Figure skater Daleman proud of performance at worlds

SAITAMA, JAPAN Canada’s Gabrielle Daleman finished 11th on Friday at the World Figure Skating Championships.

The 21-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., who has missed time over the past two years while dealing with mental health issues, was proud of her performance.

“The most important thing that I learned this season is that no matter what life throws at me I always rise at the end,” she said. “That’s exactly what I’m proving here. I had the worst two years of my life, and to be here and get a top-12 finish means the world to me.”

Daleman won the bronze medal at the 2017 worlds.

Olympic champion Alina Zagitova of Russia won the gold medal, with Elizabet Tursynbaeva of Kazakhstan second, and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia third.

Tursynbaeva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the world championships when she opened her long program with a quad Salchow

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., were fifth after the short dance. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were eighth, while Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were 10th.

Defending champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were first, followed by Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia in second and compatriots Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin.

“It was a magical experience out there, but not perfect,” said Weaver. “We had great focus.”

Gilles and Poirier made adjustments to their routine for the worlds.

“The changes absolutely paid off,” said Gilles. “We received higher levels on the aspects we were working on and that was an accomplishment for us.”

Competition wraps up with the men’s free skate and the free dance today.