Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu broke his own record and won the men’s short program at the Sochi Games on a night four-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko retired from competitive skating.
About two hours after Plushenko withdrew with a back injury Thursday, Hanyu became the first figure skater to ever surpass the 100-point mark with a spectacular routine that earned him 101.45.
That gave him nearly a four-point lead over three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada. Two-time European champion Javier Fernandez of Spain was third. American Jason Brown was sixth. US champion Jeremy Abbott had a hard fall and is in 15th.
No Asian, Canadian or Spanish man has ever won Olympic figure skating gold. The top 24 skaters in the short program advanced to Friday’s free skate.
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Highlights from the routine
