Valieva, 15, sets new figure skating world record ahead of Olympics
Paris (AFP) – Russian 15-year-old Kamila Valieva set a new short programme world record at the European Figure Skating Championships on Thursday, just three weeks out from the Winter Olympics.
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Valieva, who is undefeated in her first season as a senior, scored 90.45 points after a flawless performance to "In Memoriam".
It bettered her previous world best mark of 87.42 points at the Russian Grand Prix in November.
"Today I really felt that I am in the programme, that I am telling the story, it's a nice feeling when you skate and you forget about your body," the 2020 world junior champion said.
"It's so inspiring and you are so high after -- you are even higher after the skate."
Such was her dominance on Thursday that second-placed Loena Hendrickx of Belgium was more than 14 points behind with 76.25.
A pair of 17-year-old Russians, Alexandra Trusova, who fell on her triple Axel, scored 75.13 points to sit in third place, while world champion Anna Shcherbakova tumbled on her combination and registered only 69.15 points.
Valieva has already pocketed the world record this season for the free programme (185.29 points) and for total score (272.21).
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