Hanyu leads Japanese one-two at Team Trophy
Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu on Friday nailed superb quadruple jumps to lead a Japanese one-two in the men's free programme at the figure skating World Team Trophy. With the triumph, Japan maintained the lead in the overall standings, followed by the United States with Russia in third. Hanyu won the free on a stunning 200.49 points as his teammate Shoma Uno, who clinched the previous day's short programme, ended second with 198.49 points. Patrick Chan of Canada came third on 190.74. The Sochi gold medallist, who sank to seventh with a mediocre performance in the short, succeeded his opening quadruple loop in style. While under-rotating the following jump, Hanyu recovered with a clean quadruple Salchow and triple axels as well as his elegant steps, prompting frenzied local fans to throw him flowers at the end of his performance. Hanyu, who snatched a second career gold in a record score at the world championship earlier this month, voiced discontent with the season's final competition. "In terms of results, I feel regret," Hanyu said. "But since I challenged two quadruple toe loops in the latter half ... I think I reaped a harvest," Hanyu said. Japan have 81 points after the second day of the three-day competition, as the United States earn 78 points, with Russia on 74 points. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada topped the ice dance free dance with 113.83 points after taking second in the previous day's short routine. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States came second with 109.96 points, followed by Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia on 104.55 points. Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France scored highest in the pairs short programme with 75.72 as Peng Cheng and Jin Yang of China took second on 71.36 points, with Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro of Canada in third on 69.56.
