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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Bryan Armen Graham

World figure skating 2017: Medvedeva repeats as world champion – as it happened

Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia delivered a performance for the ages in retaining her world championship. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Thanks for following along with us. Be sure to check out the full report here.

Updated

Final standings

Evgenia Medvedeva becomes the first woman to defend a world championship since Michelle Kwan in 2011, while Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman become the first pair from their country to medal at the same worlds.

US champion Karen Chen finishes fourth while Ashley Wagner comes in at seventh.

Click through for the full standings and complete scoring breakdown.

Ladies' free skate standings
The final standings. Photograph: Icenetwork
Ladies' free skate
Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond (silver), Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva (gold) and Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman (bronze) accept their medals. Photograph: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

24) Kaetlyn Osmond (CAN)

Free skate: 142.15 (218.13 overall, currently in second place)

The Edmonton native and three-time Canadian national champion performs to a medley of Puccini songs from La Boheme. A soaring triple flip-triple toe to start with a brief bobble on the double axel-triple toe, but she roars through the rest of the program flawlessly. Canada will have two medalists at the same worlds for the first time ever ... it’s only the order that’s in question. And it’s a season-best score of 142.15! That will lift her to the silver!

Kaetlyn Osmond clinched the silver with a near-perfect free skate.

Updated

23) Gabrielle Daleman (CAN)

Free skate: 141.33 (213.52 overall, currently in second place)

The 19-year-old from Toronto, fresh off her silver medal at Four Continents, skates to Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. And what a performance it is. One by one, she’s knocking the elements down. Nearly flawless, save for a step-out on the triple salchow-double axel sequence at the very end. This won’t catch Medvedeva but it should be good enough for second. And it’s a new season-best score of 141.33. That will guarantee Daleman no worse than a bronze. She’s sitting in second with one skater, her Canadian teammate Kaetlyn Osmond, due to perform.

Gabrielle Daleman assured herself a spot on the podium with a season-best score of 141.33.

Updated

Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS) sets free-skate and overall world records!

Free skate: 154.40 (233.41 overall, currently in first place)

Now here’s Evgenia Medvedeva, unbeaten over the last 16 months and looking to become the first woman to repeat as world champion since Michelle Kwan in 2001. No different here. A model of consistency in her first two seasons at the senior level and enters this week’s worlds having won 11 consecutive events. Make it 12. She’s skating to a medley Alexandre Desplat from the film soundtrack to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a 9/11-inspired program about overcoming tragedy. And she nails every element: triple flip-triple toe, triple lutz, triple loop, triple flip, double axel-double toe-double toe, triple salchow-triple toe, double axel. This could be a record score. Waiting on the marks. And her score of 154.40 is the highest in the 13-year history of the ISU judging system, breaking the previous mark of 150.79 (which she established at last year’s European championships) and bumping Kim Yuna’s legendary skate from the Vancouver Olympics down to third. Her overall score, which lifts her into first (of course), is also a record. It’s officially a race for silver in Helsinki.

Evgenia Medvedeva soars in Helsinki.

Updated

21) Anna Pogorilaya (RUS)

Free skate: 111.85 (183.37 overall, currently in 10th place)

A nightmarish performance for the 18-year-old from Moscow, who took bronze at worlds last year. She falls on her triple flip, falls again on the triple lutz-triple toe loop combo and a third fall on the triple top loop at the end. Four points in mandatory deductions. A disastrous skate that will drop her behind Bell. And she’s inconsolable in the kiss-and-cry area. Hard to watch.

Anna Pogorilaya falls three times during a disastrous free skate.

Updated

20) Karen Chen (USA)

Free skate: 129.31 (199.29 overall, currently in first place)

The 17-year-old who shined in winning the US national championships in January but sank to 12th at Four Continents has a lot on her shoulders here: she needs a score of 127.91 to guarantee three spots for the United States at next year’s Olympics. She starts strong with a triple lutz-triple toe loop but oh dear ... two major errors. She underrotates on a triple lutz and hits the ice, a one-point deduction. Then a step-out on a double axel as she falls apart at the end. Will it be enough for Team USA? Waiting on the scores ... and it’s a new season-best and personal-best score of 129.31. Chen moves into first with four skaters left and the Americans will send three skaters to Pyeongchang.

Karen Chen saves the USA’s skin.

Updated

19) Maria Sotskova (RUS)

Free skate: 122.44 (192.20 overall, currently in fourth place)

The 16-year-old debutante is solid through the first half of her program to Adagio by Alfred Schnittke, but she falls to the ice on a triple lutz and that’s going to cost her. After the one-point deduction, her score of 122.44 will lift her only to fourth.

Maria Sotskova performs her free skate.

Updated

The final group of skaters are on the ice for their warm-ups. That’s Russia’s Maria Sotskova, Karen Chen of the United States, Russia’s Anna Pogorilaya, Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva, Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman and Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond.

Here are the standings with 18 skaters down and six to go.

Ladies’ free skate standings
Ladies’ free skate standings after three groups. Photograph: Icenetwork

18) Wakaba Higuchi (JPN)

Free skate: 122.18 (188.05 overall, currently in sixth place)

The two-time world junior bronze medalist is making her worlds debut, performing her free skate to Sheherazade by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov. The 16-year-old starts so strong with the triple lutz-triple toe loop and nails the next few elements. It’s looking good! But the errors start to mount as she loses steam in the second half of the program, most notably when she falls on an underrotated double axel-triple toe loop. She’s only up to sixth, meaning her teammate Mai Mihara remains the clubhouse leader entering the final group.

Wakaba Higuchi performs her free skate.

Updated

17) Carolina Kostner (USA)

Free skate: 130.50 (196.83 overall, currently in second place)

A solid performance to Nisi Dominus (Cum Dederit) by Antonio Vivaldi from the fan favorite and Olympic bronze medalist from three years ago. The 30-year-old survives a turn-out on the opening triple toe-triple toe combo and skates the rest with no major errors. It’s not the most demanding program, but Kostner’s always-high program component score (71.03, best of the day so far) lifts her into second. Not bad for the oldest woman at worlds!

Carolina Kostner performs her free skate.

Updated

16) Ashley Wagner (USA)

Free skate: 124.50 (191.99 overall, currently in second place)

The 25-year-old looks tight and hesitant throughout her performance to Exogenesis Symphony Part III by Muse. She loses as many as four points early on when she only manages a single loop on her planned double loop-triple salchow and she’s playing catch-up from there. The athleticism and charisma that shone through last year when Wagner broke the United States’ decade-long medal drought at worlds with a silver in Boston is absent ... and an underwhelming score here all but wipes out her chance as a repeat medal. And from her reaction in the kiss-and-cry area, she knows it. The Americans will need a big score from Karen Chen if they hope to secure three spots for the Pyeongchang Olympics.

Ashley Wagner performs her free skate.

Updated

15) Elizabet Tursynbaeva (JPN)

Free skate: 126.51 (191.99 overall, currently in second place)

The 17-year-old Kazakh turns in a lovely performance to Princess Mononoke. She had a foot down on two of the more complex combinations – the double axel-triple toe and the closing double axel-double toe-double loop – but an otherwise clean program should translate to a big score. And she gets it! A season-best free-skate tally of 126.51 lifts her into second. Tursynbaeva needs to finish in the top 10 in order for Kazakhstan to have two spots at the Olympics next year. If this score holds up against even one of the remaining nine skaters, it’ll be good enough.

Elizabet Tursynbaeva’s season-best free skate likely sealed a second spot for Kazakhstan at next year’s Olympics.

Updated

14) Rika Hongo (JPN)

Free skate: 107.28 (169.83 overall, currently in sixth place)

The heralded 20-year-old Four Continents bronze medalist began the day at 11th overall after a spotty performance in Wednesday’s short program. She turns in a mostly clean skate here to Reel Around the Sun (from ‘Riverdance’) with a minor step out on the double axel-triple toe loop combo midway through. But then she goes for it on the final element, a triple flip, and crashes to ice. Oh dear! What a disappointment. Her score lifts her to sixth place with 10 skaters left.

13) Dabin Choi (KOR)

Free skate: 128.45 (191.11 overall, currently in first place)

The 17-year-old Choi, fresh off her Asian Winter Games gold medal, turns in a flawless performance to the Doctor Zhivago soundtrack. The triple lutz-triple toe, the double axel-triple toe, the triple lutz-double toe-double loop ... the Seoul native stuck all of it. It all adds up to a season-best free-skate score of 128.45, nearly 10 points adrift of Mihara but good for second. Only her transitions and choreography scores held her back.

Dabin Choi delivers a season-best free skate at worlds.

The third group of skaters are on the ice for their warm-ups. That’s South Korea’s Dabin Choi, Japan’s Rika Hongo, Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva, Ashley Wagner of the United States, Italy’s Carolina Kostner and Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi.

Choi will skate first in six minutes. Wagner, the three-time American champion and silver medalist at last year’s worlds, is due to skate at 1:35 ET/6:35 BST.

Updated

Ice resurfacing: scores with 12 skaters left

We’ll now have a 15min break as the ice is resurfaced for the final two groups. Here are the scores with 12 skaters down and 12 to go.

Ladies’ free skate standings
Ladies’ free skate standings after two groups. Photograph: Icenetwork

Updated

12) Mai Mihara (JPN)

Free skate: 138.29 (197.88 overall, currently in first place)

Mihara, the Four Continents champion and world championships debutante who’s generated less buzz than Japanese teammates Haguchi and Miyahara, skates to Cinderella by Patrick Doyle. The Kobe native took a nasty spill on her double flip during Wednesday’s short program, but she redeems herself beautifully with a flawlessly skated program here! Nails every element one after the other, from the triple lutz-triple toe opener to the triple salchow at the end. And she’s rewarded with a season-best score of 138.29, which vaults her more than a dozen points over Bell into the lead.

Mai Mahara delivers her season-best free skate.
Mai Mihara
Mai Mihara reacts to her big score in the kiss-and-cry area. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Updated

11) Mariah Bell (USA)

Free skate: 126.21 (187.23 overall, currently in first place)

The 20-year-old from Long Beach who beat out Gracie Gold for the bronze at US nationals in January – and ultimately a spot at these world championships – skates beautifully to East of Eden by Lee Holdridge. A conservative program but solidly executed save for a hand down on the double axel-triple toe combo. She’s into the lead by nearly 12 full points ... but with 13 skaters yet to go. Not bad for her worlds debut.

Mariah Bell was the first of three Americans to skate on Friday in Helsinki.
Mariah Bell
Mariah Bell performs her long program. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Updated

10) Ivett Toth (HUN)

Free skate: 99.77 (160.77 overall, currently in sixth place)

The four-time Hungarian national champion performs to Eleanor Rigby as performed by Joshua Bell. The 18-year-old lands the opening triple lutz-single loop-triple salchow cleanly but it gets away from her shortly thereafter when she crashes to the ice on a triple flip. Held back by the lowest technical element score of the day so far (47.10), Toth’s final tally of 99.77 lifts her into sixth.

Ivett Toth performs during Friday’s free skate.

Updated

9) Xiangning Li (CHN)

Free skate: 117.09 (175.37 overall, currently in first place)

The 16-year-old overcomes a two-footed landing on her opening triple flip-triple toe combo to skate a near-flawless program to Princess Mononoke. A lovely performance from the first-year senior. It’s all smiles in the kiss-and-cry area when a season-best score of 117.09 flashes on the monitor, lifting her into first.

It’s a season-best free skate for China’s Xiangning Li at the world championships.

Updated

8) Loena Hendrickx (BEL)

Free skate: 115.28 (172.82 overall, currently in first place)

The 17-year-old and reigning Belgian national champion performs to an instrumental version of Adagio Per Archi E Organo in Sol Minore – you may remember hearing it during Manchester by the Sea while your heart was in your stomach – that makes a dramatic transition to Sarah Brightman’s vocal, major-key rendition. She nearly takes a tumble on the opening triple lutz, but finds her bearings and skates the rest of the program clean to post the biggest score of the day by nearly seven full points.

7) Nicole Rajicova (SVK)

Free skate: 108.47 (165.55 overall, currently in first place)

The three-time Slovak national champion, who was born in New York and trains in nearby Hackensack, skates to Rain In Your Black Eyes by Ezio Bosso. The 21-year-old survives an unsure landing on her opening triple lutz and motors through the next few elements flawlessly, but her score takes another hit with a two-footed landing on her double lutz. But she’s earned the highest technical element score of the day so far and her final tally of 108.47 will lift her into first place.

Nicole Rajicova
Nicole Rajicova of Slovakia leaves the ice during her free skae. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Updated

Now the second group of skaters takes the ice. That’s Slovakia’s Nicole Rajicova, Belgium’s Loena Hendrickx, China’s Xiangning Li, Hungary’s Ivett Toth, Mariah Bell of the United States and Japan’s Mai Mihara.

Here are the standings with six skaters down and 18 to go.

Ladies’ free skate standings
Ladies’ free skate standings after one group. Photograph: Icenetwork

6) Anastasia Galustyan (ARM)

Free skate: 98.27 (153.47 overall, currently in fifth place)

The 17-year-old skates to the Anna Karenina soundtrack. No major mistakes, but underrotations on several elements including the triple flip-double toe and the triple loop compromise her technical element score. She looks disappointed by her score in the kiss-and-cry area, which is nearly six points off her personal best.

5) Nicole Schott (GER)

Free skate: 106.58 (161.41 overall, currently in second place)

The two-time German national champion (in 2012 and 2015) skates to Nocturne No. 20 by Frederic Chopin and sticks nearly every piece, surviving a rocky landing on a triple toe loop midway through. A wonderful rebound after her fall during Wednesday’s short program. The 20-year-old earns her season-best score to move into second place.

4) Angelina Kuchvalska (LAT)

Free skate: 99.10 (155.02 overall, currently in third place)

It’s been an up-and-down season for the 18-year-old and three-time Latvian champion but she skates nicely here to the medley of Carl Orff’s O Fortuna, Ameno Dorime by Enigma and The Mass by Era. No falls or serious errors, but a technically safe program doesn’t give too much of an oppotunity to post a big score.

Angelina Kuchvalska of Latvia
Angelina Kuchvalska of Latvia performs during Friday’s free skate. Photograph: Grigory Dukor/Reuters

Updated

3) Kailani Carine (AUS)

Free skate: 95.97 (152.94 overall, currently in third place)

It’s a rocky start for the three-time Australian champion, who skates to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. A shaky landing on her opening triple flip, then a full-body fall on an underrotated triple lutz. She recovers nicely but her segment and element scores both will take a hit.

2) Laurine Lecavelier (FRA)

Free skate: 107.50 (162.99 overall, currently in first place)

The reigning French national champion has skated a crowd-pleasing program to a medley from Grease this season, complete with costume change. But, oh dear, she’s fallen on her opening triple lutz-triple toe loop combo. She recovers nicely and skates the rest of it clean, but that deduction will cost her.

1) Zijun Li (CHN)

Free skate: 103.50 (159.80 overall, currently in first place)

We’re off to a fine start as the four-time Chinese national champion skates a gorgeously executed long program to Only For Love by Tan Dun. Nails her first three elements: the triple flip-triple toe loop combo, triple lutz and double axel-triple toe. Some underrotations on the back end, but beautifully skated.

China’s Zijun Li
China’s Zijun Li performs during Friday’s free skae. Photograph: Mauri Ratilainen/EPA

Updated

The first group of skaters is on the ice. That’s China’s Zijun Li, France’s Laurine Lecavelier, Australia’s Kailani Carine, Latvia’s Angelina Kuchvalska, Germany’s Nicole Schott and Armenia’s Anastasia Galustyan.

Li is first up at 7.07.

Today's schedule

Here’s a look at today’s dance card. Medvedev will be pushed by the Canadian duo of Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman, who are second and third entering the free skate. They’re joined in the final group by a pair of Russian contenders (Anna Pogorilaya and Maria Sotskova) and Karen Chen, the teenage rookie who broke through for the US national championship in January.

The first warm-up will begin 12 minutes from now at 6pm local time.

World figure skating championships
The draw for tonight’s free skate order took place shortly after the conclusion of Wednesday’s short program. Photograph: ISU

Hello, skating fans! Welcome to the world figure skating championships at Helsinki’s Hartwell Arena where today a ladies’ singles figure skating champion will be crowned.

The big story is Evgenia Medvedeva, the Russian teenager who is unbeaten over the last 16 months and looking to become the first woman to repeat as world champion since Michelle Kwan in 2001. The 17-year-old been a model of consistency in her first two seasons at the senior level and entered this week’s worlds having won 11 consecutive events. She’s leads by more than three points going into today’s free skate after this flawless short program.

Evgenia Medvedeva earned a near-record score of 79.01 for her short program on Wednesday.

US champion Karen Chen and last year’s world silver medalist Ashley Wagner are fifth and seventh, respectively. Both have a shot at the podium, but where they finish is key even if they miss it. The placements of the top two American finishers at worlds must add up to no more than 13 to ensure the United States can send the maximum three skaters to next year’s Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Here’s a look at the scores entering tonight’s free skate (with the complete scoring breakdown here).

1 Evgenia MEDVEDEVA RUS 79.01
2 Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN 75.98
3 Gabrielle DALEMAN CAN 72.19
4 Anna POGORILAYA RUS 71.52
5 Karen CHEN USA 69.98
6 Maria SOTSKOVA RUS 69.76
7 Ashley WAGNER USA 69.04
8 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 66.33
9 Wakaba HIGUCHI JPN 65.87
10 Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA KAZ 65.48
11 Dabin CHOI KOR 62.66
12 Rika HONGO JPN 62.55
13 Mariah BELL USA 61.02
14 Ivett TOTH HUN 61.00
15 Mai MIHARA JPN 59.59
16 Xiangning LI CHN 58.28
18 Nicole RAJICOVA SVK 57.08
19 Kailani CRAINE AUS 56.97
20 Zijun LI CHN 56.30
21 Angelina KUCHVALSKA LAT 55.92
22 Laurine LECAVELIER FRA 55.49
23 Anastasia GALUSTYAN ARM 55.20
24 Nicole SCHOTT GER 54.83

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at his minute-by-minute report from Wednesday’s ladies’ short program.

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