This year’s NHK Trophy had seen plenty of drama before the event has even started, with s plethora of withdrawals, including two home favorites for gold, leaving us with some very interesting fields. Former winners of this event, Yuzuru Hanyu and Rika Kihira, both withdrew last week due to ankle injuries, which will come as a real disappointment to local Japanese fans. A few days later, Skate America winner and prospective medalist here, Alexandra Trusova, also withdrew due to injury, which has the knock-on effect of opening up a spot for Grand Prix Final qualification. Other withdrawals were Russia’s Daniel Samsonov, Austria’s Miriam Ziegler / Severin Kiefer and eighth place finisher from Worlds Olga Mikutina, and American dance team Kaitlin Hawayek / Jean-Luc Baker. All were impacted by injury, which adds to the worrying trend of skaters suffering injuries this season, likely caused or exacerbated by changing training conditions as a result of the pandemic. Hopefully athletes are simply being more cautious with recovery times in light of this being an Olympic season, otherwise there will be real concern about missing competitors from the Winter Games.
Men
Everyone is talking about the fight for Olympic gold between Nathan Chan and Yuzuru Hanyu, but with Hanyu withdrawing from NHK due to an ankle injury, this weekend will be a battle for gold between the two men who often live in their shadows: America’s Vincent Zhou and Japan’s Shoma Uno. Zhou came out on top when he took his first Grand Prix victory at Skate America last month, but Uno will be hoping to add a home win of his own. Since 2005, NHK Trophy has only been won by a non-Japanese man on two occasions, so there will be some expectation for Uno to continue that streak. Zhou, meanwhile, could qualify for his first Grand Prix Final by finishing anywhere on the podium, so the pressure will be a bit lower for him. And if Vincent manages to beat Shoma a second time, the conversation about potential Olympic medalists becomes very interesting indeed.
And once again, it’s anyone’s guess who will take the last spot on the podium. Matteo Rizzo and Junhwan Cha both have two Grand Prix bronze medals in their career (one of Rizzo’s at this very event in 2018), Makar Ignatov has a bronze medal from 2019 and a fourth place from Skate Canada two weeks ago, and Alexander Samarin has Grand Prix medals in every color, but had the worst outing of his career this season when he finished 8th at Skate Canada. Like all of the men’s events we’ve seen so far, it will likely come down to whoever stays on their feet the longest, which could be just about any skater here.
| SKATER/COUNTRY | BEST SCORES | NOTABLE RESULTS |
|---|---|---|
| Vincent ZHOU USA | SP: 100.51 FS: 198.50 Total: 299.01 | 1st 2021 Skate America 3rd 2019 Worlds 3rd 2019 4CC |
| Shoma UNO Japan | SP: 104.15 FS: 197.36 Total: 289.12 | 2018 Olympic silver medalist 4x National Champion 4th 2021 Worlds |
| Alexander SAMARIN Russia | SP: 98.48 FS: 177.87 Total: 269.84 | 2nd 2019 Europeans 4th 2019 GPF |
| Junhwan CHA South Korea | SP: 97.33 FS: 175.06 Total: 265.43 | 10th 2021 Worlds 3rd 2018 Grand Prix Final |
| Nam NGUYEN Canada | SP: 87.57 FS: 178.69 Total: 262.77 | 2015, 2019 National Champion 6th 2020 4CC |
| Matteo RIZZO Italy | SP: 93.37 FS: 176.18 Total: 260.53 | 3rd 2019 Europeans 11th 2021 Worlds |
| Makar IGNATOV Russia | SP: 89.79 FS: 165.33 Total: 252.87 | 2nd 2021 Nationals 3rd 2019 Rostelecom Cup |
| Camden PULKINEN USA | SP: 89.05 FS: 155.73 Total: 244.78 | 2018 Junior National Champion 11th 2020 Four Continents |
| Tomoki HIWATASHI USA | SP: 88.09 FS: 159.84 Total: 240.78 | 2019 Junior World Champion 9th 2020 Four Continents |
| Sota YAMAMOTO Japan | SP: 92.81 FS: 157.23 Total: 240.11 | 2016 Youth Olympic Champion 3rd 2015 Junior Worlds |
| Kao MIURA Japan | SP: 59.94 FS: 125.65 Total: 185.50 | 2nd Japanese Junior Nationals |
Women
For once, we don’t need to talk about the potential of a Russian sweep, because there is only one Russian skater at this event. In fact, the entire podium is wide open with the withdrawals of both Rika Kihira and Alexandra Trusova due to injury. There’s real opportunities for both Young You and Daria Usacheva to qualify for the Grand Prix Final, and Kaori Sakamoto or Alysa Liu could even have a shot at qualifying if they take gold here with earlier fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.
Russia’s only shot of keeping up their gold medal streak is Daria Usacheva. As the only one of the main seven contenders for the Russian Olympic team with no quads or a triple Axel, she’s certainly the most likely to allow someone to break the Russian streak. There are three skaters here with higher career best scores, though in this particular field, Usacheva has achieved the highest score on this season’s Grand Prix.
But with the gold up for grabs, Kaori Sakamoto would certainly like to take a home win and repeat as NHK champion in a year with an actual international field. Japanese women haven’t been quite as dominant as the men at this event, but they have won 13 of the past 19 iterations, with the Russians being, unsurprisingly, the main challengers in recent years.
And while she’s not likely to medal, also keep an eye on Amber Glenn’s performances. With Bradie Tennell still injured, Mariah Bell yet to compete on the Grand Prix, and Karen Chen making mistakes at her first assignment, a place on the US Olympic team is still very much on the table, especially if the triple Axel starts to make an appearance.
| SKATER/COUNTRY | BEST SCORES | NOTABLE RESULTS |
|---|---|---|
| Kaori SAKAMOTO Japan | SP: 77.78 FS: 150.29 Total: 228.07 | 6th 2021 Worlds 2019 National Champion |
| Young YOU South Korea | SP: 78.22 FS: 149.68 Total: 223.23 | 2nd 2020 4CC 3x National Champion |
| Alysa LIU USA | SP: 74.31 FS: 144.93 Total: 219.24 | 2x National Champion 2nd 2019 Junior GPF |
| Daria USACHEVA Russia | SP: 76.71 FS: 140.60 Total: 217.31 | 2nd 2021 Skate America 2nd 2020 Junior Worlds |
| Eunsoo LIM South Korea | SP: 72.91 FS: 132.66 Total: 205.57 | 10th 2019 Worlds 8th 2020 Four Continents |
| Amber GLENN USA | SP: 67.69 FS: 133.45 Total: 201.02 | 2nd 2021 Nationals 9th 2020 4CC |
| Seoyeong WI South Korea | SP: 66.48 FS: 127.85 Total: 193.30 | 6th 2020 Junior Worlds 2018 Jr. National Champion |
| Rino MATSUIKE Japan | SP: 66.42 FS: 126.62 Total: 193.03 | 2021 Jr. National Champion 3rd 2020 NHK Trophy |
| Mana KAWABE Japan | SP: 65.84 FS: 133.22 Total: 186.52 | 4th 2020 Youth Olympics 11th 2020 Junior Worlds |
| Nicole SCHOTT Germany | SP: 64.09 FS: 120.93 Total: 182.71 | 18th 2021 Worlds 18th 2018 Olympic Games |
Pairs
Eyes around the world will be on reigning World Champions Mishina and Galliamov in their first Grand Prix outing of the season as they face off against a revitalized Tarasova and Morozov, who have looked like one of the teams to beat this season. Tarasova and Morozov’s total score from Skate America was just five points shy of Mishina and Galliamov’s Worlds-winning scores, so they’re already skating at a very high level this early in the season.
Meanwhile, many eyes at the event will be on the home team of Miura and Kihara as they look to achieve their second Grand Prix medal and possibly punch a ticket to the Final. Miura and Kihara would be the first Japanese pair to medal at this event since Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran in 2011. Their main competition will be from Cain-Gribble and LeDuc, looking to build on their bronze medal performance from Skate Canada.
| TEAM/COUNTRY | BEST SCORES | NOTABLE RESULTS |
|---|---|---|
| Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV Russia | SP: 81.21 FS: 147.26 Total: 228.47 | 2x European Champions 3x World medalists 3x National Champions |
| Anastasia MISHINA / Aleksandr GALLIAMOV Russia | SP: 75.79 FS: 153.37 Total: 227.59 | 2021 World Champions 3rd 2019 GPF |
| Riku MIURA / Ryuichi KIHARA Japan | SP: 72.63 FS: 135.57 Total: 208.20 | 2nd 2021 Skate America 10th 2021 Worlds |
| Ashley CAIN-GRIBBLE / Timothy LEDUC USA | SP: 76.23 FS: 129.66 Total: 205.58 | 9th 2021 Worlds 2019 National Champions |
| Minerva Fabienne HASE / Nolan SEEGERT Germany | SP: 70.43 FS: 123.18 Total: 188.37 | 5th 2020 Europeans 2021 Nebelhorn Champions |
| Evelyn WALSH / Trennt MICHAUD Canada | SP: 62.73 FS: 116.83 Total: 177.58 | 12th 2021 Worlds 2nd 2019 & 2020 Nationals |
| Audrey LU / Misha MITROFANOV USA | SP: 63.87 FS: 107.75 Total: 168.50 | 5th 2018 Junior Worlds 2018 Jr. National Champions |
Ice Dance
In this particular ice dance field, the first and second place teams are virtually certain, while the bronze medal is up for grabs. The reigning World Champions Sinitsina and Katsalapov have their first Grand Prix outing here and the big point of interest will be how they stack up against what we saw from Papadakis and Cizeron last week. The Russians will be starting from a more difficult place; they withdrew from a Russian Cup event a month ago due to a back injury for Katsalapov that left him unable to even put on his own socks, according to coach Alexander Zhulin. However, they also missed most of last season due to injuries and COVID diagnosis for both, so we know they can recover from such setbacks. Even a weakened Sinitsina and Katsalapov will be favorites for gold here.
In the silver medal position we have Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who will qualify for the Grand Prix Final with another second place finish to add to their result from Skate America.
The bronze medal is where things get interesting. The team with the third highest personal best score are the Brits Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who had a really rough outing at Skate Canada and finished all the way down in seventh. They need some strong redemption skates here to get their season back on track, and a bronze medal would certainly held right the ship. They’ll be threatened by the Spanish team, Sarah Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin, who also need to make an impression after Smart and Diaz medalled at Skate Canada and made their Zorro free dance a fan-favorites in their Grand Prix assignments. The two teams are competing for Spain’s sole Olympic spot. An outside challenge could also come from Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who have a personal best score within a point and a half of the Spaniards, though their scores from this season have been substantially lower so far.
Outside of the podium places, one of the most intriguing face-offs of this event will be between the home teams of Komatsubara/Koleto (aka Team Koko) and Muramoto/Takahashi. Komatsubara and Koleto have been the reigning national champions for the past three seasons with no real competition and are the team consistently representing Japan internationally. Kana Muramoto, a 4CC bronze medalist and 2018 Olympian, and Daisuke Takahashi, an Olympic medalist and World champion in singles skating, teamed up at the end of the 2019/2020 season, just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic to derail their debut season. Muramoto and Takahashi have yet to compete internationally, but were within three points of Komatsubara and Koleto in the rhythm dance at last year’s nationals and still finished second overall with mistakes in the free dance. If they’ve improved enough to get close to Team Koko, competition for Japan’s sole Olympic spot will get very interesting. Takahashi cited a desire for Japan to have a team at the Olympics as motivation for switching disciplines, but with Tim Koleto getting Japanese citizenship last year, both teams are now eligible. It’s a rarity for Japan to have two ice dance teams competing on the Grand Prix, so to have two in an interesting competition is a real gift for the home crowd.
| TEAM/COUNTRY | BEST SCORES | NOTABLE RESULTS |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV Russia | RD: 88.73 FD: 133.02 Total: 221.17 | 2021 World Champions 2020 European Champions |
| Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA | RD: 85.76 FD: 129.01 Total: 213.18 | 4th 2021 Worlds 2nd 2019 GPF |
| Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON Great Britain | RD: 77.42 FD: 119.50 Total: 196.92 | 7th 2021 Worlds 3rd 2019 Skate Canada |
| Sara HURTADO / Kirill KHALIAVIN Spain | RD: 77.03 FD: 117.39 Total: 193.47 | 11th 2021 Worlds 12th 2018 Olympics |
| Marjorie LAJOIE / Zachary LAGHA Canada | RD: 76.43 FD: 115.68 Total: 192.11 | 14th 2021 Worlds 2019 Junior World Champions |
| Alexandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN Ukraine | RD: 75.46 FD: 113.18 Total: 188.64 | 20th 2021 Worlds 10th 2021 Europeans |
| Sofia SHEVCHENKO / Igor EREMENKO Russia | RD: 69.59 FD: 108.49 Total: 178.08 | 2018 Jr. GPF Champions 3rd 2019 Jr. Worlds |
| Misato KOMATSUBARA / Tim KOLETO Japan | RD: 68.02 FD: 100.82 Total: 167.81 | 19th 2021 Worlds 3x National Champions |
| Kana MURAMOTO / Daisuke TAKAHASHI * Japan | RD: 64.15 FD: 93.10 Total: 157.25 | 2nd 2020 Nationals 3rd 2020 NHK Trophy |
How to Watch
NHK Trophy runs November 12-14 in Tokyo, Japan (may start the evening of the 11th, depending on your time zone).
Triple Figure 