Osmond snatches gold, Zagitova crashes

MILAN: Canada’s Kaetlyn Osmond snatched gold as Olympic champion Alina Zagitova crashed to fifth in a drama-filled women’s free skate final at the world figure skating championships on Friday.

Osmond — the Olympic bronze medallist — pulled out a flawless free skate to ‘Black Swan’ to surge from fourth after the short programme to her first world title with a total score of 223.23 points. Japanese skaters Wakaba Higuchi (210.90) and Satoko Miyahara (210.08) took silver and bronze respectively.

Zagitova fell three times during her four minutes free dance set to Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus’s score to the ballet Don Quixote.

It spoiled the 15-year-old’s bid for a golden finale to her senior debut season in which she had won the ISU Grand Prix Final, the European and Olympic titles. She collapsed in tears as she left the ice and fell into the arms of her coach Eteri Tutberidze who comforted her. Italy’s Carolina Kostner, who had been leading after the short programme, fell to fourth after also crashing in her skate to Debussy’s ‘L’apres-midi d’un faune’.