Kolyada leads short program at Europeans, Fernandez 3rd

By: The Associated Press Posted: 8:58 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 Last Modified: 9:48 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019

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MINSK, Belarus - Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada is on track for his first European title after beating six-time defending champion Javier Fernandez in the short program on Thursday.

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MINSK, Belarus - Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada is on track for his first European title after beating six-time defending champion Javier Fernandez in the short program on Thursday.

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MINSK, Belarus – Russian figure skater Mikhail Kolyada is on track for his first European title after beating six-time defending champion Javier Fernandez in the short program on Thursday.

Kolyada, the bronze medallist in 2017 and 2018, landed a quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination in a clean skate for 100.49 points. That continues a strong recovery from a bout of sinusitis which almost kept him out of last month’s Russian nationals, the key qualifying event for the European championships.

“It’s important not to get carried away with emotions before the free skate,” Kolyada said. “I can say that it’s much better to be skating healthy.”

Russia's Mikhail Kolyada performs in the men's short program at the ISU European figure skating championships in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

After a messy landing on a triple axel, Fernandez had to settle for third place with 91.84 points, 0.13 behind Russian rival Alexander Samarin.

Fernandez won the title in each of the last six seasons but the Spaniard has barely competed this season as he prepares to retire and focus on commercial ice shows.

Winning the title after Saturday’s free skate would rank him third in the all-time standings, matching Evgeni Plushenko’s seven titles over 2000-12.

The pairs free skate is later Thursday. France’s Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres lead after the short program as they aim to become the first French pair since 1932 to win the European championship.