Japanese skaters lead the Cup of China

Released: 11.22.2024 – 16:00Changed: 11.22.2024 – 15:58

1 min.

Chiba, 19, who performed to Donna Summer’s “The Last Dance,” scored 70.86, 0.02 points ahead of Amber Glenn of the United States.

Rion Sumiyoshi, also of Japan, was less than half a point behind in third place.

In the men’s competition, 20-year-old Sato performed a near-flawless routine en route to a season-best score of 98.75.

That gave him a five-point lead over Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan heading into Saturday’s free skate.

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, the defending Chongqing champion, finished third with a score of 91.22 after the world bronze medalist performed his signature backflip but fell while attempting a quadruple jump.

China’s Jin Boyang, a two-time world championship bronze medalist, is sixth after scoring 83.66 points in front of his fans.

In ice dancing, European champions and true Italian pair Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri were first, three points ahead of Canada’s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Laga, followed by Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko of the United States in third.

With 84.84 points heading into Saturday’s free skate, the Italian duo look set to improve on their second place finish at the French Grand Prix in early November.

In doubles, Sara Conti and Niccolo Masii (also from Italy) showed a brilliant performance and took first place.

They are ahead of the Germans Minerva Fabien Haze and Nikita Volodin, and third place is taken by Lia Pereira and Trennent Michaud from Canada.

The German pair were on their way to a big score before Volodin inexplicably fell during a step sequence.

The Cup of China is the final Grand Prix of the 2024/25 series, providing the last chance for skaters to qualify for the December finals in Grenoble.

© 2024 AFP