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Saturday, November 14, 2026Nov 14

Flawless Fernandez defends world title as Hanyu falters

Yuzuru Hanyu, of Japan, competes during the free skate program in the World Figure Skating Championships, Friday, April 1, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Yuzuru Hanyu, of Japan, competes during the free skate program in the World Figure Skating Championships, Friday, April 1, 2016, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON (AP) – Spain’s Javier Fernandez defended his world title Friday, turning a daunting deficit into a lopsided victory when he skated flawlessly and training partner Yuzuru Hanyu struggled throughout his long program.

Fernandez cleanly landed three quadruple jumps and had the crowd on its feet before he finished his final spin to Frank Sinatra singing “Guys and Dolls.” He smashed his previous personal bests with 216.41 points for 314.93 total.

Hanyu settled for his second straight silver and Jin Boyang landed four quads to win bronze, the first individual world medal for a Chinese man.

Hanyu, who led by more than 12 points coming in, fell once and touched his hand down two other times in a performance that was tentative from the start.