Japanese teenager Kao Miura won the men's short program at the Skate America figure skating competition Friday.
The 17-year-old scored 94.96 points, 0.52 ahead of second-placed South Korean Cha Jun Hwan, in the ISU Grand Prix season-opening event at the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center near Boston.
Miura, who sprained his right ankle just before traveling to the United States, pumped his fist wildly after a performance that included a clean quadruple salchow-triple toeloop combination early in the program.
"It's a good start," Miura said. "I heard many cheers in Japanese. It was fun because for the first time in a while I skated in a competition where spectators could raise their voices."
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Most Japanese sporting events require spectators to remain masked and ask that they refrain from cheering to reduce the risk of infection spread during the pandemic.
"This year I've grown confident, and I'm starting to feel I want to win," said Miura, who is looking for his first victory in the Grand Prix series.
Italy's Daniel Grassl was third with 88.43.
American Ilia Malinin, last season's world junior champion and the first skater to successfully land a quad axel in competition, was fourth with 86.08.
Japan's Sena Miyake was sixth, while compatriot Koshiro Shimada was last in the 12-man field.
The men's free skate and the women's short program are scheduled for Saturday.
