Arakawa tops Cohen,makes golden breakthrough for Japan

Updated: 2006-02-24 09:57

TURIN, Italy (AFP) - Former world champion Shizuka Arakawa pulled out the best performance of her career to claim Japan's first ever Olympic figure skating gold when she took the women's title.

Gold medal winner Shizuka Arakawa of Japan shows her gold medal and waves to spectators after the women's free program during the Figure Skating competition at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, February 23, 2006. [Reuters]

Sasha Cohen of the United States had to settle for silver with Irina Slutskaya of Russia taking the bronze after both fell in the free skating final at the Palavela.

Sasha Cohen of the U.S. performs in the women's free program during the Figure Skating competition at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, February 23, 2006. [REUTERS]

The 24-year-old Arakawa, the 2004 world champion, prevented a Russian sweep of all four Winter Olympic figure skating titles.

She surged to the lead from third after the short programme as she glided across the ice to Puccini's Turandot.

Her free skate mark of 125.32 was the best of her career.

She scored a combined 191.34 points to win by a 7.98-point margin on Cohen who had been leading Slutskaya after the short programme.

Slutskaya finished a further 1.92 behind.

Japan had previously won just one Olympic medal in figure skating with the silver Midori Ito took in the women's event in Albertville in 1992.

Arakawa spoiled two-time world champion Slutskaya's bid to become the first Russian woman to win the Olympic title.

Arakawa nailed five triples including three in combination.

She did not include a triple-triple but her performance with spirals, stepwork and her trademark "Ina Bauer", a crowd-wowing glide with a big-arched back, brought the audience to their feet.

There was more heartbreak for Cohen as the diminuative skater once again had to settle for silver.

She has finished runner-up at the past two world championships behind Arakawa and Slutskaya.

Looking terrified as she took to the ice the 21-year-old gave disappointing performance to Nino Rota's "Romeo and Juliet."

She fell on her opening triple lutz, followed it by touching down on her second jump a triple flip.

She recovered to land five triples including a triple-triple combination, but it was not enough.

Skating last, Slutskaya let the pressure get to her.

She landed four triples with two in combination but fell on a triple loop halfway through her Flamenco routine.

It was just her second loss in the past 18 months, the other was in the Grand Prix final to Japan's Mao Asada, who was too young to compete in Turin.

Miki Ando failed to make it a double celebration for Japan as she crashed on her bid to become the first woman to land the quadruple jump at the Olympics.

The demoralised 18-year-old, the only woman to land a quad in competition back in December 2002, went on to give a sloppy performance to Madame Butterfly.

She achieved just one clean triple as she fell a second time on a triple toeloop at the end of her programme, after touching down on her triple flip and two footing a triple loop.

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