Sarah Meier (SUI) takes the gold
Sarah Meier of Switzerland skated to the gold medal on home ice, Carolina Kostner of Italy surged from sixth to claim the silver and Finland’s Kiira Korpi earned the bronze medal.
Meier skated last in what was to be the last competition of her career and gave a clean performance to the “Love in the Times of Cholera” soundtrack. The 26-year-old reeled off five triple jumps, two double Axels and got a level four for her flying camel spin to score 112.04 points. Overall she accumulated 170.60 points and moved up from third to claim the title. “I still can’t believe it, I have always dreamed of this moment. It is just like I imagined it to be. It was very emotional, the atmosphere and the crowd was amazing. Because it was my last competition it was even more emotional”, Meier said. “I was surprised that I was here (at the press conference) yesterday and I am even more surprised to be here today. It’s unbelievable. It is the right moment to stop. It is the perfect ending.”
Kostner’s routine to “L’aprés-midi d’un faun” was highlighted by a double Axel-triple toe, two triple Salchows and two level-four spins, but she had trouble with the triple loop and stepped out of the triple flip. The three-time European Champion won the free skating with 115.37 points and moved up four spots at 168.54 points overall. “Yesterday before I went to bed I looked at the situation in a very realistic way and I knew it was going to be hard. So I focused less on the medals but on skating my best. It helped a lot. I did wonderful practices before I came, really good practices here. So I knew I was ready. I know it was just a matter of being focused. I’m very pleased and surprised with the result and so happy for Sarah (Meier)”, Kostner told the press.
Korpi struggled with her jumps in the beginning of the program to “Evita”, but rallied back in the second half with two triples and strong spins to hold on to third place with 166.40 points. She scored 102.90 points for the Free Skating. “The program was quite a struggle”, admitted the Finn. “It didn’t start out well and I fell on the loop. But the crowd was very supportive. I fought until the end. I am happy with this medal even though I know I could have done better. I have come a long way since my last medal. Last year I was so close”, she added.
Ksenia Makarova (RUS) made some errors on her jumps and slipped from second to fourth at 162.04 points. Alena Leonova (RUS) delivered a strong Free Skating and was ranked third in this segment to move up from 13th to 5th at 154.31 points.
