Reigning champion Siao Him Fa leads at Euros after short program

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa made a strong start to his title defence at the European figure skating championships on Wednesday, opening up a lead in the short program.

The 22-year-old was awarded 94.13 points for his routine, 2.96 points more than second-placed Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland.

Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko surprisingly sits in third place heading into Friday’s free skate on 90.05 points.

Siao Him Fa was not perfect, placing both hands on the ice when landing his opening quadruple lutz, but his technical quality still ensured he took a lead.

He has enjoyed a dominant season so far, winning seven of his eight competitions, but finished only fourth at the Grand Prix Final in Beijing last month, with his lowest total score of the campaign.

“It wasn’t my best performance of the year, but it was ok,” said Siao Him Fa.

“I tried to forget (about the quadruple lutz) and focus on the following elements of the program.

“It’s not just composed around the quadruple lutz, it also has three jumps, three spins and a step sequence so I tried to continue.”

Earlier, Georgian pair Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava took a surprise lead atop the standings after the short program.

Metelkina and Berulava, competing in their maiden senior season, scored 71.30 points.

Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin sat in second place on 69.63pts, with Italians Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise in third (67.05).

Reigning European champions Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii could only finish seventh (61.52pts) after an error-ridden display.

The pairs free skating program is scheduled for Thursday.

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AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)