Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto on Saturday led a Japanese podium sweep at Skate Canada, locking up a second straight Canadian women’s title despite two falls in her free skate.
Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short program, looked a little tight during her jazzy free skate, falling on a Salchow jump and again on a triple flip while fighting to hang on to a few other moves.
Her second-best free skate score of 126.24 was enough for gold in the second Grand Prix event of the season in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Photo: AFP
She finished with 201.21 points, well ahead of compatriot Rino Matsuiki — who roared from 10th place with a sensational free skate that earned 139.85 points for a total of 192.16.
Japan’s Hana Yoshida was third with 191.37 points as Liu, in her first Grand Prix event since 2021, dropped to sixth.
Reigning pairs world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada captured their second consecutive Skate Canada title, also despite finishing second in the free skate.
Photo: AFP
Men’s world champion Ilia Malinin got off to a roaring start in his bid to complete a rare Skate America-Skate Canada double with a short program that garnered 106.22 points.
Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps had led after Friday’s short program. Their free skate earned 124.10 points, enough to give them gold with a total of 197.33 points ahead of Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev, who topped the free skate with 126.12 points.
That lifted the Uzbek duo, fourth after the short program, into second overall on 189.65 with Australians Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore third overall on 186.14.
Malinin, the 19-year-old from the US who won a third consecutive Skate America title last week, delivered a superb short program that put him almost 10 points ahead of Japan’s Shun Sato going into yesterday’s deciding free skate.
The 20-year-old Sato, a former world junior champion, earned 96.52 points. Reigning Skate Canada champion Yamamoto Sota was third on 92.16.
Malinin, the self-styled “Quad God,” won last year’s ISU Grand Prix Final then claimed his first world title with a world record free skate point total.
After a short program featuring a quadruple flip and a quadruple Lutz-triple toe combination he is poised to become the first man since Alexei Yagudin in 1999 to win both Skate America and Skate Canada — the only time a men’s skater has won the opening two Grand Prix events of a season.
“I felt really relaxed today,” said Malinin, who admitted feeling the pressure at Skate America last week. “Today it was a lot easier.”
For some, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the essential spearhead for Portugal’s FIFA World Cup bid, while others believe his presence would prevent Roberto Martinez’s strong side from flourishing. The debate around the five-time Ballon d’Or winner rages on, as it did at UEFA Euro 2024 and four years ago in Qatar — yet Ronaldo endures, ready to play in a record sixth World Cup. The 41-year-old remains a global superstar despite swapping the European elite for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, and is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 strikes. With 25 of those coming in 30 games under Martinez, the coach
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
FAST AND LOOSE: Despite command struggles, Ohtani has pitched his way out of trouble after falling behind in counts, which manager Roberts credited to his velocity Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night tossed six innings of no-hit ball, gave himself an early lead with a home run and still was not satisfied with his performance. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar dropped some expletives that were picked up by the on-field mic as he struggled with his command in a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies. He struck out seven, walked four and gave up an earned run in the fourth inning while visibly fuming on the mound. Ohtani (5-2) earned his third consecutive victory. “Just command was off, and I just felt like I was battling the lack of
RSS