Kondratiuk claims European glory in Tallinn

Mark Kondratiuk claimed his first major senior title as he was crowned men's figure skating European champion on Friday night in Tallinn.

Sitting in second after yesterday's short programme, 18-year-old Kondratiuk secured the gold medal with a total score of 286.56 after today's free skating event.

Italy's Daniel Grassl finished in second with a combined total score of 274.48, with Latvian Deniss Vasiljevs third with 272.08.

Kondratiuk's compatriot Andrei Mozalev was leading after the short programme, but just missed out on the podium as he finished fourth with another Russian, Evgeni Semenenko, in fifth.

Elsewhere, the ice dance competition began with two British pairings qualifying for tomorrow's free dance event after finishing in the top 20 of the rhythm dance.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who have already booked their place in Beijing at the Winter Olympics next month, qualified in fourth place with a score of 79.97.

Meanwhile, Fear's younger sister Sasha and her partner George Waddell qualified in 16th with a score of 63.61.

Russian pairings occupy the top two positions heading into tomorrow's free dance with reigning world champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov in first and Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin second.