Aleksandr Selevko sets new all-time furthest progress for Estonia at ice skating world championships
Estonian figure skater Aleksandr Selevko came sixth at the ISU World Championships in Prague after Saturday's men's free skate, the highest position an Estonian has ever achieved at that level.
The achievement means Niina Petrõkina's record progress of seventh, set on Friday, was short-lived since Selevko, 24, finished one place higher.
Selevko had finished fifth at January's European Championships in Sheffield, earning him a berth at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February, where he placed 16th.
In Thursday's short program, Selevko improved on his previous personal best by more than five points to take bronze in the "small medal", becoming the first Estonian figure skater to ever be in the medals at the World Championships and booking him a place in Saturday's free skate.
Only U.S. star, Olympic champion and eventual winner in Prague Ilia Malinin with 111.29 points, and France's Adam Siao Him Fa (101.85) surpassed Selevko's total of 96.49.
On Saturday, Selevko's free skate began with a slight scare when he fell right at the start while attempting a quadruple Lutz, but he dusted himself off to execute the remaining jumps superbly, bringing him 173.93 points, improving on his previous PB and the domestic record he already held by seven points.
Overall, with the short program and free skate combined, Selevko clocked up 270.42 points to take the historic sixth place.
"I made one mistake, but otherwise I'm very satisfied. Skating in the final group was interesting, but also difficult. It's the last group, and there's a lot of pressure. The bronze medal in the short program at this World Championships feels like a small victory to me," he said after the performance.
The high placements achieved by both Selevko and Petrõkina secured Estonia two spots in both men's and women's singles at next year's world championships too.
Malinin became a triple world champion, scoring 218.11 points in the free skate, beating his closest rival, Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, by five and a half points.
Overall, Malinin's winning total was 329.40 points. Kagiyama, who had been sixth after the short program, surged to the silver medal with a powerful free skate and a total of 306.67 points, while bronze went to his compatriot Shun Sato with 288.54 points. Canada's Stephen Gogolev placed fourth (281.04), and Siao Him Fa, who had taken short program silver, was the only other skater to finish ahead of Selevko with 271.56 points.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
