Il Nuovo Postiglione - Japan's Sakamoto retains world figure skating title

Sakamoto led after the short programme and sealed the deal with a smooth free skate to clinch the title with an overall score of 224.61 in Saitama, north of Tokyo.

South Korea’s Lee Hae-in was second with 220.94 points, while Belgium's Loena Hendrickx was third on 210.42.

Russian skaters were again banned from the competition because of the war in Ukraine.

The 22-year-old Sakamoto, the bronze-medallist at last year's Beijing Olympics, became the first woman to retain her world title since Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva in 2017.

Wearing a red dress and skating to "Elastic Heart" by Sia, she had the Japanese fans eating out of her hand from the moment she stepped onto the ice.

But she did not appear to be convinced when she finished her routine, putting her hand to her head and grimacing before breaking into sobs.

She again broke down in tears when her victory was confirmed, but regained her composure to thank the crowd for their support.

Sakamoto's win gave Japan its second gold medal of the competition, after Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara claimed their country's first ever pairs world title the previous day.

Defending men's champion Shoma Uno will attempt to add a third on Saturday, and leads heading into the free skate.

Sakamoto won her first world title in France last year but she said her focus this week was on getting "revenge" for a disappointing performance the last time Saitama hosted the world championships, in 2019.

US national champion Isabeau Levito, who turned 16 this month, finished fourth on 207.65.

Sakamoto's Japanese team-mate Mai Mihara, who won the Grand Prix final in December, went into the free skate in third place but dropped to a finishing position of fifth on 205.70.

D.Ricci--INP