TOKYO (AP) — Two-time and reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States turned in a dominant free dance on Saturday to win the ice dance competition at the NHK Trophy.
First after Friday’s rhythm dance, the U.S. champions executed level four spins and lifts on their way to 129.63 points for a total of 215.95.
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, also of the United States, were second with 198.97 points while Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius of Lithuania took third with 195.52.
With their first NHK Trophy title, Chock and Bates also secured a berth in the Dec. 5 to 8 Grand Prix Final which will he held in Grenoble, France.
After finishing second at Skate America, Chock and Bates decided to revamp their program and the move paid off on Saturday.
Skating to “Round Midnight” and “Take Five,” the Americans opened with a level four rotational lift and closed with a curve lift and a difficult stationary lift.
“We were really pleased with the performance today,” Bates said. “It felt really smooth, we really tried to get into the mood of the very sultry jazz-forward program.”
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S. finished fourth with 188.76. points.
In pairs, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia finished first in the free skate to overtake Japanese skaters Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara with 213.05 points.
Miura and Kihara, first after the short program, settled for second place with 209.45 points while Ellie Kim and Danny O’Shea of the U.S. were third with 197.44.
The NHK Trophy is the fourth event in the ISU’s Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.
The men’s and women’s free skates were scheduled for later Saturday.
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The Associated Press