Three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan leads after the short program in her Grand Prix season debut at Skate Canada.

Sakamoto, the first woman to win three consecutive world titles since American Peggy Fleming from 1966-68, had three clean jumping steps, including a triple flip-triple toe loop combination.

She scored 74.97 points in Halifax and took a 7.29 points lead over American Alysa Liu going into Saturday’s free skate (live on Peacock).

Sakamoto, 24, won all six of her international competitions last season. She placed third in a lower-level event in Italy last month, opening her 2024-2025 season.

SKATE CANADA: Broadcast schedule

Liu, a two-time U.S. champion, raced her first Grand Prix program in three years. She retired after winning bronze at the March 2022 World Championships.

Earlier Friday, world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps from Canada led the pairs short program with 73.23 points.

Stellato-Dudek, a 41-year-old who won the 2000 U.S. junior singles silver medal, and Deschamps are aiming for a repeat of the Skate Canada title.

Germans Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel, who finished fifth at the World Cup, are 8.41 points behind Saturday’s free skate.

Americans Emily Chan and Spencer Howe are in fifth place in their first Grand Prix in two years. Chan and Howe, who finished fifth at the 2023 World Championship, missed last year’s Grand Prix season due to Howe’s shoulder surgery.

On Saturday, world champion Ilia Malinin will headline the men’s short program, six days after winning her third straight Skate America title.

The six-event Grand Prix series, which began with Skate America, leads to December’s Grand Prix Final. The Final features the top six per discipline from the series, with the top skaters spread out and competing in two of the six competitions.

The Grand Prix Final is often a foretaste of the World Championships the following March.

Skate Canada 2024 Results

Short program for ladies
1. Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) — 74.97
2. Alysa Liu (USA) — 67.68
3. Kimmy Repond (SUI) — 66.94
4. Hana Yoshida (JPN) — 65.32
5. Madeline Schizas (CAN) – 65.28
6. Elyce-Lin Gracey (USA) – 58.64
7. Kaiya Rider (CAN) – 57.66
8. Kim Ye-Lim (KOR) – 56.12
9. Sara-Maude Dupuis (CAN) – 54.15
10. Rino Matsuike (JPN) – 52.31
11. Wi Seo-Yeong (KOR) – 47.86
12. Ekaterina Kurakova (POL) — 47.31

Short program for couples
1. Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (CAN) — 73.23
2. Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel (DU) — 64.82
3. Anastasia Golubeva/Hektor Giotopoulos Moore (AUS) — 64.81
4. Ekaterina Geynish/Dmitrii Chigirev – 63.53
5. Emily Chan/Spencer Howe (USA) — 61.04
6. Ioulia Chtchetinina/Michal Wozniak (POL) — 60.87
7. Daria Danilova/Michel Tsiba (NED) — 58.78
8. Kelly Ann Laurin/Loucas Ethier (CAN) – 52.16

Alysa Liu returns to top-level figure skating competition this month after a two-year retirement.