Overview
- Yamamoto Sota scored 77.02 and was eighth in the short program after returning from a mid‑August back problem that kept him off the ice for about a month.
- Yamamoto said he had lowered his pre‑competition goal to “secure the jumps” and called his performance “today’s max” given his ongoing recovery.
- Miura Kosei scored 72.67 and was ninth after falling on a Salchow, with the Olympic representative saying his errors were “too far from practice” and that he felt confused and tired.
- Both skaters will skate their free programs on Sunday, Oct. 25, and those results will determine final event rankings and early Grand Prix points.
- Their results highlight early‑season uncertainty for both athletes, with Yamamoto needing more ice time to rebuild jump consistency and Miura needing a mental reset to close the gap between practice and competition.