Japan's Kaori Sakamoto took the lead in the women's competition at the figure skating world championships in Montpellier, southern France, with a career-best short program Wednesday.
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 seventh.
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.
Sakamoto was the only non-Russian in the top four in the women's singles at the Beijing Games. Between Russia being banned and China not sending teams, the pairs event is also wide open in France without the top five finishers from Beijing.
Later in the day, in the pairs short program, the Japanese team of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who placed seventh at the Beijing Games, was third with 71.58 points, behind two American teams who finished 1-2.
"Our goal is to surpass our old selves. It doesn't matter which countries aren't competing. We hope to enjoy the free skate too," Kihara said.
Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier are the leaders with 76.88, while Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy Leduc scored 75.85 for second.
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