Flawless Fernandez leads at worlds
HELSINKI >> Javier Fernandez led the men’s event at the figure skating world championships on Thursday and eclipsed his personal best score from winning the European title in January.
Meanwhile, China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong won the pairs.
Fernandez, the two-time defending champion from Spain, skated an immaculate short program to the tune of “Malaguena,” landing a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination, plus a quad salchow, for 109.05 points.
That was within two points of Yuzuru Hanyu’s world record.
Japanese skater Shoma Uno was second with 104.86 points, and three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada in third on 102.13.
Facing fierce competition from athletic teenage skaters such as Uno and U.S. champion Nathan Chen, comparative veterans Fernandez and Chan said they were happy to show they still have what it takes to compete.
“We always want to try and skate our best and to surprise everybody. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t happen,” said Fernandez, who made his world championship debut 10 years ago. “I’ve been in this game forever.”
Chan was the only man in the top six to perform only one quad jump in his short program, rather than the two which have increasingly become the mark of top skaters. He said it was hard not to be intimidated by the skills of upand-coming rivals.
“I almost psych myself out by seeing and acknowledging what they’re doing and then forgetting about what I need to do,” said Chan, who won the world title in 2011, 2012, and 2013. “I have to remind myself what are my strengths ... I am in a whole different situation, whole different generation of skaters, than when I won my first world title.”
Colleges: Arkansas House advances handgun exemption bill
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. >> Arkansas lawmakers voted Thursday to exempt college sporting events from a new state law expanding where concealed guns are allowed in a vote that one lawmaker complained was a “no-win” choice between the University of Arkansas Razorbacks and the National Rifle Association.
The proposal advanced in the House on a 71-20 vote Thursday. The Senate is expected to take up the proposal as soon as Friday.
Under the exemption proposal, which Gov. Asa Hutchinson supports, college stadiums such as the University of Arkansas’ Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences would be able to designate sensitive areas where they wouldn’t want people to carry concealed handguns.
To prohibit concealed carry in those sensitive areas, they would have to put together a security plan for those areas and submit it to Arkansas State Police for approval.
Soccer: Heath to miss U.S. games vs Russia due to injury
CHICAGO >> American midfielder Tobin Heath will miss exhibition games against Russia due to a back injury.
Heath became the third midfielder dropped from the roster this week after Morgan Brian (knee) and Lindsey Horan (strained hip flexor).
Training camp will start this week with 22 players and 18 will dress for the games on April 6 at Frisco, Texas, and April 9 at Houston.