Kaetlyn Osmond is finally world champion. The Canadian, a bronze medalist in Pyeongchang, triumphed at the end of the free program on Friday at the World Figure Skating Championships in Milan.
Osmond had the best performance of the second program of the competition, which earned him 150.50 points and a total score of 223.23. She beat Japan's Wakaba Higuchi (210.90) and Satoko Miyahara (210.08).
"It's unbelievable," exclaimed Osmond. Becoming a world champion is not something I had envisioned. I just wanted to do well and fight to get on the podium. "
"I needed a lot of concentration today to do all that. It has been a long year. I wanted to prove that my Olympic bronze medal was not just a stroke of luck."
Kaetlyn Osmond
Canada had not had a world figure skating champion since Karen Magnussen in 1973. Vancouver had won gold at the world championships in Bratislava, the Slovak capital that was then part of Czechoslovakia.
"Canada has such a rich history of competitors in all disciplines," said Osmond. This gold medal has always been a battle for the ladies. Hopefully we'll be able to repeat the feat more often now. "
Good 4th after the short program , Osmond had to wait for long minutes before savoring his victory. She was the first of the last group of six skaters to run.