Hanyu breaks Chan's record at GP Final

Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu broke the world record of three-times world champion Patrick Chan to top the short programme at the Grand Prix Final Thursday, ending the Canadian's all-conquering run in the Olympic season. After nailing an opening quadruple jump, Hanyu flawlessly landed an triple axel and a triple-triple combination while hitting a maximum level-four in two spins and one step sequence to earn 99.84 points, skating to "Parisian Walkways" by Gary Moore. Chan broke his own short programme world mark to score 98.52 three weeks ago at the Grand Prix in Paris, the Trophee Eric Bompard. But he put one hand on the ice Thursday and almost fell on a triple axel after landing an opening quadruple-triple combination. The 22-year-old doubled a triple lutz and stepped out in landing. But his level-four performances in three spins and one step sequence helped him finish second with 87.47 points. Japan's Nobunari Oda placed third with 80.94 points going into the title-deciding free skate on Friday. The final has brought together the top six finishers in each category in the Grand Prix season. Each skater was allowed to compete in just two of the season's six Grand Prix events. "I am really surprised by the score," said Hanyu, who finished second behind Chan in their Grand Prix battles, Skate Canada and Trophee Eric Bompard. "I did a great quadruple and my axel and lutz both went well," said the Japanese, who turns 19 on Saturday. "But I stumbled and wobbled in steps and spins in the final stage as I lost my concentration. I really regret it. I will just refocus for tomorrow while celebrating what I could do today." Chan, chasing the first men's figure skating gold medal for Canada, was beaten for the first time in any section of the Grand Prix tour this season. "When you achieved close to perfection like I did in Paris, it's hard to do it again," said Chan, who broke the world best scores in the short programme, the free skate and the overall total in Paris. "It hurts even more when you don't do it. So I'm pretty upset." "I focused so much on the quad and didn't really focus on the rest," he said. "Tomorrow's a new day and I'm excited to skate the long programme." It was a kind of redemption for Hanyu, who set the short programme world record twice last year before Chan rewrote it in winning his third world title in March. Chan said he was not aware of Hanyu's new record while awaiting his turn as the last skater, two men behind the Japanese. "It didn't affect me at all. I didn't know Yuzuru made another pinnacle in the short programme." Japan's Olympic silver medallist Mao Asada led the women's short programme although she remained erratic with her trademark triple axel, the difficult 3.5-revolution jump attempted only by the two-times former world champion. She under-rotated her opening triple axel but nailed a triple flip and a triple-double combination to earn 72.36 points, followed by Russia's 17-year-old Adelina Sotnikova at 68.38 and US national champion Ashley Wagner at 68.14. Asada also performed at level four in two spins and one step sequence, skating to "Nocturne in E Flat major" by Frederic Chopin. "The judges ruled that I under-rotated the axel but I could jump with a very fine feeling," said the 23-year-old, gearing up for a gold-medal showdown at February's Sochi Olympics with South Korea's Kim Yu-Na, who beat her for gold at Vancouver 2010. Asada has yet to land a clean triple axel in competition this season. "I believe I can do it if I perform with confidence in what I do," she said. Source: AFP