HELSINKI (AP) — Japanese figure skater Yuma Kagiyama was on course for back-to-back wins in the Grand Prix series after he took the lead in the short program at the Finlandia Trophy on Friday.
Skating to “The Sound of Silence,” Olympic silver medalist Kagiyama opened with a quadruple salchow and landed a quad toeloop-triple toeloop combination for a score of 103.97.
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Maxime Deschamps and Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Canada during the pairs short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Sarah Everhardt of the United States competes in the women's short program at the Finlandia Trophy Grand Prix figure skating competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Hana Yoshida of Japan performs during the women's short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Hana Yoshida of Japan performs during the women's short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Kevin Aymoz of France skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Kevin Aymoz of France skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Kazuki Tomono of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
That gave Kagiyama a commanding 13-point lead ahead of Saturday's free skate, though it was nearly two points below his short score on his way to winning the NHK Trophy on home ice last week.
Countryman Kazuki Tomono was second on 90.78 after landing two quads in the only other clean skate of the day. Kevin Aymoz of France was third on 85.13 despite bailing out of a planned triple lutz.
In the women's short program, Japan's Hana Yoshida took a narrow lead against a field depleted by the withdrawals last week of world silver medalist Isabeau Levito of the United States and European champion Loena Hendrickx of Belgium.
Yoshida landed a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination, though the second jump wasn't fully rotated, and a triple loop for her best short score of the season of 67.87 as she aims for a second career Grand Prix win.
Italian skater Lara Naki Gutmann got a spot in the competition because of the withdrawals and made the most of it with a personal-best 67.06 for second place with a program themed around the Netflix show “Squid Game.”
Sarah Everhardt of the United States was third on 66.28 for her Irish dance-inspired program.
Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were firmly on course for their second Grand Prix title this season after leading the short program on 75.89. The Italian pair of Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini were second on 67.43 and Hungary's Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko third on 61.29.
The Finlandia Trophy is the fifth of six rounds in the Grand Prix series. Each skater or pair can compete twice at most. The best-placed skaters overall qualify for the Grand Prix Finals next month in Grenoble, France.
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Maxime Deschamps and Deanna Stellato-Dudek of Canada during the pairs short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Sarah Everhardt of the United States competes in the women's short program at the Finlandia Trophy Grand Prix figure skating competition in Helsinki, Finland, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Hana Yoshida of Japan performs during the women's short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Hana Yoshida of Japan performs during the women's short program at the international figure skating competition Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva via AP)
Kevin Aymoz of France skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Kevin Aymoz of France skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Kazuki Tomono of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan skates during Men's, Short Program, at the international figure skating competition Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki, Finland on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Mikko Stig /Lehtikuva via AP)
A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.
In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.
Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.
“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.
Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.
At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.
“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”
Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.
Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.
This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.
Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.
“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.
The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.
Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.
“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”
In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.
He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.
“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”
After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.
“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.
Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.
“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.
But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.
The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.
Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.
Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.
“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”
On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.
“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”
Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.
“Today is my peaceful day.”
Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
