Olympic champ Hanyu 1st after short program at 4 Continents
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu finished first in the men’s short program at the Four Continents figure skating competition on Friday after recording a world-record score.
The Japanese skater opened with a quad salchow and followed with a quad toeloop-triple toelopp combination to score 111.82 points and finish comfortably ahead of Jin Boyang of China, who was second with 95.83 points. Jason Brown of the United States was third with 94.71 points.
“It feels like the first time in a long time that I’ve been satisfied with my short program,” Hanyu said. “I was able to enjoy myself and I think the crowd enjoyed my performance.”
Nathan Chen, an American who won the world title in 2019, is not taking part in the event. The men’s free skate is on Sunday.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States defended their title in ice dance, finishing first with 213.18 points. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada were second with 210.18 points, while Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donahue, also of the United States, were third with 208.72.
Chock slipped on a transition move but the couple recovered.
“It was a testament on how well-trained we are,” Bates said, “because we picked up really quickly from this fall that took us by surprise.”
