Japan’s Sakamoto leads women at world championships

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto took the lead in the women’s competition at the figure skating world championships with a career-best free skate Wednesday.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto, a bronze medalist in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, takes the lead in the women’s competition of the World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, France, with a career-best 80.32 points in the short program on March 23, 2022. (Kyodo)

Olympic bronze medalist Sakamoto skated a powerful routine, landing all her jumps, a double axel, triple lutz and a triple flip-triple toe-loop combination. Her 80.32 points surpassed the 79.84 she recorded last month at the Beijing Games.

“I’m nothing but surprised,” Sakamoto said. “Especially since my recent practices have been so tough.”

“It’s great to wrap up the season strong. I have this streak of clean free skates going, and now I want to finish this in the same way.”

Sakamoto, whose best result at the worlds was fifth in 2019, will go into Friday’s free skate with a 5.32 lead over Loena Hendrickx of Belgium. America’s Mariah Bell is third.

Skating in the final group immediately before Sakamoto, Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi stepped out of her first jump, scored a double axel, but rebounded to land her final three with minimal trouble but could do no better than sixth.

Russian skaters, who finished first and second in Beijing, were not invited to the worlds by the International Skate Union along with those from Belarus, which supported Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.