Japanese superstar Yuzuru Hanyu wowed the crowd as he took a commanding lead Friday in the men's short program at Skate Canada International, the second stop of the ISU Grand Prix Series.
In front of a packed Prospera Place arena, the double Olympic champion was outstanding as he landed all of his jumps, including an opening quadruple salchow, for a season-high score of 109.60.
American Camden Pulkinen finished the segment second with 89.05, while Canada's Nam Nguyen was third on 84.08.
Skating to "Otonal," the 24-year-old Hanyu finished his routine cleanly despite having to hang on his final jump, a quad toeloop-triple toeloop combination.
"I still feel like I always give an ugly performance at Skate Canada," laughed Hanyu, who finished runner-up three times at the competition to homegrown favorite Patrick Chan in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
(Yuzuru Hanyu)
"I can't say I am completely happy, but I did the best I could on the day."
The score for his Grand Prix season-debut performance was just a point shy of his world-leading 110.53, skated at the Rostelecom Cup last year. He will go into the free skate poised for his first Skate Canada title, one of the few accolades he has yet to claim.
Japanese starlet Rika Kihira seized the lead in the women's short program earlier in the day. The 17-year-old Kihira, winner of last season's Grand Prix Final, nailed all of her jumps including a triple axel to take first place with 81.35 points ahead of South Korea's You Young.
You also had a triple axel and scored 78.22 while Russian "quad queen" Alexandra Trusova had 74.40. Japan's Marin Honda placed 10th with 59.20.
(Rika Kihira)
Skating to "Breakfast in Baghdad," Kihira opened with a triple axel and followed up with a triple flip-triple toe combination, a triple loop and level-four spins and footwork.
"I got a better score than I expected so I am delighted," said Kihira.
"I'd really been working on the triple axel just before the start and carried that focus into my program. Now I have just got to try and be perfect in the free skate."
Honda was performing just a few days after she had suffered minor shin and head injuries in a traffic accident.
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"I was really nervous (performing so soon after the accident) but I gave it my best shot. Right now I just feel a huge sense of relief."
Honda and Keiji Tanaka, who was fifth in the men's short program, were on their way back to their hotel following an unofficial practice session on Tuesday when their taxi rear-ended the car in front and was also struck from behind by another vehicle.
But both were cleared to perform as scheduled.
(Marin Honda)
