NAGOYA, Japan — Carolina Kostner of Italy won the NHK Trophy in Nagoya, Japan, with a steady free skate Saturday to edge U.S. national champion Rachael Flatt, a Cheyenne Mountain High School graduate.
Kostner, who led after the short program, won with 164.61 points. Flatt was second with 161.04 while Kanako Murakami (150.16) of Japan was third.
Kostner didn’t fall, and under- rotated a double toe loop for her only deduction.
Flatt, third after the short program, under-rotated a triple lutz, a double toe loop and a double-loop combination.
World champion Mao Asada, eighth after the short program, had another poor outing and finished eighth.
Vonn 18th in World Cup opener
SOELDEN, Austria — Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg led a German 1-2 finish at the season-opening women’s World Cup giant slalom, while defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn of Vail was 18th.
“I was just not skiing like myself,” Vonn said. “I was pretty conservative, not attacking.”
Rebensburg finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 26.39 seconds to beat giant slalom world champion Kathrin Hoelzl. Manuela Moelgg of Italy was third.
• Heather Richardson and Tucker Fredricks swept the 500-meter races at the U.S. Single Distance Long Track Speed Skating Championships in West Allis, Wis., capturing the event for the second straight day.
Richardson also won the women’s 1,000, while Shani Davis, the two-time defending Olympic champion at the distance, won the men’s race.
U.S. open-water swimmer dies
PHILADELPHIA — Fran Crippen, a medal-winning open-water swimmer on the U.S. national team, told his coach he wasn’t feeling well late in a race before he died in the United Arab Emirates.
The 26-year-old from a family of prominent swimmers in suburban Philadelphia was competing in the FINA Open Water 10-kilometer World Cup in Fujairah, south of Dubai, but failed to finish and was found in the water two hours later, according to Swimming World.
Sacramone wins gold in vault
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Alicia Sacramone of the U.S. came out of retirement to win the gold medal in the vault at the World Gymnastics Championships, edging all-around champ Aliya Mustafina of Russia.
Men’s all-around champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan won his third medal, finishing second behind Greece’s Eleftherios Kosmidis on the floor.
Footnotes.
Jerry Stackhouse, who turns 36 next month and averaged 8.5 points in 42 games as a reserve with the Milwaukee Bucks last season, signed with the Miami Heat.
• The Baltimore Ravens activated six-time Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed from the physically unable to perform list.
• Former Astros all-star Jeff Bagwell will not return as Houston’s hitting coach next season.
