Petrokina wins a surprise European figure skating gold and Guignard and Fabbri lead ice dance

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Niina Petrokina fell, got back up, and completed the skate of her life.

A freak fall on a transition between jumps threatened to derail Petrokina’s bid for the European figure skating title but she recovered with a program that otherwise bordered on flawless to win a surprise gold medal on Friday.

It was a highlight for figure skating fans at an event which has largely been overshadowed by the deaths of skaters, coaches and their families in a mid-air collision between a passenger jet and military helicopter near Washington, D.C.

It was a big moment, too, for the small country of Estonia, which had never won a major figure skating title before and now has a gold on home ice.

Before Friday’s free skate, the standout achievement of Petrokina’s career was a bronze at Skate America over a year ago. She will head to the world championships in Boston in March as an unexpected medal contender.

As she skated to the soundtrack of the movie “Dune,” the cheers from Petrokina’s home crowd grew louder with each successful jump. After completing the skate, Petrokina knelt on the ice before waving to the crowd. Then she had to wait for the last skater, short-program leader Anastasiia Gubanova, to finish. When Petrokina’s victory was confirmed, she shook her head in disbelief.

Petrokina said she was feeling “really, really big happiness,” and paid tribute to the crowd. “Thank you everyone who come here and support me and all skaters. We did a big job today.”

Asked when she knew she was on track to win, Petrokina said with a smile: “After falling.”

Georgian skater Gubanova, the 2023 European champion, took silver for the second year running on 198.61 and Belgium’s Nina Pinzarrone the bronze on 191.44. Last year’s champion Loena Hendrickx missed the event with injury.

Earlier, Italian ice dancers Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri closed in on a third consecutive title.

Guignard and Fabbri scored 84.23 points in their rhythm dance to music by artists including Stevie Wonder, moving nearly 1.5 points clear of France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud in second place.

Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third on 81.57 after getting out of sync on their opening twizzle element.

The ice dance and the men’s competition both end on Saturday.

The European championships began on Wednesday and have continued following the news that young skaters, their coaches and family members were killed when their plane crashed while returning from a U.S. national development camp for promising young skaters.

The International Skating Union president, Jae Youl Kim, told The Associated Press on Friday there would be plans to honor those who died in the crash when Boston hosts the world championships.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports