Canada’s McIntosh, Mimar win pairs bronze at NHK Trophy | CBC Sports

Canada’s Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar won pairs bronze at the NHK Trophy on Saturday in Sapporo, Japan.

The duo earned a season’s best 175.65 points to secure their first senior Grand Prix medal in the second Grand Prix event of their first senior season.

Japanese Olympians Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara captured gold with 216.16 points, booking their ticket to next month’s Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. They finished first in both the short program and free skate.

The Canadians entered the day in third place after the short program (62.31), and they overcame a fall while finishing third in the free skate with 113.34 points.

Skating to the Les Miserables soundtrack, McIntosh and Mimar delivered a solid free skate that featured a triple twist lift and triple Lutz throw. McIntosh suffered a hard fall on a triple loop and briefly held her left arm, but the duo quickly recovered and finished strong.

WATCH | Canada’s McIntosh, Mimar capture bronze at NHK trophy:

Canadian pair McIntosh, Mimar capture bronze at NHK trophy

Canada’s Brooke McIntosh and Benjamin Mimar finish third place in the pairs event at the NHK Trophy with a season’s best score of 175.65.

McIntosh and Mimar made their senior Grand Prix debut on home ice last month at Skate Canada International in Mississauga, Ont., where they finished fourth.

The Canadians won bronze at the world juniors this past spring and started their first senior season with bronze at Finlandia Trophy. They also won junior pairs gold in January at the 2022 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa.

The NHK Trophy is the penultimate ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event of the season, following Skate Canada International, Skate America, the Grand Prix de France and MK John Wilson Trophy.

Skaters are assigned to two Grand Prix competitions, and the top six in each discipline compete in the Grand Prix Final, Dec. 8-11 in Turin, Italy.

The sixth stop on the circuit is the Grand Prix of Espoo, Nov. 25-27, in Espoo, Finland. Watch live coverage on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android.

WATCH | Miura, Kihara win pairs title on home ice:

Japan’s Miura, Kihara win pairs title at NHK Trophy

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara win gold in the pairs event at the NHK Trophy in Sapporo.