Yuma Kagiyama celebrated his first ISU Grand Prix gold of the season at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) celebrated a close win over teammate and two-time World Champion Shoma Uno as competition wrapped up at the NHK Trophy Saturday in Osaka (JPN). The NHK Trophy is the sixth and concluding event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series and is the final opportunity to get into the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN) December 7-10.
2022 Olympic silver medalist Kagiyama continued his successful comeback after missing the past season due to injury by claiming gold on home ice. Uno settled for silver as he had in his first ISU Grand Prix, but both skaters qualified for the ISU Grand Prix Final. Switzerland’s Lukas Britschgi earned the bronze, his first ISU Grand Prix medal.
Yuma Kagiyama celebrates beating teammate Shoma Uno to gold at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
Kagiyama opened his expressive performance to ”Rain, In Your Black Eyes”, with a quad Salchow and a quad toe-Euler-double Salchow combination. A triple loop and triple Axel-double Axel sequence followed, but then Kagiyama crashed on a triple Axel. He recovered instantly to produce two more triples and level-four spins and footwork. The two-time ISU World silver medalist scored 182.88 points for his Free Skating, a season’s best, but was ranked second in the segment. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old held on to first place overall with 288.39 points.
Yuma Kagiyama won NHK Trophy 2023 gold with a total score of 288.39 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
“I was the last to skate so I was nervous, but I did everything I needed to do on the ice. Regarding the triple Axel, it was a technical issue. So I will go back to practice that and do better next time,” Kagiyama commented.
“The first half of the program went really well; I was very much into the music. I’m looking forward to the Grand Prix Final now.”
Performing to “Timelapse” and “Spiegel im Spiegel”, Uno was exquisite as well. The two-time Olympic medalist landed four quadruple jumps, but all of them were slightly underrotated (q). Uno produced two triple Axels and collected a level four for two spins and the step sequence. The Japanese Champion won the Free Skating segment with 186.35 points but remained in second place overall with 286.55 points.
Shoma Uno claimed silver with a score of 286.55 points at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
“Overall my performance was excellent. I’m very tired today and will get good rest,” Uno said.
“I really would like look at my performance first, but I feel like I was in the zone overall and it was great.”
Britschgi got the crowd going with his wild African-themed program, reeling off two quad toes as well as five triples including two Axels. The 2023 ISU European bronze medalist scored 168.18 points and accumulated 254.60 points overall to win the first ISU Grand Prix medal for a Swiss Skater since Stéphane Lambiel and Sarah Meier both took a silver back in 2007.
Lukas Britschgi's bronze at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan, is the first Swiss Grand Prix medal since 2007 © ISU
“I’m just happy with my skate today and with the podium. It is my first medal at Grand Prix and this medal at NHK is an amazing feeling, it was an amazing competition.”
“Since I won the bronze medal at Europeans last year (season) the expectations are higher and also my own expectations are higher but overall it is a great feeling. I get a bit more attention and I have the honor to skate with such amazing skaters as Shoma and Yuma.,” the Swiss Skater said.
Nika Egadze (GEO) moved up from seventh to fourth at 237.34 points while Camen Pulkinen (USA) remained in fifth place at 229.32 points. Gabriele Frangipani (ITA) rounded off the top six (227.15 points).
Full results for NHK Trophy are available here.
Kagiyama advanced to the Final with a gold and a bronze medal from his two events (26 points) while Uno qualified with two silver medals. Britschgi has 20 points, which is not enough to make the Final.
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).
ISU Grand Prix Standings
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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