Zagitova wins at worlds, Tursynbaeva lands 1st quad jump

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Olympic champion Alina Zagitova won the free skate on Friday to capture her first title at the figure skating world championships.

Skating to “Carmen,” the 16-year-old Russian built on her lead from the short program with a strong free skate that included a triple-lutz, triple-toeloop combination in the first half of her program. She added five more triple jumps to finish with 237.50 points.

Elizabet Tursynbaeva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the world championships when she opened her routine with a quad salchow. The 19-year-old Kazakh finished second with 224.76 points.

Two-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia was third with 223.80 points.

In ice dance, defending champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were first in the rhythm dance with 88.42 points. Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov were second with 83.94 points, followed by Russian teammates Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin in third with 83.10.

The men’s free skate and the ice dance free dance are scheduled for Saturday, the final day of competition.