BOSTON (AP) Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu skated the latest flawless program of a brilliant season to take a large lead after the short program at the world championships.
The Japanese star scored 110.56 points Wednesday to lead defending champ Javier Fernandez by more than 12. Hanyu effortlessly landed two quadruple jumps while his main rivals fell.
Spain's Fernandez, who also is coached by two-time Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser, fell on a quad salchow and finished with 98.52 points. Three-time world champ Patrick Chan of Canada, back after taking last season off, fell on his triple axel and earned 94.84 points.
With dozens of Japanese flags waving in the stands, Hanyu got a standing ovation when he finished his skate to Chopin and yelled out in delight. He just missed beating his record score from the Grand Prix Final by a fraction of a point.
