OBERTSDORF, Germany — Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., won the gold medal in the men's event on Saturday at the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition.
Messing interpreted a Charlie Chaplin routine in his free skate and collected 257.16 points. Alexander Majorov of Sweden was second at 226.64 and Artur Dmitriev of Russia third at 225.31.
''To finish on top at my first international of the season feels fantastic,'' said Keegan, who placed eighth at the world championships last season. ''Right now I feel like I have a really good plan with my coach. We didn't have the quad Lutz today but we hope to have it ready at Skate Canada (October 26-28 in Laval). We want to play it smart this season.''
In pairs, Elisa Efimova and Alexander Korovin of Russia finished ahead of two American couples for the win.
Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were seventh in their international debut at the senior level.
''It was definitely an eye-opening experience for us,'' said Walsh. ''We had a lot of fun and learned about the senior category and about each other. We need to go home and work super hard for Skate Canada.''
Canada ranked second in the team standings. The U.S. was first and Germany third.
On Friday, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto won the gold in ice dancing.
The Canadian Press
