Japan's Asada wins Skate America title

Two-time world champion Mao Asada won the Skate America title, finishing first in the ladies' free skate to beat runner-up Ashley Wagner at the Joe Louis Arena. Asada's win completed the Japanese double after Tatsuki Machida claimed the men's title on Saturday. World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov set a pairs world record as they successfully defended their Skate America title. The 23-year-old Asada has now won gold at each of the six Grand Prix events and the Grand Prix Final. A 2008 and 2010 world champ, she also finished first in Saturday's short programme. Asada was far from perfect Sunday but impressed the judges enough with her jumps, landings and footwork to post the victory. She lost points because of a fall on her triple axel and for two-footing a landing on her triple lutz but she made up for it with her technical difficulty. Asada finished with 204.55 points, compared to Wagner's 193.81. Third place went to 14-year-old Russian Elena Radionova with 183.95. The former world junior champion was taking part in her first Grand Prix skate. Reigning USA champ Wagner skated to "Romeo and Juliet." She began her free skate with a successful triple flip-triple toe -- her second clean triple-triple of the weekend. "I am someone that needs to be taken into consideration," Wagner said. "This is a great start and a great way for me to evaluate where I am compared to the rest of the world. I have a lot of work to do before Sochi but I think I am on the way up." Russian pair Volosozhar and Trankov finished with a total of 237.71 points to easily beat Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch of Canada, who scored 208.45, in the first of the six-leg ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix season. Another Russian pair, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov (187.35), finished third. Reigning world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the ice dance competition on Saturday. They took home the title with 188.23 points. The victory extended their winning streak to 13 consecutive ISU Grand Prix events. Source: AFP