Japanese teenager Nakai shocks Sakamoto to win Grand Prix de France / Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER - AFP
Japanese teenager Nakai shocks Sakamoto to win Grand Prix de France
Japanese teenager Ami Nakai shocked teammate and big favourite Kaori Sakamoto to win her first title at the ISU Grand Prix de France on Saturday as Japan swept the women's podium.
Nakai, 17, competing in her first season on the senior circuit, extended her lead from Friday's short programme to seal victory with her free skate to Lexi Walker's 'What a Wonderful World'.
Despite a hand on the ice on her triple Axel jump, Nakai scored a combined 227.08 points for her two routines, putting her 2.85 points ahead of former three-time world champion Sakamoto.
Sakamoto, 25, suffered her first defeat on the Grand Prix circuit in two seasons.
The Olympic bronze medallist, who will retire at the end of the Winter Games season, collected 224.23 points.
Her impeccable programme, skated to a cover of Edith Piaf by Patricia Kaas, did not allow her to regain the lead.
Rion Sumiyoshi (216.06) was third ahead of American Isabeau Levito who dropped to fourth.
Japan's reigning world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara are also bidding to seal the pairs gold later on Saturday in western France.
- British ice dancers spice it up -
Earlier, British ice dancers Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson's 'Spice Girls' routine proved a big hit as they led after the rhythm dance section.
The world bronze medallists scored 84.38 points to open up a 3.4-point lead on Lithuanians Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius going into Sunday's free skate final.
"We really worked hard on the technical side this season," Fear said.
"But then for us, it's always perform, perform, perform. It's what we love to do the most and it's our strength. We wanted to amplify that."
Reigning Olympic ice dance champion Guillaume Cizeron, partnered with Canadian Laurence Fournier Beaudry who now represents France, is in third position with 78.00 points.
During a sequence of choreographed steps to Madonna's Vogue, French skater Cizeron dropped a knee to the ice, an error tantamount to a fall, which cost them precious points.
"I'd have to watch the video. I don't know what I did, it was going so fast," said Cizeron.
"It's a mistake that shouldn't be repeated. It cost a lot of points, even if it wasn't a huge mistake. But it's a good lesson for (Sunday's free dance) and future competitions."
The new duo, formed only at the beginning of the year, skated together in Angers for the first time on the international stage.
Olympic champion in 2022 alongside Gabriella Papadakis, Cizeron returned this season with Fournier Beaudry as his new partner with their sights on the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in less than four months.
Meanwhile, US two-time world champion Ilia Malinin opens his Olympic season in the men's short programme looking to deny France's Adam Siao Him Fa a fourth gold in Angers.
R.Gutierrez--RTC
