Kao Miura wins Grand Prix Espoo figure skating title to book a place at the finals

ESPOO, Finland (AP) — Japanese figure skater Kao Miura edged past his teammate Shun Sato to win his first figure skating Grand Prix title Sunday and book a place in next month’s finals.

Miura and Sato each landed three quadruple jumps in the free skate Saturday at Grand Prix Espoo, with Sato scoring slightly higher. Miura’s three-point advantage from Friday’s short program helped him hold on to win with a total 274.56 points to Sato’s 273.34.

It’s the first career Grand Prix series win for Miura, who won the world junior title and Four Continents Championship gold last season.

Kévin Aymoz of France recovered from a poor short program to take the bronze Saturday, rising from fifth to third to finish on a total 250.03. Jimmy Ma of the United States had been in third place after the short program but a fall and other errors in his free skate dropped the 28-year-old from New York to 11th overall.

In the other events later Saturday, world champion Kaori Sakamoto leads the women’s competition after the short program, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States lead the ice dance and Peng Cheng and Wang Lei of China lead the pairs.

Grand Prix Espoo is the fifth of the six events that determine qualification for next month’s Grand Prix Finals in Beijing.

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