Music: {allcanada} CANADIAN PAIR EARNS SILVER AT WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING

Thursday, February 28, 2013

{allcanada} CANADIAN PAIR EARNS SILVER AT WORLD JUNIOR FIGURE SKATING

MILAN, Italy -- Margaret Purdy of Strathroy, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won the silver medal in pairs on Thursday at the world junior figure skating championships.

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. took the gold with 155.83 points, followed by the Canadians, who finished with 154.70 points.

Russia's Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin posted the best score in the free skate to climb from seventh to third.

Purdy and Marinaro's routine to "The Artist" was highlighted by a triple toe-double toe combination, double Axel, throw triple Salchow and level-four lifts and spins. The Canadians, also second after the short program, set a new seasons best with 101.61 points for the free program.

"We are very happy with our performances that we had," said Marinaro. "We're very proud of the season that we had and it is a good way to end off our junior career and (we're) ready to step into seniors next year."

Brittany Jones of Toronto and Ian Beharry of Guelph, Ont., took sixth spot, while Hayleigh Bell of Acton, Ont., and Alistair Sylvester of Stratford, Ont., were 11th.

In the men's competition, Americans Joshua Farris, Shotaro Omori second and Jason Brown are 1-2-3 after the short program.

Vancouver's Mitchell Gordon sits 15th, while Nam Nguyen of Burnaby, B.C., is 16th.

Competition continues Friday with the women's short program and the free dance.