Fernández keeps his feet for gold

Figure skater Javier Fernández made Spanish sporting history at the weekend when he won gold at the European Championships in Zagreb. It was Spain’s first-ever medal in the sport and hopes are high that Fernández can repeat this success at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“It’s been difficult to get here,” said the 21-year-old. “There are many great competitors and it wasn’t easy to get onto the podium. Even though I started this routine at the beginning of the season, it’s not simple because there are four quadruples.”

Considered the finest figure skater in the country’s history, Fernández qualified for the 2010 Vancouver Games at the age of 17, becoming the first Spaniard to compete in the event at the Olympics since Darío Villalba in 1956.

Last season, Fernández won his first medals at an ISU Grand Prix, coming second in the Cup of Russia and the Skate Canada International. He finished third in the year-ending finale contested by the six top skaters in the world, the Grand Prix Finale. As well as last weekend’s European success, Fernández triumphed at the 2012-13 Skate Canada International.

Coached by Canadian double Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser, Fernández’s Mask of Zorro short program placed him second behind France’s Florent Amodio after Thursday’s competition. On Saturday, his complicated Charlie Chaplin medley in the free skate catapulted Fernández into first place, 25 points clear of Amodio, largely because of those tricky quadruples.