France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered.
It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold.
He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
“It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing ... it’s so beautiful.”
Aymoz scored 159.97 points for a rousing free skate to Ravel’s Bolero that delighted the crowd in Lake Placid, New York.
He won with a total of 253.53 points.
He had to fight to hang on to the landing of his opening quadruple jump and added one more quadruple and two triple axels to depart the ice beaming.
World silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov, third after the short program, topped the free skate with a score of 161.42 despite two falls and claimed silver with 251.09 points.
Tomono, who led by more than two points after the short program, fell on two quadruple jumps and fluffed the landing of a triple axel. His score of 149.80 put him in eighth place in the free skate, but that was still enough for bronze with a total of 245.57 points.
It would be a blow for a skater trying to land one of Japan’s three men’s Olympic team berths for the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February.
Japan topped the podium earlier on Saturday as reigning world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs title as short program leaders Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava endured a disastrous free skate.
Miura and Kihara, whose world title in Boston in March was their second, claimed their second grand prix gold of the season and punched their ticket to the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, next month.
The Japanese duo were not perfect, struggling notably on their side-by-side jumps.
However, their sophisticated components and composure were enough to earn the top free skate score of 141.57 for a total of 215.99 points.
“We made a major mistake yesterday in the short and that did make it hard for me just mentally for the free program,” Miura said. “We did end up making a small mistake [in the free], but I’m still very proud of us for achieving scores in the 140s.”
Georgia’s Metelkina and Berulava delivered a mistake-strewn free skate featuring a fall by her, a botched jump landing by him and the complete failure of one planned lift.
Their fourth-place free skate score of 116.90 was still enough to give them silver with 195.73 points and with their Cup of China crown they, too, are qualified for the Grand Prix Final.
Canadians Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier, second in the free skate with 121.85 points, took bronze with a total of 182.87.
Japan’s Rinka Watanabe grabbed a narrow lead in the women’s competition, edging reigning world champion Alysa Liu of the US in the short program.
Watanabe garnered 74.35 points for a program that included a sparkling triple axel.
Liu earned 73.73 points for an elegant program in which an under-rotation on her triple lutz-triple loop combination cost her precious fractions.
Liu, who claimed her surprise world title in March after taking a two-year break from the sport, is seeking a first grand prix title.
Veteran US ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates topped the opening rhythm dance with a total of 84.77 points to position themselves for a record-equaling fifth Skate America title.
Chock and Bates, who won Skate America titles in 2014, 2015, 2022 and 2023, built a 7.35-point lead over Canadians Marjorie LaJoie and Zachary Lagha.
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue