Roman Sadovsky earns 2nd Olympic figure skating spot for Canada at Nebelhorn Trophy
Vaughan, Ont., native finishes 8th to secure last qualifying spot
Figure skater Roman Sadovsky earned a second Olympic spot for Canada in men's singles after finishing eighth at the Nebelhorn Trophy on Friday in Oberstdorf, Germany following an impressive free skate.
The 22-year-old Vaughan, Ont., native entered the day sitting eighth in the overall standings after earning 76.10 points with a solid short program, and he held onto his spot after posting the eighth-best free skating performance out of 30 competitors.
Sadovsky — who captured Canada's most recent national title in 2020 — racked up 131.52 points while skating to Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" to finish with a combined total of 207.62.
''I didn't think it would nearly as hard as what it was,'' Sadovsky said. ''I was training for this competition and I felt confident but once I stepped on the ice it hit really differently. I'm glad I got that Olympic spot and it's out of the way.''
WATCH | Canada's Sadovsky secure's addional men's Olympic spot:
American Vincent Zhou captured gold after finishing first in both the short program and free skate. The 20-year-old entered the day with 97.35 points and finished with a formidable winning total of 284.23 after earning an additional 186.88 in the free skate.
Sadovsky had to finish in the top seven of those seeking qualification to secure the additional Olympic quota spot for Canada.
His eighth-place finish was enough to get the job done, as fourth-place finisher Gabriele Frangipani of Italy wasn't eligible for Olympic qualifying. Sadovsky was the only Canadian competing.
Canada earned its first Olympic spot in men's singles for Beijing 2022 when Sherwood Park, Alta., native Keegan Messing notched a career-best sixth-place finish at the world championships in March.
The Nebelhorn Trophy is the third of nine stops on the International Skating Union Challenger Series circuit, a tune-up for the Grand Prix season that gives senior skaters an opportunity to compete internationally and earn world ranking points.
Sadovsky overcomes fall
Sadovsky overcame a fall on an opening quadruple and regained his composure to put together a crowd-pleasing free skating program.
He garnered applause and numerous cheers from spectators as he nailed his next quadruple Salchow attempt before adding a triple Salchow and a triple jump.
France's Adam Siao Him Fa earned the third-highest free skate score (154.55) to finish second with 243.78 points, while Russia's Mark Kondratiuk rounded out the top three with 241.06 total points after posting the second-best free skate (159.58).
Sadovsky was bumped down to second by Korea's Sihyeong Lee, who posted 149.19 points with the fourth-best free skate.
Azerbaijan's Vladimir Litvintsev pushed Sadovsky further down the standings to third after he earned 148.11 points with the third-best free skate. Kondratiuk momentarily took top spot after earning 159.58 points, pushing Sadovsky further down to fourth.
Sadovsky settled in eighth place following skates by Siao Him Fa, Frangipani and Zhou.
