed a quad toe and six clean triple jumps, only the triple flip was shaky. The Skate America silver medalist earned 176.09 points and accumulated 250.03 points.
“Today was a nightmare for me. After the Short Program I wanted to withdraw. I was mentally not able to do anything, I had no energy to skate and I was in a dark place,” Aymoz revealed.
“I am happy I have staff, friends, family around me to cheer me up, to support me. Today I was in lion mode. I went on the ice to fight and I am happy I did that.”
ISU European silver and Skate Canada bronze medalist Matteo Rizzo (ITA) pulled up from sixth to fourth at 241.47 points while Nikolaj Memola (ITA) moved up two spots up to fifth place (221.25 points). Koshiro Shimada (JPN) finished sixth (218.44 points). Jimmy Ma (USA) faded from third to 11th after some errors (191.26 points).
Miura now qualifies for the ISU Grand Prix Final with his gold from Espoo and the silver from Skate Canada (28 points). Sato and Aymoz both have 24 points each from their two events and will have to wait and see whether that is enough to make the Final.
Full results of the ISU Grand Prix Espoo see here.
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN). Skaters collect points towards to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN).
The General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here on the ISU website. The individual announcements are published on the ISU Event section under each dedicated Grand Prix event (filter with the relevant Event Series.
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series can be found here.
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed with English commentary on the official ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out Where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
20 - 22 Oct, 2023 Skate America, Allen (Texas, USA)
27 – 29 Oct, 2023 Skate Canada International, Vancouver (CAN)
03 - 05 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
10 - 12 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN)
17 - 19 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
24 - 26 Nov, 2023 NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN)
07 - 10 Dec, 2023 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Beijing (CHN)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known as 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 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.
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