Figure Skating

After winning the Turin event earlier in November, Kagayima's second success at the top level this season clinched his place at December's Grand Prix Final in Osaka.

The Japan Skating Federation said Hanyu's bid for a third straight gold medal in Beijing would not end were he to also miss December's national championships.

With the Beijing Winter Games less than three months away, the 26-year-old was still recovering from ligament damage to the right ankle that he suffered earlier this month.

The two Japanese skaters stood atop both the men's and women's podiums at Yoyogi National Gymnasium as their challengers fell behind in Saturday's free skate.

An appreciative audience at Yoyogi National Gymnasium was treated to strong performances by Japan's entrants, with Uno the only skater to cross 100 points.

The 2021 world silver medalist was a lowly seventh after an error-strewn short program but hit back in style on Saturday.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama stumbled to a seventh-place start after the short skate at the ISU Grand Prix Gran Premio d'Italia on Friday in the men's program, while Satoko Miyahara was fourth in the women's event. Kagiyama, the runner-up at the world championships last season, made ...

Hanyu has not declared his intent to defend his Olympic title in Beijing, and has instead spoken of his focus on perfecting the exceedingly difficult quad axel jump.

The American, considered a favorite to win gold at Beijing 2022, was comfortably in first place after Friday's short program and returned to score 200.46 points in Saturday's free skate.