Canadian Olympian Kaetlyn Osmond wins gold at Nebelhorn Trophy competition

OBERTSDORF, Germany — Canadian Olympian Kaetlyn Osmond, who missed all of last season due to injury, won the gold medal with a personal best score in women’s singles in her 2015-16 debut on Saturday at the Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition.

The 19-year-old Osmond from Marystown, N.L. earned 179.41 points for the victory, winning both the short and long programs. Alena Leonova of Russia was second at 165.61 and Courtney Hicks of the United States was third at 162.85.

“Obviously I’m very happy with my performance today,” said Osmond, who picked up her third career international victory. “I wasn’t trying absolutely everything in my program today. I just wanted to focus on what I know I could do.”

“There’s still a long way to go but it’s a good start.”

Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., second after the short program, took fourth spot overall at 161.35.

In ice dancing, Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., took the silver medal with 148.12 points. They were behind Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. in first at 169.50. Anastasia Cannuscio and Colin McManus of the U.S. were third at 137.38.

“Today was a little bit difficult for us,” said Paul. “We were confident going into the program but we made a few costly errors that affected our overall performance. But we love the program and we are looking forward to skating it again. We want to show people how great it can be.”

Added Islam: “These competitions early in the season are a great opportunity to find out what you need to work on a little bit more.”

Canada ends the competition with two gold and a silver and second overall in the team standings. On Friday, Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., won the men’s competition.