The China Mail - Sakamoto leads Japanese women's sweep at Skate Canada

Sakamoto, who led 19-year-old American Alysa Liu after the short programme, 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.

But 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.

She finished with a total of 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.

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 programme that garnered 106.22 points.

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps had led after Friday's short programme. 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 programme, into second overall on 189.65 with Australians Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore third overall on 186.14.

- Relaxed Malinin -

Malinin, the 19-year-old American who won a third consecutive Skate America title last week, delivered a superb short programme that put him almost 10 points ahead of Japan's Shun Sato going into Sunday'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 programme 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."

Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the 2024 world ice dance runners-up seeking a fifth consecutive Skate Canada crown, grabbed the lead after Saturday's rhythm dance with 86.44 points.

The six-event ISU Grand Prix series continues next month in France, Japan, Finland and Canada leading to the Grand Prix Final in December at Grenoble, France.

N.Wan--ThChM