Japan won figure skating's Japan Open on Saturday after Shoma Uno and Kaori Sakamoto topped the men's and women's standings, respectively, in a three-team competition involving North American and European rivals.
In a free skate-only event featuring two men and women from each team, Kao Miura and Rika Kihira joined Uno and Sakamoto as they scored 623.84 points in total for Japan's first win in four tournaments and 10th overall at Saitama Super Arena.
Uno, this year's Olympic silver medalist and world champion, landed four quad jumps for a 193.80 score, his only mistake coming late when a quad-triple combination turned into a quad-double.
North America was second after 17-year-old Ilia Malinin, who last month became the first skater to land a quad axel in competition, settled for 193.42 and was edged by Uno after failing to nail the jump.
In a direct clash with the youngster he believes "will be devastating in a year or two," Uno showed his mettle in an all-around performance that made use of the greater physicality he developed ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
"It was a season opener where my efforts last season bore fruit," Uno said. "I hope to keep taking stock of myself in order to keep up with him (Malinin)."
Women's world champion Sakamoto, who won bronze in Beijing, landed all seven of her jumps to score 146.66 for an overwhelming victory despite voicing concerns over her fitness ahead of the competition.
"It really is miraculous I could perform this way," said Sakamoto as she seeks a strong performance at Oct. 21-23 Skate America, the first event of the International Skating Union's Grand Prix Series.
"It's a good springboard. I hope to gradually go close to my personal best score from here."
Kihira, who missed the Olympics with a stress fracture in her right ankle, was happy with her progress after receiving 113.44 points from a program employing less jump difficulty.
"I made no major mistakes. I'm getting my stamina back quite a bit," said Kihira, who competed for the first time in two seasons in September. Her next event is Skate Canada from Oct. 28.
"I'll go into it fully recovered and hope to reach the podium."
Related coverage:
Figure skating: Yuzuru Hanyu to stage ice show in Nov. and Dec.
Figure skating: American makes Hanyu-inspired quad axel history
South Korea figure skating star Kim Yu Na to marry vocalist
