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Above: Grant Hochstein deliv- ers a powerful free skate en route to a top-10 finish.
Left: Max Aaron called his Worlds experience in Boston one of his greatest skating moments.
moment. It’s what I wanted. I’m at a loss for words because it means so much to me.” Aaron was the next American to skate, earn- ing a personal-best score for his Black Swan pro- gram, which featured two quadruple Salchows — one in combination with a triple toe loop and the other in the second half of his program for a highlight distribution bonus. “I’m telling you, there’s nothing like this,”
Aaron said. “I’ve never been to an Olympic Games, but if this is anything like the Olympic Games, I can’t tell you how much fun I would have out there if I can make it. Tis is truly special. It’s a moment I will never forget. I’ve always wanted this on home soil. To come out here and give everything I got, it was fun.” Just two skaters later, Rippon notched a per-
2016 Worlds men’s podium (l-r) Yuzuru Hanyu (silver medalist from Japan), Javier Fernandez (gold medalist from Spain), Boyang Jin (bronze medalist from China)
sonal-best overall score and his highest career finish at the World Championships. “It feels like all the hard work that I’ve put in going into this competition I was able to put for- ward [into this performance],” Rippon said. “I’m really satisfied with what I did today because right before I went out I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m go- ing to do a long program but I feel like I could take a nap.’ I just let my training kick in; that’s what Rafael [Arutunian] told me before I went out. I looked at Derrick [Delmore], I looked at Rafael, I was ready and I went out and I laid down one of my best long programs and I’m so happy it was at Worlds in Boston.” Opening with a slightly underrotated qua- druple Lutz, Rippon was flawless for the rest of
his skate, set to a medley of music by Te Beatles, landing nine triple jumps and zero negative GOEs for the remainder of the performance. His segment score marks a personal-best by nearly nine points and was the fourth-highest score of the event be- hind eventual medalists Javier Fernandez of Spain, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan and Boyang Jin of China. Aaron, who was seated in the ISU green room
during Rippon’s skate, jumped up and greeted his teammate and his coach with huge hugs as Rippon exited the ice. In an event full of career-best programs, Fer-
nandez turned in the performance of the night, successfully defending his World title with 314.93 points. His free skate to a Guys and Dolls medley included three quadruple jumps, including a quad Salchow-triple toe combination. His program components score was more than six points higher than that of Olympic champion Hanyu. Hanyu, who led after the short program by
more than 12 points, struggled in his free skate, falling on a quadruple Salchow, doubling an in- tended triple Salchow in a three-jump series, and wobbling on the triple Lutz toward the end of his “Seimei” performance. Hanyu settled for silver with an overall total of 295.17 points. Jin, who sat fifth after the short program, turned in a solid free skate to earn bronze in his first World Championships. Jin, who became the first man to complete three different and four to- tal quadruple jumps in a free program at the 2016 Four Continents Championships earlier this sea- son, recorded a combined score of 270.99.
SKATING 21
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
BILLIE WEISS - ISU/ISU VIA GETTY IMAGES
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