World Figure Skating Championships: Nathan Chen breaks record to retain men's world title
- Published
'Breathtaking, an honour to watch them' - French duo Papadakis & Cizeron dazzle in the pairs' free dance earlier on Saturday
2019 World Figure Skating Championships |
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Venue: Saitama, Japan Date: Thursday to Sunday, 21-24 March |
Coverage: Watch live coverage via the BBC Red Button, Connected TV and online. There will also be extended highlights on BBC Two and all programmes will be available to watch on the BBC iPlayer. Full coverage details available here. |
American figure skater Nathan Chen broke a world record to retain the men's World Championships free skate title in Japan.
The 19-year-old watched as Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu, 24, first smashed the record in front of a home crowd in Saitama, before Chen broke it again.
He scored a winning total of 323.42 to Hanyu's 300.97, while American Vincent Zhou, 18, won bronze with 281.16.
"It's an amazing feeling," said Chen. "I'm so proud of the way it went."
Russia's Alina Zagitova, 16, won the women's free skate title on Friday.
Elizabet Tursynbaeva lands first 'game changing' quad salchow in women's free skate competition
Elizabet Tursynbaeva of Kazakhstan won silver after the 19-year-old landed the first ever quadruple salchow in women's competition.
The World Championships, which finish on Sunday with a gala exhibition, made headlines earlier in the week when American figure skater Mariah Bell was accused and then later cleared of attempting to deliberately injure South Korean rival Lim Eun-soo during a warm-up.
Lim's management team alleged Bell kicked their skater and cut her leg before the women's short programme on Wednesday.
Footage shows Bell approaching Lim from behind at the edge of the rink before gliding past with her leg outstretched.
The International Skating Union (ISU) decided no action was necessary.
- Published22 March 2019
