Ice skating: Britons slip up in qualifiers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.BRITAIN MADE a poor start on the opening day of the World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki with both Clive Shorten and Neil Wilson failing to qualify for the second and third stages of the men's competition.
Shorten was too disappointed to talk but Sorelle Kayne, the British team manager, said the 25-year-old from London was "shattered" by his poor performance which earned him marks of 3.8-4.8 for technical merit and 4.2-4.9 for presentation.
Wilson, a 20-year-old from Northern Ireland, gained marks of 3.6-4.8 for technical merit and 3.8-5.1 for presentation but was more philosophical about his failure. "I'm quite pleased about the way I skated," he said. "I started a bit tentatively but then eased up. I'm just glad to be here after a full year off ice with injuries."
Elsewhere in the competition, Russia led the way as expected, with Yevgeny Plushenko winning one qualifying group and the defending world champion, Alexei Yagudin, winning the other. Michael Weiss, the American champion, came in second to Plushenko and the former Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov, was second to Yagudin.
A record-breaking day saw six skaters complete the four-revolution jump, the most ever in a competition.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments