Shoma Uno fell on a quad flip but had an otherwise clean free skate Sunday en route to his fifth career national figure skating title and first in three years.

Uno scored 191.28 points in the free skate for a total of 291.73, nearly 40 points above second-place Koshiro Shimada, on the final day of the national championships at Towa Pharmaceutical RACTAB Dome in Osaka Prefecture.

The 25-year-old Uno dominated the competition with the highest score in both the short and free programs.

Shoma Uno performs in the men's free program en route to winning gold at Japan's national figure skating championships at Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in the Osaka Prefecture city of Kadoma, western Japan, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Uno is building on his impressive 2021-22 Olympic season, when he took bronze at the Beijing Olympics and picked up his first world crown in Montpellier, France.

In the 2022-23 season, he has won both of his Grand Prix series events and the Grand Prix Final. What is left is to retain his world title in front of his home crowd next March at Saitama Super Arena.

Shoma Uno poses after winning the men's title at Japan's national figure skating championships at Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in the Osaka Prefecture city of Kadoma, western Japan, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

"In the first half of my program, I made a mistake that I don't usually do in practice, but I managed to regroup and skate well the rest of the way" said Uno, whose latest national title has earned him automatic qualification for the world championships.

"I've been training well, and by the world championships, I want to show I can raise my level further."

Koshiro Shimada performs in the men's free program at Japan's national figure skating championships at Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in the Osaka Prefecture city of Kadoma, western Japan, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Runner-up Shimada scored 252.56 points, and Kazuki Tomono finished third with 250.84, the first podium finish for both skaters at the national championships.

Yuma Kagiyama, who was runner-up to Nathan Chen of the United States at the Beijing Olympics, settled for eighth place in his season debut after sitting out the Grand Prix series with a left ankle injury.

Kazuki Tomono performs in the men's free program at Japan's national figure skating championships at Towa Pharmaceutical Ractab Dome in the Osaka Prefecture city of Kadoma, western Japan, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Earlier Sunday, Haruna Murakami and Sumitada Moriguchi, the only team taking part in the pairs event, scored 107.86 points in the free skate for a total of 162.07.

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who in early December became the first Japanese pair to win the Grand Prix Final, had to miss the national championships due to a delayed flight and lost baggage while traveling from their training base in Canada.

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