Shoma Uno Places 2nd, Satoko Miyahara 3rd at Skate America

From October 23 – 25, this year’s edition of Skate America took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the first event in the International Skating Union’s 2015 – 2016 Grand Prix Series. While Japanese skaters did not top the podium, they did finish second and third, in the men’s and women’s competitions, respectively.

Shoma Uno, in his debut season at the senior level, took second place behind American Max Aaron, with a total score of 257.43 to the American’s 258.95. Shoma’s short program received a score of 80.78, putting him in fourth place. He fell on his quad toe. Shoma’s free skate was the highest scored of the night with 176.65 points. “I think I performed well but I wanted to finish first,” he said. “I have yet to perfect both the short and free programs and will have to try even harder than this in France (at next month’s Trophee Eric Bompard).”

Satoko Miyahara finished Skate America in third place with a total score of 188.07. Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva finished in first with 206.01, while Gracie Gold of the United States took second place with 202.80. Satoko’s short program and free skate were both the third best of the competition. Her short program received a score of 65.12, while her free skate received a score of 122.95. Satoko under-rotated a triple flip in the short program and fell on a triple lutz in the free program. “I skated with more composure than I did in the short program,” she said. “I am not satisfied with my performance but I am happy that I was able to make the podium.”

Japan sent another male skater, Takahito Mura, to Skate America. He finished in tenth place. The other 2 Japanese female skaters, Haruka Imai and Miyu Nakashio, finished in tenth and eleventh place, respectively.

This coming weekend sees Yuzuru Hanyu, Sei Kawahara, Daisuke Murakami, Kanako Murakami, and Yuka Nagai taking the ice at Skate Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Shoma Uno

Short program