Beijing Winter Olympics silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama made a successful figure skating comeback with men's bronze Saturday at the Grand Prix de France, while compatriot Rion Sumiyoshi also took bronze after becoming the first Japanese woman to land a quadruple toe loop in international competition.
Kagiyama's third-place performance in Friday's short program marked his competitive return after missing the entire 2022-23 season with a nagging ankle injury. The 20-year-old added 175.23 points in the free skate to total 273.14.
France's Adam Siao Him Fa delighted the home crowd in Angers by topping the men's podium with 205.71 in the free skate and a 306.78 total, finishing 2.0 points ahead of short program winner Ilia Malinin of the United States.
The 20-year-old Sumiyoshi leaped two places from the short program after top-scoring with 136.04 in the free skate for a 197.76 total, thanks in part to her groundbreaking quad jump.
"It felt like I'd finally done it (the quad). I'm glad all the hard work until now has paid off," Sumiyoshi said.
Isabeau Levito of the United States earned her first Grand Prix women's singles gold medal and the first by an American woman in seven years, totaling 203.22 to win by 4.42 over Nina Pinzarrone of Belgium.
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