Two-time defending Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu delivered a dramatic and nearly flawless free skate on Saturday and won his fifth Japanese national figure skating title, tying the beloved Daisuke Takahashi in the record books and moving closer to a March showdown with Nathan Chen at the world championships.
Yuzu, who led after Friday’s short program, skated two clean programs with all positive grades of execution on jumping passes for the first time since the December 2015 Grand Prix Final — when he was at the peak of his dominance, breaking world records in back-to-back competitions.
Four-time defending champion Shoma Uno, third after the short program, delivered in a free skate that also included four quad jumps and earned him a 190.59 score which lifted him to second place.