Record-breaker Medvedeva wins second figure skating world gold

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian teen Evgenia Medvedeva soared to a second straight women's gold with a record-breaking free skate at the world figure skating championship on Friday, March 31 setting herself up as Olympic favourite next year, AFP says.

The 17-year-old from Moscow led all the way to crush her rivals finishing over 15 points ahead of silver medallist Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada.

Canada took two podium places for the first time with Gabrielle Daleman a distant third in Helsinki's Hartwall Arena.

Anastasia Galustyan secured 98.27 points to come in second to last among 24 participants.

"These two world championships were very different for me," said Medvedeva after defending the gold she won on her debut senior season in 2016.

"Last year was very new and now I am more experienced, I just wanted to show what I have learned and the progress I have made."

Despite the pressure she glided across the ice delivering a powerful and emotional skate to the music from the film, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which depicts events surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks.

She nailed eleven jumps including five triples linked by intricate and balletic steps to continue her unbeaten run to ten consecutive competitions.

Her performance also gave her a new best mark of 154.40 in the free skate for a record overall total of 233.41 -- bettering her own previous bests in both by over three points -- and drawing applause even from her rivals.

"After she skated I applauded because she's such a beautiful and amazing skater," said Daleman. "She's also a good friend and just to be able to skate like her is what I aspire to."

The European champion becomes the first woman since Michelle Kwan in 2001 to win back-to-back world titles.

Osmond, 21, scored 218.13, and 19-year-old Daleman, 213.52, for their first world medals to put Canada back on the women's podium for the first time since 2009.

In the final world championships before next year's Winter Olympics, the Canadian skaters also clinched three spots for their country in the women's event in Pyeongchang.

Russia and the United States will also have three competitors in South Korea but not Japan who lose one of theirs despite Four Continents winner Mai Mihara rallying from 15th after the short programme to fifth.