Figure Skater Yuma Kagiyama Earns Place in Milan Olympics after Dominating in All-Japan Championship

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Yuma Kagiyama, after finishing his free skating performance at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday

Japan’s figure skating ace Yuma Kagiyama earned a spot on Saturday in next year’s Milan Cortina Olympics. The 22-year-old won the men’s singles competition at the All-Japan figure skating championship, held at Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium, for the second time in a row.

The Milan Cortina Games will be Kagiyama’s second Winter Games appearance, following the 2022 Beijing Games in which he won silver medals for men’s singles and the team event.

In the All-Japan contest, Kagiyama took the lead in the short program on Friday with 104.27 points, followed by Kao Miura with 95.65 points and Rio Nakata with 89.91 points. In Saturday’s free skating event, Kagiyama finished second but secured the top overall place with 287.95 points. Shun Sato, who was in fifth after the short program, finished first in free skating and second overall.