The Associated Press
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan waits for his results after competing in the men's short program at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the Olympics, on Thursday in Sochi.
The Yomiuri ShimbunJapan’s Yuzuru Hanyu jumped into figure skating history on Thursday night at the Sochi Games by becoming the first skater to break the 100-point mark in the men’s short program.
The 19-year-old earned 101.45 points, breaking the scoring record he set in December at the Grand Prix Final when he scored 99.84 points.
“I never imagined I could score more than 100 points,” Hanyu said. “I’m thrilled to be able to do this in the Olympics. I was nervous but I just focused on being positive.”
Daisuke Takahashi, who won bronze at the Vancouver Games, scored 86.40 points and was in fourth place, while Tatsuki Machida was in 11th with 83.48 points.
Three-time defending world champion Patrick Chan of Canada was second—3.93 points behind Hanyu at 97.52—and Spain’s Javier Fernandez, who won the last month’s European championship, was third with 86.98 points.
Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko, who was in his fourth Olympics and had helped lead the host country to the team title, withdrew just before he was scheduled to skate.
Plushenko, who was expected to contend for a medal, experienced back problems during training the previous day and aggravated the injury in warmups.
He plans to retire from competition and travel around Russia as a professional.
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