Mao Asada wins Four Continents Championships title

JEONJU, South Korea, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- Former world figure skating champion Mao
Asada of Japan won the 2010 Four Continents Championships on Friday with her
season best performance in the free skating event, a significant turnaround from
earlier disappointments just ahead of the Vancouver Olympics.

The 19-year-old skater who stood at third after Wednesday's short program earned
an overall 183.96 points, with her best score of 126.74 in the free skating event
held in Jeonju, 243 kilometers south of Seoul. Asada beat her compatriot and
short program leader Akiko Suzuki who received a total of 173.72.
Skating to "Bells of Moscow" by Sergei Rachmaninov, Asada managed a clean
program, hitting a set of triple axel jumps in the beginning with solid spins and
footwork. She also landed a triple flip jump that she missed in her short
program.
The 2008 world champion has struggled to nail her trademark triple axel in
international competition and failed to qualify for the Grand Prix Finals in
December.
South Korean Kwak Min-jung, 16, who will compete at next month's Winter Olympics
along with Kim Yu-na, finished sixth with a score of 154.71 points. Her free
skating score of 101.03 was the fourth-best mark on Friday.
brk@yna.co.kr
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