Figure skating: Rika Kihira nails quad, seizes 2nd straight national title
Rika Kihira nailed a quad salchow in her free skate to overcome a powerful challenge from Kaori Sakamoto and capture her second straight women's crown at Japan's national figure skating championships on Sunday. The 18-year-old Kihira opened with the salchow and cruised past her only real setback, an under-rotated triple axel that followed, to score 154.90 points for the free skate for a winning 234.24 total. Sakamoto, who entered the free skate in second place, rocked the audience at Nagano's Big Hat arena with unmatched speed and soaring jumps, scoring 150.31 for a 222.17 total to throw dow...