Mao Shimada leads ladies' short program at Skate Canada

At the Skate Canada Grand Prix event in Kelowna, 18-year-old Mao Shimada made a successful senior debut, leading the ladies' short program with a score of 82.11. This mark represents the highest score in the ladies' field so far this season. She finished the segment ahead of Isabeau Levito of the United States and Nina Petrokina of Estonia.

In the men's competition, Riji Nakata entered the free skate in first place after a strong short program but finished second overall with a total of 249.25 points. He was overtaken by France's Kevin Aymoz, who secured the victory with 258.43 points. Kazuki Tomono finished sixth in the men's event.

Meanwhile, at the East Japan Figure Skating Championships, the ice dance duo Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita won the competition with a total score of 175.82. The newly formed team of Marin Honda and Shoma Uno made their official competitive debut, finishing fourth overall with 145.70 points.