(Saitama) Defending champion Kaori Sakamoto took the lead in the women’s short program at the World Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday.
Aiming to become the first Japanese skater to win back-to-back world titles, Sakamoto scored 79.24 points at the Saitama Super Arena for a program that included a double axel, triple lutz and triple flip, triple toe loop combination.
Sakamoto holds a 5.62 point lead over South Korea’s Lee Hae-in going into the free skate, which will be staged on Friday. Mai Mihara of Japan was third with 73.46 points.
Canadian champion Madeline Schizas placed 16th with a score of 60.02.
Elsewhere, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan took the lead in the pairs short program.
Silver medalists at the 2022 Worlds, Miura and Kihara scored 80.72 points, a new personal best. They hold a more than six-point lead over Americans and defending world champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier (74.64).
Italians Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii are third with 73.24 points.
Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps are also in contention in fourth with 72.81 points, while their compatriots Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud are sixth with 65.31 points.
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