NAGANO, Japan (AP) β Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu set a record high score in the short program at the NHK Trophy on Friday.
Hanyu received 106.33 points to eclipse his own previous high of 101.45, which he set at the Sochi Olympics.
Boyang Jin of China was second with 95.64, followed by Takahito Mura of Japan on 88.29.
Skating to Chopin’s “Ballad No. 1,” Hanyu opened with a quad salchow and a quad toe-loop, triple toe-loop combination. He also cleanly landed a triple axel.
Hanyu is looking for his first Grand Prix win of the season after finishing second at Skate Canada behind Canada’s Patrick Chan.
The men’s program concludes on Saturday. A win for Hanyu at the NHK would secure him a place at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona from Dec. 10-13.
