Kazuki Tomono's stunning short program leads Skate America

Japanese figure skater Kazuki Tomono delivered his best short program in more than three years as Skate America opened Friday night, giving him the lead over Kevin Aymoz of France and Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov heading into the free skate.

Jason Brown of the U.S. was fifth behind Italy's Daniel Grassl in his first Grand Prix event of the season.

In the pairs competition, Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava continued their fast rise through the world ranks with a near-perfect program set to the figure skating staple "Bolero," helping them to build a solid lead over Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara.

The 27-year-old Tomono, who is trying to earn one of Japan's spots at the Winter Olympics in February, was solid from his opening quad toe-triple toe combo through his quad salchow and triple axel. By the time he finished his short program, set to music by New York-based musical duo SOFI TUKKER, the crowd inside the arena in Lake Placid, New York, was standing in ovation.

His score of 95.77 was not only a season's best, but Tomono's best short-program score since the 2022 world championships.

Japan's Kazuki Tomono in 1st place after men's short program at Skate America

Aymoz, the six-time French champion, scored 93.56 points in a bounce-back performance from a poor showing at Skate Canada that left him in tears in the kiss-and-cry area. The veteran has been dealing with a left foot injury but didn't look like it, landing an opening quad toe-triple toe before a solid triple axel and triple lutz to finish out his short program.

Shaidorov, the last performer on the ice, is still trying to win his first Grand Prix event after taking bronze at the Cup of China earlier this season. The 21-year-old world silver medallist will have