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Germany's Savchenko-Massot win world pairs title
ASSAGO, Italy (AP) — Olympic figure skating champions Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany set a world record as they claimed their first world championship as a pair with a flawless program packed with daring and grace on Thursday.
The silver went to Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia skating fast to Christina Aguilera's "Candyman," and the bronze to Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France, who kept their nerves and nailed the rest of their program after she fell badly.
Massot's mouth fell open as the free program score was read - 18.6 points ahead of the second-placed Russians. A former French skater, Massot teamed with Savchenko in 2014 after her former partner, Robyn Szolkowy, retired after their fifth world title together.
The Germans' mastery came through as Massot lifted Savchenko from the ice with just one arm, with super-high triple-twist lifts and jump combinations that earned them two-point execution bonuses.
In the men's competition, Nathan Chen of the U.S. neatly vanquished the ghosts of the Olympic short program to finish first going into the final free.
Mikhail Kolyada of Russia was in second place with a program he simplified after the Pyeongchang Games.
Vincent Zhou of the U.S. was third after a clean quad-lutz-triple toe, adding difficulty with two arms overhead on the second jump, and a perfectly executed quad flip. The 17-year-old Zhou, who is the youngest in the field, added more than 10 points to his personal best for a score of 96.78.
After bombing the short in South Korea, Chen wanted to redeem himself at the worlds.
"Ultimately, I am glad with what I did," Chen said.
The U.S. champion hit two quads, one in combination, but the landings were a little off and he was marked slightly down. Still, the 101.94 score was enough to lead the short program and a huge improvement on the 82.27 at the Olympics, though still shy of his personal best.
Two favorites, Olympic silver medalist Shomo Uno of Japan and Jin Boyang of China, skated error-prone programs and remained within striking distance of the podium.
Uno, the only male Olympic medalist at the worlds, missed a triple-triple combo, tacking on a double after a step out. He finished in fifth despite a huge quad and triple axel. Jin nearly landed on the boards after an under-rotated quad, finishing in fourth going into the final free on Saturday.
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Daniella Matar contributed to this report.
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