Kostner beats Ando in short program at NHK trophy

Also European champions Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France held onto the lead in the ice dance event even though they were beaten in the original dance phase of the competition.

Kostner scored 61.24 points in the short program to edge Ando with 60.52. Skating to “Riders on the Storm” she opened with a triple flip-triple toe loop but barely held the landing. He other two jumps were shaky.

Ando won the world title last March in Tokyo and was expected to win easily. Then she changed a planned opening combination and her nerves got to her on a wobbly spiral in her routine to “Samson and Delilah.”

“I have been trying to improve my edges on the takeoff. After the warmup I and my coach decided to do a triple-double instead of a triple-triple and just make sure it is a clean jump,” Ando said. Skaters are marked down for taking off the wrong edge of the blade on a jump.

“Then on the spiral I lost my balance,” Ando said. “I was a bit nervous and hope to be relaxed tomorrow and be able to execute the triple-triple.”

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