Mao Asada wins GP Final in Olympic tune-up
Asada crashed after an opening triple axel in the free skate and under-rotated her next element.
FUKUOKA (AFP) - Japan's two-time former world champion Mao Asada overcame a fall and erratic jumps to win the Grand Prix Final women's title for a fourth time on Saturday.
With a four-point lead from the short programme on Thursday, Asada crashed after an opening triple axel in the free skate and under-rotated her next element, another 3.5-revolution jump.
The 2010 Olympic silver medallist went on to nail five triple jumps but under-rotated two combination doubles.
Despite the errors, skating to "Piano Concerto No. 2" by Rachmaninov, Asada hit a maximum level-four in three spins and one step sequence to top the free-skate table with 131.66 points.
The 23-year-old won the title with a total of 204.02, followed by Russia's 15-year-old Julia Lipnitskaia at 192.07 and US national champion Ashley Wagner at 187.61.
The final brought together the top six finishers in each category after the six-round Grand Prix series. Each skater was allowed to compete only in two of the events.
Reigning Olympic and world champion Kim Yu-Na of South Korea skipped the series to recover from a foot injury. She has come back to competition at the second-tier Golden Spin event in Zagreb, Croatia, also under way this weekend.
Asada, who is the only top-level woman who regularly attempts the difficult triple axel, won her two Grand Prix events, the season-opening Skate America and the NHK Trophy in Tokyo, in her build-up for a possible gold-medal showdown with her 23-year-old Korean rival.
