BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Florent Amodio of France leads after the men’s short program at the European Figure Skating Championships.
The Europeans newcomer scored 78.11 points on Thursday for an artistic routine including a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination set to Mexican-themed music.
Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic was second with 76.13 points after missing the Grand Prix season to recover from abdominal surgery.
Russian teenager Artur Gachinski was in third with 73.76 points. He landed a quad toeloop-double toeloop early in a routine set to music from Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album.
Three-time champion Brian Joubert of France placed seventh and has more than eight points to make up in Saturday’s free skate.
