Bychenko ends worlds in fourth place

The 30-year-old registered an overall score of 258.28 points, 14.04 points behind bronze medal winner, Mikhail Kolyada of Russia.

By ALLON SINAI
Israeli figure skater Alexei Bychenko (photo credit: REUTERS)
Israeli figure skater Alexei Bychenko
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Alexei Bychenko continued to make Israeli figure skating history on Saturday when he finished the men’s event at the World Championships in Milan in fourth place.
The 30-year-old registered an overall score of 258.28 points, 14.04 points behind bronze medal winner, Mikhail Kolyada of Russia. Nathan Chen of the USA took the gold medal with a score of 321.40, with Japan’s Shoma Uno (273.77) claiming the silver, just as he did at the Pyeongchang Olympics last month.
Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu did not defend his world title because of injury.
Bychenko also recorded Israel’s best result in Pyeongchang, finishing in 11th place overall to improve on Michael Shmerkin’s 16th-place finish 24 years ago and his 21st-place finish from Sochi in 2014. His fourth place on Saturday is a significant improvement on the 10th place he registered at the world championships last year, which at the time was also the best-ever result for an Israeli man at the worlds.
Israel’s Daniel Samohin, who finished in 13th place at the Olympics, came in 20th place in Milan with a score of 214.01.