Olympic and world silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan leads after the short program at Grand Prix Finland, where he’s looking to book a spot in December’s Grand Prix Final for a showdown with world champion Ilia Malinin.
Kagiyama, a 21-year-old from Japan, tallied 103.97 points on Friday, landing a quadruple Salchow, a quad toe loop-triple toe combination and a triple Axel. Only Malinin, a 19-year-old from Virginia who is not competing in Finland, has scored higher this season.
Kagiyama leads by a significant 13.19 points going into Saturday’s free skate, which airs live on Peacock.
Kagiyama was the only skater within 49 points of Malinin at last March’s world championships — yet still a gaping 24.11 points behind.
GRAND PRIX FINLAND: Broadcast Schedule
Kagiyama and Malinin could face off for the first time this season at the Grand Prix Final in France, where all of the world’s top-ranked skaters gather for the first time since last season’s worlds.
The Final takes the top six per discipline over the six-event Grand Prix Series. Top skaters compete twice over the series and are split into different competitions.
Malinin won the first two events last month — Skate America and Skate Canada — to lock up his place in the Final. Kagiyama, who won last week at NHK Trophy, will likely join him with a podium finish in Finland, the fifth of six events in the series.
Grand Prix Finland continues later Friday with the women’s and pairs’ short programs, live on Peacock.
2024 Grand Prix Finland Figure Skating Results
1. Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) — 103.97
2. Kasuki Tomono (JPN) -- 90.78
3. Kevin Aymoz (FRA) -- 85.13
4. Sota Yamamoto (JPN) -- 82.43
5. Lukas Britschgi (SUI) -- 80.44
6. Daniel Grassl (ITA) -- 77.91
7. Cha Jun-Hwan (KOR) -- 77.33
8. Aleksandr Seleveko (EST) -- 66.36
9. Vladimir Samoilov (POL) -- 65.46
10. Camden Pulkinen (USA) -- 64.34
11. Makar Suntsev (FIN) -- 59.58
12. Valtter Virtanen (FIN) -- 57.28
