Carolina Kostner of Italy skated cleaner than Japan's Fumie Sugari to capture the Cup of Russia. (Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press)Two-time European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy won the Cup of Russia Grand Prix figure-skating event on Saturday in Moscow.
Kostner was second after the short program but overtook Fumie Suguri of Japan to win with 170.72 points. The Italian skater is looking for her first world championship after finishing second last year.
Kostner landed a triple-triple that she flunked in her short program.
"I was quite nervous going into my program," Kostner said. "But I told myself, 'You know how to skate, you don't forget it overnight,' and I got my confidence and then enjoyed my skating."
She flubbed a triple toe loop but still won.
Suguri flopped in her free skate and slipped all the way to third with 162.04 points. U.S. teenager Rachael Flatt finished second with 166.06 points.
Suguri skipped an early double loop, two-footed a subsequent triple salchow and didn't attempt some other elements.
"I did a lot of mistakes on my jump. I was in very good condition over the last two weeks, so I'm very disappointed with how I did tonight," she said. "I wasn't very nervous."
The Cup of Russia is the fifth of six Grand Prix events for the season.
Former world champion Brian Joubert of France was the men's winner, holding on to his lead despite having the fourth-best free skate. Joubert totalled 230.78 points.
Joubert had the Megasport arena crowd on its feet with a near-perfect short program Friday, dazzling the fans with powerful jumps and intricate steps.
But it was clear right away the former world champion would not be able to duplicate that effort, as he fell on his first quadruple jump attempt.
"I knew before my free program that I was not ready physically," said Joubert. "Technically I'm not perfect. But I wanted to give my best tonight. I wanted to win the competition, so that's good."
Tomas Verner of the Czech Republic had the top free skate but couldn't quite bridge the gap, ending at 222.94 points.
Alban Preaubert of France moved up a spot to claim the last podium place.
Canadian Vaughn Chipeur was 12th. The Edmonton native dropped two spots from Friday's short program and finished with 161.94 points.
In the pairs event, world champions Dan and Hao Zhang of China held off the host duo of Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov.
The Zhangs — who are not related — had 177.42 points, while the Russians were next with 169.27. Tatiana Volosozhar and partner Stanislav Morozov of Ukraine placed third at 167.86 points.
The Canadian pairs held their positions from the short program, finishing sixth and seventh. Monica Pisotta and Michael Stewart, last year's Canadian junior champs, finished with 129.33, well ahead of Amanda Velenosi and Mark Fernandez of Laval and Montreal, respectively, at 98.85 points.
Pisotta is from Barrie, Ont., while Stewart is a Mississauga, Ont., native.
Defending European champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin maintained their lead in ice dancing after the free dance on Saturday. Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, also from Russia, were judged to have the best free dance and are second, with Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte in third
Allie Hann-McCurdy of Nanaimo, B.C., and Michael Coreno of Delhi, Ont., remain in ninth place.
The original dance takes place on Sunday.
Canadian men's champ Patrick Chan and women's champion Joannie Rochette were not at the event after each won the Trophée Eric Bompard, the fourth event on the Grand Prix circuit, in Paris last week.
The NHK Trophy will be contested next week in Japan, with the Grand Prix final beginning on Dec. 10 in Seoul, South Korea.
With files from the Associated Press
