Yevgenia Medvedeva of Russia successfully defended her world figure-skating title in Helsinki, making her the favorite to win the gold at next year’s Winter Olympics.
The 17-year-old Medvedeva on March 31 broke the world record she had previously set, finishing with a total score of 233.41 points.
She became the first woman to win back-to-back titles since 2001.
Russia’s Anna Pogorilaya fell three times on landings and dropped from fourth place to 13th in the final standings.
Russia, Canada, and the United States all secured the maximum three entries for the Winter Olympics in South Korea in 2018.
Russia has been embroiled in a damaging scandal amid claims of state-sponsored doping between 2012 and 2014, which resulted in its athletes being banned from the Rio Olympics.
Russia still must be declared compliant with world antidoping regulations in time for the 2018 Olympics. Some athletes have been allowed to participate in international events as neutral athletes not officially affiliated with their home country.
