Kaetlyn Osmond, Gabrielle Daleman in podium position at figure skating worlds
Canadian figure skaters Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman put on a show at the world figure skating championships in Helsinki on Wednesday.
The two sit in second and third place, respectively, following the short program won by Russia's Evgenia Medvedeva.
Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., posted a personal-best short program score of 75.98, trailing Medvedeva's 79.01.
"I was just loving every minute of it and completely in the moment," Osmond said. "I know how to deal a little bit more with the excitement, and hopefully I can just stay that way for the long [program]."
Skating to Edith Piaf's "Sous le ciel de Paris" and "Milord," Osmond reeled off a triple flip and triple toe loop combination to open. With the crowd clapping along to her music, she went on to land a triple Lutz and double Axel en route in a clean program.
"It feels incredible," Osmond said. "I was just happy to skate the way I did. Just knowing that I'm up in second now, it just feels incredible.
"This program, I just feel so comfortable and confident doing it," she added. "It's an amazing character, confident character. That gives me confidence on the ice. I find the crowd reacts really well to it, which gives me a lot of energy while I'm skating."
Daleman, of Newmarket, Ont., isn't far behind after scoring 72.19, just short of her personal best.
Daleman finished second behind Osmond at the Canadian championships in January. She continued her strong 2017 with a silver-medal performance at February's Four Continents championships in Gangneung, South Korea.
She told CBC Sports that she credits being in "the moment" for her great start.
"I didn't focus on anyone else, I just focused on what I needed to do," Daleman said. "I was having fun with my coaches backstage and enjoying the moment, and that's exactly what I did."
Daleman opened with a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination before executing a triple Lutz and double Axel.
"Especially after Four Continents I just gained a lot of confidence and I just knew what I'm able to do and I just enjoyed the moment," Daleman said.
The ladies competition will resume with the free program on Friday at 11 a.m. ET.
You can catch more figure skating coverage on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET on Road to the Olympic Games, our show spotlighting the best high-performance athletes from Canada and around the world.
CBCSports.ca will live stream every short and free program, right through the gala presentation on Sunday at 7 a.m. ET. Click here for the full schedule.
