Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan leads after the short program in her Grand Prix season debut at Skate Canada.
Sakamoto, the first woman to win three consecutive world titles since American Peggy Fleming from 1966-68, had three clean jumping passes, including a triple flip-triple toe loop combination.
She tallied 74.97 points in Halifax, taking a 7.29-point lead over American Alysa Liu going into Saturday’s free skate (live on Peacock).
Sakamoto, 24, won all six of her international competitions last season. She placed third in a lower-level event in Italy last month to open her 2024-25 season.
SKATE CANADA: Broadcast Schedule
Liu, a two-time U.S. champion, skated her first Grand Prix program in three years. She retired after winning bronze at the March 2022 World Championships.
Earlier Friday, world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada topped the pairs’ short program with 73.23 points.
Stellato-Dudek, a 41-year-old who won the 2000 World junior silver medal in singles for the U.S., and Deschamps are going for a repeat Skate Canada title.
Germans Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel, who were fifth at worlds, are 8.41 points behind going into Saturday’s free skate.
Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Howe are in fifth place in their first Grand Prix in two years. Chan and Howe, who were fifth at the 2023 Worlds, missed the Grand Prix season last year due to Howe’s shoulder surgery.
On Saturday, world champion Ilia Malinin headlines the men’s short program, six days after winning a third consecutive Skate America title.
The six-event Grand Prix Series, which began with Skate America, leads up to December’s Grand Prix Final. The Final features the top six per discipline from the series, where the top skaters are scattered and compete in two of the six competitions.
The Grand Prix Final is often a preview of the world championships the following March.
2024 Skate Canada Results
Women’s Short Program
1. Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) — 74.97
2. Alysa Liu (USA) — 67.68
3. Kimmy Repond (SUI) — 66.94
4. Hana Yoshida (JPN) — 65.32
5. Madeline Schizas (CAN) -- 65.28
6. Elyce-Lin Gracey (USA) -- 58.64
7. Kaiya Ruiter (CAN) -- 57.66
8. Kim Ye-Lim (KOR) -- 56.12
9. Sara-Maude Dupuis (CAN) -- 54.15
10. Rino Matsuike (JPN) -- 52.31
11. Wi Seo-Yeong (KOR) -- 47.86
12. Ekaterina Kurakova (POL) — 47.31
Pairs’ Short Program
1. Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (CAN) — 73.23
2. Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel (GER) — 64.82
3. Anastasia Golubeva/Hektor Giotopoulos Moore (AUS) — 64.81
4. Ekaterina Geynish/Dmitrii Chigirev — 63.53
5. Emily Chan/Spencer Howe (USA) — 61.04
6. Ioulia Chtchetinina/Michal Wozniak (POL) — 60.87
7. Daria Danilova/Michel Tsiba (NED) — 58.78
8. Kelly Ann Laurin/Loucas Ethier (CAN) -- 52.16
